Page 180 of A Soul to Embrace

He allowed her to redirect the conversion. “It does.”

It smelt like...home. Like the forest, like flowers and herbs. The aroma of vegetarian food cooking flittered to them and made the wind smell lively and inviting, as did the scent of the pollen that came from the central tree.

A crack of loneliness struck his chest, and he turned his back on the city to face her fully. Right now, he just needed her gaze to keep him focused while he let his mind wander.

How do they know what she is?As far as he was aware, no Elysians had crossed over to Earth, let alone Austrális.Is there a Mavka I don’t know of here?

If so, that would be beneficial for her case. If they allowed one here, then surely they’d allow another. Despondent hope pulled at the edges of his mind.

This is a good thing. She’ll have another of her kind to lean on.They even had translators, meaning someone could teach her Nyl’kira or speak on her behalf as she adjusted to the city and its way of life.

So why do I feel so hollow about this decision?

“Jabez...” Zylah called, reaching up to cup the side of his face. “Why do you look so... sad?”

Because I plan to leave you here.

With the intention of coming back when he was ready to destroy these walls. Then he could obtain her once more, unless she fell in love with these people, and then she’d only hate him for it.

Shit. What kind of decision is that?It felt like the wrong one entirely, but the only other option was for them to leave together, or forhimto... stay.

He didn’t want to stay. He didn’t want to live among these people. He didn’t want to face those who had turned their backs on him just for being born, and then drove him to madness within the lonely darkness of an underground prison.

“I’m just tired,” he lied, unsure of how to broach this subject with her while she was still hurt. He didn’t want her trying to scamper away in rejection of his leaving before she was healed. “I haven’t slept since we left Earth.”

“You never rest,” she grumbled, sheathing a claw to poke him in the cheek.

He gave a small, half-hearted chuckle. “Are you seriously pouting right now?”

She darted her skull away. “No.”

His chuckle brightened at that.Cute, my fluffy bunny.Cute.

They sat in silence facing each other, and Jabez lifted her left hand with his right, and let their fingers touch. His thumb played with the side of one of her glossy black claws as he simmered in the bubbles of pain and sorrow surrounding his essence.

Thankfully the wait wasn’t agonisingly long.

Feet shuffled behind him, and his ears twitched at their calm approach. He scooped Zylah into his arms and stood to greet them.

The moment he saw the face of the Elysian man approaching, Jabez’s head tipped to the side and a low groan exploded from him.Fuck me. You’re joking. This idiot is the one who became the head of security?

Great! Fantastic! Jabez wasscrewed.

At Mericato’s narrowing glare, Jabez’s ears shot back in hatred as he returned it. He’d never forget that name, nor this man’s face, even though the last time he’d seen it, they’d both been eleven and now it sported a short beard.

Dressed in the formal attire of a councilmember, Mericato wore a blue tunic that had the tree of resilience stitched into it with silver thread. A pair of light-grey pants flowed around his legs and danced above the soleless shoes covering the tops of his feet. His companion wore a similar outfit, although his tunic was green, and he was much thinner than Mericato’s muscular frame.

They stopped barely a few feet from the dome’s edge.

Then, to Jabez’s surprise, Mericato began to sign with his hands, silently speaking to the person in green. Jabez realised then that he was a translator. After a small exchange, his translator’s eyes widened in disbelief and his shoulders stiffened midway through as he read his gestures.

“You have quite the nerve to come here after all this time, Jabeziryth Kneis,” the translator stated, keeping his tone smooth to hide his shock.

The revulsion that struck Jabez’s gut at hearing his full name made drool collect in his mouth in preparation to vomit. Worse still, this bastard had tacked on his mother’s maiden name to drive the knife deeper, likely knowing Jabez hated it.

The two guards from earlier parted their lips at his name on a silent gasp and shuffled nervously behind them.

“If we could skip the hostility, I believe all are given a chance at rebirth when they enter the city,” Jabez stated with a flippant tone of arrogance. “All past crimes and transgressions against the Elysian people are voided, and a new life is offered.”

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