Page 235 of A Soul to Embrace

When he skidded to a halt, the female slid off him with her boots thudding against the ground. Gripping the hilt of her sword, she exclaimed, “Is everything okay?!”

Magnar raised his hands at the narrowed and hard gaze of the human. “There’s nothing wrong,” he stated quickly. “We just have some visitors who wanted everyone to gather.”

“Oh thank goodness,” the female said with a relieved sigh, her expression softening. “We thought something terrible happened since you called us so early in the morning.”

The new Mavka changed his form, going from monstrous to humanoid, and a pair of black pants rose to the surface of his flesh to shield him. Zylah glanced at Magnar, who was naked except for his fur covering him and his long fox tail shielding his backside.

“We’re glad to hear everything is fine,” the wolf-skulled Mavka stated, before he sniffed at the air. His orbs shifted to darkyellow in curiosity as he looked around Magnar to Raewyn, Lehnenia, and Zylah standing there. “I smell a Demon... and something unfamiliar.”

Delora approached the pale female, and Zylah couldn’t see her expression with her back turned to them. “This is Raewyn, Lehnenia, and... Zylah.” She turned and gestured towards them with her hand.

“Zylah?” the female stated with a gasp, her green eyes widening at her rabbit skull. “You meanFyodorZylah?”

Zylah’s shoulders turned inwards self-consciously; she wasn’t expecting to be known or for her presence to be so surprising. She stepped slightly in front of Raewyn and her youngling protectively when the unnamed couple came forward. She didn’t want any accidental harm to befall them – she also thought Merikh would be enraged at her if she allowed it or didn’t do everything in her might to prevent it.

“Hey, Zylah,” the female stated, a grin lifting into her sharp, although feminine, features. “I knew you when you were just a tiny little baby.”

Then, as if to show just how small she’d once been, she hovered her hands in front of her large breasts to create a ball that was barely half a foot in diameter.

Zylah gave a nervous chitter. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember you.”

Her grin grew. “Oh, I already knew that. You Duskwalkers forget everything until you have enough humanity to form proper memories.”

Then why did she have to say anything about it?Doing so only made her feel awkward and timid. She had no memory of being small, nor of this female, let alone the parents who had created her.

“I’m Reia, by the way,” she greeted, before waving her hand at the wolf-skulled Mavka. “And this is Orpheus. We’ve beenwanting to meet you again, especially since Delora told us she spoke to you a few months ago.”

Zylah lifted her gaze away from the little human to the male Mavka only a few inches taller than her.So, this is Orpheus.Jabez hadn’t spoken of Orpheus since before they bonded, but she remembered him speaking of the wolf-skulled Mavka.

She glanced down at the female beside him again.And didn’t Reia kill Jabez’s companion?Zylah didn’t care that Reia had stabbed her in the chest; it wasn’t done to her, or anyone she’d known. Actually, asnaughtyas she thought it was, she was thankful no one had been in her way when she’d met him. He was all hers and she liked it that way.

Rook also spoke highly of this Reia, and Zylah liked Rook very much. She wanted to trust him and his friendship with this blonde female – especially as he’d described her as being welcoming to him. That had to mean she had a good heart, right?

Orpheus held out his hand to her, and Zylah inspected it mistrustingly. She tilted her head, wondering what he was doing.

“You’re supposed to shake it,” Magnar said enthusiastically, reaching for Orpheus’ hand to clasp his own in it. They gave a singular shake downwards. “Like this. It is a human greeting.”

I don’t think I should greet him, though.Zylah wondered how she could get out of it. Jabez wouldn’t care, but she thought these people may be the most upset about her bond with him.

How was she supposed to proceed then?Maybe... I can help them see him the way I do?

“Go on, Zylah,” Raewyn encouraged with a smile.

At their direction, and not wanting to appear rude, Zylah reached out and took his hand. His hold was gentle as he greeted her with it, both their palms almost fitting perfectly.His hand is warm and rough.Once they were done, she looked down at her palm, surprised by how much she liked doing the action.

She threw her hand out towards Reia, and the human’s features brightened as she placed her tiny hand in hers. They shook, and Zylah attempted to be even gentler than Orpheus had been, considering how small she was. Just as Zylah touched her, some strange creature gave a squeak and shifted underneath the back of her dress.

If this was how she was supposed to greet people, she wondered why Delora and Magnar had never done so. Then again, all of their conversations and meetings had been saturated in a tense aura, much of it Zylah’s fault.

It didn’t help that Delora often looked just as frazzled as she felt, whereas Reia’s confidence easily ate away at Zylah’s nervousness. She found it easier to follow while she was still adjusting to meeting the others. It’s why she appreciated Jabez so much.

He always led every interaction, and she was able to bounce off his energy and gauge how she should react. He was also kind enough to give her very direct openings so she could take control if she wanted to, and it was slowly building up her confidence.

He’d done it when she first met Merikh, and it was one of the reasons she liked the bear-skulled Mavka – no matter that his attitude could be rather sour.

Lehnenia spoke up at Raewyn while pointing at Orpheus’ face, and Zylah figured she was commenting on his skull and features similar to how she did with Magnar. The interaction brought attention to them, and both Reia’s brows lifted as she took them in.

She leaned closer to Delora while bringing her hand up to the side of her mouth. “Who are they?” she asked, when the question sounded more like, “Whatare they?”

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