Page 191 of A Soul to Embrace

He stepped around her and waved an arm to indicate the room. “We’ll be staying here until the council decides whether or not we’re permitted to stay.”

Zylah finally took it in.

The room was semi-circular, with a bed resting up against the only straight wall. All the walls were made up of twisting white branches, bronze ore, and glass. More of the tree lay beneath their feet, as well as some kind of thin yellow carpet that sat underneath the bed and led down to a seating area with two lounges and a stout oval table made of bronze.

The ceiling had a strange glowing light in the middle, but it was dim. She wondered if there was a way to brighten it before she brought her gaze to the forking branches of tree and glass to her right.

There appeared to be a room further in, since there was an arched door on the opposite side of the room.

Where they were wasn’t big, but it was definitely larger than their shared cave.

“Will we be living here permanently if we are allowed to stay?” she asked, somewhat liking its design.

Unlike Fayren’s home, the seats looked big enough for her to sit in. The bed was huge in comparison to hers as well. Zylah thought she and Jabez could both lie on it with ease, rather than her being forced to curl up into a ball just to rest.

“No. This room is only temporary, but Zylah...” At the way his tone became strained, she turned to find his expression had twisted up. “The chances of them approving us are exceptionally low.”

Any hope or excitement regarding the room rushed out of her in an instant. She cupped her hands once more to fidget with them, and her orbs retreated back to the blue hue from earlier.

“Then why are we still here?” she asked, unsure as to why he wouldn’t make them leave if he felt that way.

His eyes flicked to her before narrowing at the room. “Because it gives me time to assess our other options while we are somewhere safe.” His right hand curled into a fist, and he lifted his face towards the wall of glass. “It also allows us to rest, and I believe the door over there leads to some kind of personal bathing facility.”

Zylah came closer and tipped her head to the side so she could meet his avoidant gaze. “Can you tell me what happened? I want to know why you suddenly...”

When his expression scrunched, her words fell short.

“My past is an issue,” he admitted, greeting her orbs head-on. Then he lifted his hands and cupped the sides of her bony cheeks. “Unlike you, they’re unwilling to forgive it. I’m sorry, Zylah, but my inability to shed my hatred of these people is what got in the way, and now I have tied myself to you, so even if they would have accepted you, we’re unable to be separated.”

Zylah placed her hands over his to hold them. “I don’t mind where we are, so long as we are together.”

As if that was the wrong thing to say, he stepped back while taking away his touch. He grasped the end of his hair to inspect the red, bloodied clump of it before he wiped at his face to remove some of the dust and his own dried blood.

“I need to wash. I can only imagine what I look like,” he stated, heading to the door on the other side of the room. “Sit. I won’t be long... unless I can’t figure out how to power it orcan’tbecause of the bracers.”

Then he left Zylah on her own.

Since there was little else in the space, Zylah walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it. Not expecting such softness, she squeaked when her backside nestled right in, and she bounced on it in mild curiosity. Just as she was getting comfortable and lifted her gaze to the wall of glass, she heardthe faintest sound of rain coming from the room Jabez had disappeared into.

As much as she wanted to know what it was and inspect it, she thought it best to leave him alone. She fidgeted with her hands as she thought,He’s... different.

She didn’t know what to make of his behaviour; he’d shied away from her repeatedly and refused to meet her gaze with confidence, like he usually would. She also had this niggling feeling that if she were to ask him about why he’d crumbled to the ground, he would avoid telling her the full truth of it.

He’s always been complicated.

Despite her worry and unease, her heart skipped a little when she remembered receiving the gift of his soul. She couldfeelit floating between her antlers due to the mild heat there, and the desire to reach up and touch it nagged at her. When the urge became too strong, she hesitantly lifted her hand to where it rested, unsure if this was allowed.

Warmth greeted her, and she brushed her thumb over the little flame when nothing inside her told her what she was doing was wrong. She even gained the courage to clasp her hand around it and pull until she was able to take it.

White snuffed out the colour of her sight, and she reared her head back when she noted that it’d changed. She knew when he’d given it to her it’d swirled with blue-and-green flames, but the head of Jabez’s soul had turned black and appeared like cracked stone.

It still rested in the same cross-legged position, but she thought its shoulders slumped more than before, as if it was tired. Red slits blinked constantly, but they were slow and languid even when they appeared to look up at her skull.

Zylah went to brush the back of her forefinger claw underneath its jaw, but the sound of rain cut off. She quicklyplaced her hand between her antlers and was thankful when his soul stayed there.

She didn’t know why she felt nervous about him seeing her play with it, but she had to hide her chitter and stop her shoulders from turning inwards self-consciously when he emerged.

His hair isn’t wet. Nor was his body.Maybe they have a drying spell, like the one he can do?It looked as though he’d washed his pants as well.

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