Page 252 of A Soul to Embrace

Jabez leaned forward to properly glance at them, and he took in their featureless, somewhat blobby forms. They were such a dark grey that they almost appeared matte black, and their bodies took on a baby-like form when they moved before sagging when they were stationary. Their faces were semi-pointed where their little nose holes were, but other than the small ear holes on the sides of their heads, there wasn’t much else to them.

They had no eyes, nor any concave eye holes to hint at any. Their hands and feet were small, and their fingers and claws were so weak and malleable that they bent as they tried to get purchase.

One opened their mouth to reveal jagged lines as teeth, and a purple tongue curled as they silently yawned. They tried to crawl off of Merikh, both heading for their parents with deep sniffs to guide them.

Nathair took them and Jabez nearly had a fucking heart attack when the Mavka tried to shove them into his arms as well.

He lifted his hands up to avoid them. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t like children, since the idea of having one with Zylah was not out of the question. He just wasn’tconfident with them being infants, no matter their species. They were soft, fragile, and he didn’t want to mess up and accidentally hurt one and anger their parents.

Nathair’s orbs reddened, and he let out a warning growl as he held his younglings out to Jabez. Not wanting to piss him off, simply because he was actually beingniceto him, Jabez took them with an annoyed grumble.

They immediately hated being in his arms. He figured his lack of Mavka scent was sending them on high alert, and they both screeched in protest just as one blindly leapt out of his hold. The one remaining forced him to chase them until Nathair chuckled and took them back.

Thankful they were gone, he noted the heat they’d left all over his arms, while not leaving a single trace of scent behind.

That was... weird.Jabez scratched at the top half of his hair tied back into a bun.I’ve never properly held a Mavka youngling before.The fact that he’d been trusted to was even stranger.

Nathair gave them back to Linh so he could gesture with his hands. “Why are you here?”

“I’m rounding up the entire family,” Merikh stated. “My bride wants to meet everyone properly.”

A small chuckle rumbled from the serpent Mavka. “I’m surprised to hear that. I thought I would have to chase you into the Elven realm to see you again, since you have been such a nasty brother to the rest of our kind.”

Merikh made a chomping sound when he clipped his fangs together, then let out an irritated huff through his nose hole. “I guess Weldir has been keeping you informed.”

“You have been unfairly cruel to everyone since my death, Merikh. You shouldn’t have taken it out on Lindiwe or Weldir. It wasn’t their fault.”

The burly Mavka folded his arms with a slight growl. “I beg to differ.”

“You should have protected everyone as the eldest living Mavka,” Nathair signed with his orbs shifting to deep blue. “You should have guided everyone, not turned your back on them.”

“They wouldn’t have listened!” Merikh yelled, throwing his arms up. “We’re all a bunch of fucking idiots when we lack humanity. It’s like talking to a damn boulder.”

“At least a boulder doesn’t try to strike you,” Jabez muttered in his defence.

“Exactly! I tried to help, and then gave up when I saw it was useless. Everyone had to figure shit out on their own, just like I did.” Then Merikh pointed a claw at Nathair’s chest. “You were dead. You have no idea what it was like. I helped whenever possible and even fed information to Lindiwe,despitehow much I hated looking at her. I did what I could.”

A hissing snicker came from Nathair before he dived forward. Merikh immediately stiffened when the larger male wrapped his arms around his body and squeezed so hard that Merikh went to the tips of his toes.

It took him a moment to understand what was happening.

When he did, Merikh’s orbs immediately shifted to bright yellow in happiness, and the bottoms of them wavered and shattered to produce ethereal tears. He slid his arms around his brother and returned his hug with his head angled to the side to make it even closer.

A small smile quirked at the sides of Jabez’s lips as he watched them embrace each other. The moment was wholesome and tender, and his heart swelled knowing how much his friend needed this. Nathair tightened their embrace further by flicking the tip of his tail forward and wrapping it around Merikh’s calves.

A raspy exhale came from the side, and Jabez’s gaze slipped to the little human, whose eyes had brimmed with tears. They spilled over as she watched her mate with a smile, as if she, too, knew how much Nathair likely needed this as well.

Merikh stepped back when the embrace finally ended, but the floating drops around his face were slow to dissipate and stop.

“Will you be accompanying us on the journey?” Linh translated for Nathair. “I’ll feel much better travelling such a long way with my bride and younglings if there are more of us. We were already planning to make such a journey, but we wanted to get used to our younglings and make sure the area was truly safe before leaving it.”

“No,” Merikh stated, his voice thick with emotion. He grunted to clear it before waving at Jabez. “This is where he comes in. He’s going to teleport us to the Veil instantly.”

Nathair nodded and turned to Linh to have a conversation that appeared more private.

“Yeah. That’s okay,” she answered before handing their younglings to him. “I’ll let my father know we’re leaving.”

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