Page 250 of A Soul to Embrace

Leaning on his arms, his tail waved behind him as he collected it outside of the cave opening like he wanted to make a protective wall to stop anything from entering or exiting his home. With his orbs bright red at them for entering his excessively large orange dome that shielded even the village nearby, Jabez could almosttastethe hostility in the air.

Once he was done having a tantrum, and he must have realised they weren’t foe, his fangs suddenly retracted into the roof of his mouth. His bony jaw snapped shut when he tilted his head.

The serpent Mavka looked between Jabez and Merikh, and his orbs went dark yellow as if in surprise or confusion.

“Holy shit, it’s really him,” Merikh muttered quietly to himself.

Merikh’s own orbs shifted to dark yellow. His hands opened and closed nervously, or like he was subtly fidgeting to contain his emotions.

I think we may have spooked him, Jabez thought as he ran his gaze over a body that had to be over forty feet long. His torso was built and strong despite the number of extruding bones that remained present, as if all the people he’d eaten kept growing his body density without truly completing him.

That only begged the question... how muchbiggerwould he get once he had his fill?

Jabez eyed the entrance to his home, wondering if his unusual Elvish-and-Demon scent mixing with Merikh’s unknown one had confused and alerted him. The lingering scent of a female inside fluttered from within their home, and he figured the big guy had gone into ultra protective mode due to her.

Then again, the soul flame floating above his head was a dead giveaway that he was a bonded male.

“Nathair?” Merikhcroaked, braving a step ever closer.

Nathair pushed his hands up off the ground to shove himself into what Jabez would consider a standing position for a snake and backed up slightly. The fact that he shied away instantly had Merikh halting and his orbs turning deep blue.

Nathair raised his hand to stop them, or to tell them to wait – Jabez wasn’t sure – as he spun on his tail and practically dived within the cave. His entire body moved as one giant black wave.

Other than the shifting of his tail disturbing dirt and rocks, and the faintest sound of trickling water, there was a moment of utter silence.

“A Duskwalker is outside?” a soft, almost angelic voice rasped from within their home. “It’s Merikh and a Demon?”

Jabez’s brows twitched at the one-sided conversation, since Nathair didn’t utter a single word.

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

A loud huff was her answer.

Seconds later, Nathair exited the cave with a thin but busty female in tow. She was wearing a dark-blue garment that came just past her knees and had two side slits in the skirt of it. The sleeves were tight and ended above her elbows. Underneath the dress was a pair of flowy, pale-blue pants, and each step revealed a pair of black flat shoes.

Her ebony hair was woven into a set of braids that came down the sides of her neck, and the tips of them bounced just off her breasts.

Her light-brown, fawn-hued features were gentle, and she had one of the sweetest, heart-shaped faces he’d ever seen. Her eyes were a rich brown, but the moment she stepped into the sunlight, they almost appeared like molten hazel.

She offered them both a wary smile while holding a set of very tiny Mavka in her arms. Considering their size, he figured they were either very new, perhaps a few months old, or they’d never fed them to grow them.

Any aggression present in Nathair earlier had completely faded, and all his fins lay streamlined down his body rather than being exposed for intimidation. He looked aquatic despite how well he moved on land and into the sun, which caused a rainbow iridescence to shine off his body – similar to the raven-skulled Mavka’s lizard scales.

“You holding up okay?” Jabez poked at Merikh.

The grunt he received was telling. No, he wasn’t, and the spikey Mavka didn’t want him to know that.

Unfortunately for him, Jabez was so close that his ears twitched at how hard and fast Merikh’s heart was pounding.

Before anyone could speak, Nathair tilted to the woman, and she turned her gaze to his hands when they began to sign. She nodded, then brought her eyes back to them. The warmth in them battled with her uncertainty as she looked at Merikh before instantly shying away from Jabez.

Then again, he doubted she’d ever spoken to a Demon before.At least she isn’t trying to point a sword at my face.

“Hello,” she started. “My name is Linh and I’m Nathair’s bride. Due to Nathair being nonspeaking, I will translate his sign language on his behalf, but he wanted me to let you know that he is very happy you’re here, Merikh.”

Nathair gestured once more, and Jabez picked up on one sign that was very obvious. Considering he had a set of pointed ears, it wasn’t hard to guess that he’d signed the word ‘Elf.’

“He thought you were in the Elven realm,” she continued.

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