Page 216 of A Soul to Embrace

“Yes. My blood, the blood of a hybrid, quickens the process of completion. I’ve tested it, and I’ve been able to prove my theory that if a lesser Demon were to eat me whole, they would reach full completion in one go, rather than needing to eat multiple people.”

“You’re joking,” Raewyn muttered, running her hand over her braided fringe. “The answer was that simple?”

“You can imagine why I couldn’t share that secret.”

Had it become known that eating him could finish their evolution, Demons would have done anything within their means to trap him. Then they would have bled him, waited for him to regenerate, and repeated the process. That’s if someone greedy didn’t get their claws into him, mercifully killing him on the spot.

Merikh’s comment was accompanied by the rain of glass shattering as it fell into a nearby bin. “I’ve eaten bites of you multiple times and it didn’t do shit for me.”

“I think my DNA balances out other Demons,” Jabez said, ignoring him. “I’m the perfect blend because I was born naturally this way. I imagine it’d be the same for other hybrids.”

“But that means there is little we can do to help them,” Raewyn said as she turned her head down and ran her thumbs over the top of each other in forlorn thought. “If that is the only way, then there’s nothing we can do.”

“What are you talking about?” Jabez scoffed. “Didn’t I already state that I would be willing to help?”

“But it would mean we’d have to extract from you.”

Jabez tilted his head when he could see the moral dilemma in her features.Weakhearted.

“Exactly. I won’t allow any of the councilmembers to dissuade the others of yourtentativeapproval. Since one of my conditions for sharing this was that it remains confidential, not assisting with this could be considered me going back on my word. The others will be too curious as towhyit’s not possible, so I’d rather avoid that and just do what needs to be done. Considering I’m deathless, bleeding me repeatedly would do little but make me feel a bit weak. Since there is no reason for me to fight, I see no issue with it unless I’m mining for mana stones. The healers here can help me, as they did for Zylah.”

“Did you just say you needed a healer for a Mavka?” Merikh asked as he stomped his way to Raewyn’s side. “Why didn’t you just wait a day?”

Jabez’s brows furrowed, and he loosened the fold of his arms. “I did. Her body wouldn’t regenerate.”

“Were you in Nyl’theria or Earth?”

“We were already here when we were attacked.”

Merikh let out a warm laugh. “Did you wait a Nyl’theria day or the equivalent of an Earth day?”

“An Earth day.” As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes widened. “Are you kidding me?! If we’d waited a full Nyl’theria day...”

“Idiot,” Merikh choked out with a laugh, before pointing at him. “You brought her here for that reason, didn’t you? I bet you feel like a fuckwit now.”

Jabez rumbled out a growl, his eyes narrowing into a glare. “How the fuck was I supposed to know her body would match this world’s sun cycle?” He slapped a hand over his face and let his annoyed rumble die. “I guess that means she’ll heal on her own now.”

“And so will you,” Raewyn interjected. “Although we are able to heal you, if that’s how you’d prefer it.”

“I’d rather not be touched by Elven magic, if I’m being honest.” The idea made him shudder with disgust.Don’t touch me, you horrible cretins.

He’d only offered to be healed by them as an alternative – one he likely wouldn’t have actually used.

“Thank you for speaking with me on this,” Raewyn offered, as she tipped her head up towards Merikh beside her. “I’ll consider our options, and once I begin formulating a plan, I’ll call on you for your assistance. In the meantime, perhaps it would be wise to begin collecting from you as soon as possible in order to slowly build our resources to help as many as we can once we start.” Raewyn cupped her chin in thought, and like she was sharing the inner workings of her mind, said, “If you’re willing, I can run experiments to determinewhatit is in your blood that allows for their completion, and maybe we can develop a means of extending it so we don’t need as much from you.”

“Whatever makes it easier.”

She nodded, keeping her hand on her chin. With her voice distant, as if she was already working out theories or whatever in her head, she said, “You may leave now.”

Jabez turned and headed towards the doors. When he opened them, he drifted his face to the side and said, “I’m sure you’ll ask Merikh sooner rather than later about mining mana stones if you want me to start on that promptly.”

Before he could obtain an answer, he left to let his statement hang between them. The curious Mavka wouldn’t be able to resist finding out what Jabez was insinuating, and he would no doubt force her to have the conversation even if she wasn’t ready.

It also allowed him and Merikh to begin training together, which was best to start now, rather than delaying it, if they wanted mana stones soon.

On the other side of the door, he met the eyes of his Elysian guard. A smile curled his lips.I guess our family is insane.Considering both of them had chosen Mavka as their partners, perhaps it was in their blood that they’d be different.

Then again, Jabez had an excuse for openly accepting the unusual.But she did grow up with me.He and Raewyn had a healthy bond before he was ripped from his family. He figured because he was different and she’d been exposed to that young, she was more accepting than most.

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