Page 255 of A Soul to Embrace

“If need be, we’ll travel back on our own. I already let my father know we might be gone for some time.”

Jabez nodded and sagged with relief when his gut finally stopped throbbing. He leaned back, so he didn’t look so pathetic,and sucked in cool air to battle the heat still clamouring beneath his skin.

They left to meet the other Mavka and brides.

He gazed at Zylah, who tipped her snout up to him, and asked, “How’s your family?”

She scratched at the side of her neck as she averted her skull to the left, where no one was standing. “They are nice. They’ve all been very welcoming.” Then she shifted nervously. “Delora has been hovering. I don’t know how to speak with her when I can tell she wants more from me, but I guess I do like her.”

“Just be open to it. She’s your mother. I’m sure she cares for you very deeply.”

“How do you care for someone you don’t know? I hugged her and felt strange inside.”

His lips curled into a small smile. “Humans are different to us, but even Demons have familial bonds. You left when you obtained your antlers, leaving everything behind and forgetting. It’s not her fault your kind are designed that way.”

Her orbs morphed into a reddish pink. “But even the fox-skulled Mavka follows. It feels odd having a male I don’t know chase me around.”

A laugh burst out of him, causing his eyes to crinkle hard at her. “Then stop running. He just wants to get to know his daughter.”

“But you don’t want to meet your parents!” Zylahquietlyexclaimed.

Humour flooded his gaze. “That’s different. Mine have wronged me, yours haven’t.”

She let out a snorted huff as she turned her head with her arms folding. She was pouting, and it instantly made his heart swell with tenderness.

“I don’t understand why you care so much,” she grumbled. “I’d rather stay here with you.”

“Because we won’t be able to come back often, Zylah.” He lifted his face towards the large family that had gathered and was already creating a ruckus with lively conversations. “And I doubt an opportunity like this will come again without intervention. Drink it in while you can.”

“Will you come with me? I would rather you by my side.”

As much as he wanted to, Jabez shook his head. “It’s best if I stay away. I agreed that I would help Merikh, but I knew I would be ostracised once everyone was together, and rightly so. Go, enjoy yourself. Get to know those who want to meet you.” Then he gestured his chin towards Nathair. “That serpent Mavka and his bride are nice.”

Zylah let out a solemn sigh, reluctantly nodded, and stood. As if she’d needed the guidance and was happy to follow his directive, she immediately walked to Linh and Nathair. She awkwardly introduced herself, and the little human was quick to smile at her.

For a time, he watched Zylah while picking up on different strings of chatter.

Since the humans had already swarmed around the newest bride’s arrival, and how it was apparently their first time greeting her, they quickly fell into a conversation about how they all met their Duskwalker. Even Gideon had joined them, since he’d been with all the males, and he immediately commented on how big of a fucker Nathair was.

Nathair and Linh juggled having separate conversations with family members, since she translated for him in addition to participating in other conversations. The serpent Mavka finally shooed her off, so he could be a silent participant of conversation, and his bride was dragged away by the others.

He noticed Zylah appeared uncertain over which group to join. She hesitated between the male Mavka who were of her kind, and the females like her.

She eventually folded when she was called by Emerie, and she wandered to the left to join them in the sunlight provided by a gap in the trees. He wondered how she and the redhead were getting along now that they’d been introduced properly, since he knew they’d met before when Zylah lacked humanity.

Ingram and Aleron walked behind Nathair to look at his tail in blatant curiosity of his size. Aleron flared his wings to reveal their true lengths, and Jabez guessed they were about twenty-two feet long, if not longer. Orpheus asked about Merikh’s white armour-like guards, and he removed one to flex his forearm and make his dangerous echidna spines flare.

I wonder if they’re all having a pissing contest or just want to show off their differences.He knew it was the latter when most of the Mavka dared to prick the tips of their fingers on the tips of Merikh’s quills in curiosity.

“I don’t have any cool features like this,” Ingram stated with a fold of his arms and a pout in his voice.

“Neither do I,” Magnar said, scratching at his feathers.

“Although... I am the only one with a pretty beak and defensive tail,” Ingram added in.

“Well, that’s what makes each of us unique,” Orpheus commented as he rolled up his shirt sleeves to expose his forearm fins. “I think Nathair and I were both fed fish while we were young.”

Nathair brought his arm next to Orpheus’ and flared his fin purposefully. Orpheus did the same, although his were much smaller in comparison. Then Orpheus untucked his shirt to pull up the back of it and show the height of the fish fin embedded around his vertebrae. Nathair flared the set that ran down either side of his own spine. They touched each other to create one massive dorsal fin along his back before ending at what appeared to be a humanoid rump that turned into a snake tail.

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