Page 47 of A Soul to Embrace

Are they... searching for Zylah?They had to be, considering they knew she was a female. His ears twitched as he took in the familiarity of their voices, and in the next instant, he figured out who they were.

Well... shit.Jabez covered his lips in thought as he looked off to the side.It’s the fox-skulled Mavka and the dark-haired female.He couldn’t quite remember their names.

His gaze slipped to Zylah, and the antlers on her head.These are her parents.

He winced at that. He doubted the fox-skulled Mavka would remember Jabez’s scent from their fleeting encounter, but he absolutely would become enraged to know whom she was spending time with.

The whole ‘I almost stole your child when she was an infant’ would never blow over. He chuckled at that.I did what I needed to.Despite that, it failed regardless.

That day was on the very long list of days he’d acted rather villainous and knew it.But in times of war...That was always his excuse.And Katerina had recently died.Murdered would be more accurate, and by the actions of their kind, no less.

Regardless, his presence here wouldn’t bode well.

If they discovered him... well, his intention to tell Zylah the truth would come much sooner than he planned.

The couple were almost upon them when Jabez let out a soft growl. “Zylah...” he warned, hoping to get her to move.

Still frozen in place, she shook her head and shrank downwards.

“I don’t know if I can do this on my own,” she muttered quietly, laying a hand over her chest. “I have never spoken to anyone but you.”

“You’ll do great,” he reassured, despite not really having much faith in her social capabilities. “I even think you have more humanity than that Mavka.”

He knew they’d locked gazes with the way her head turned, then her orbs shifted to a brighter yellow at the compliment. She nodded and faced forward just as her orbs reverted back to their normal teal.

She exited the cave on her own.

Jabez followed to the entrance and pressed his back just within the inside hollow to listen in.

Please don’t fuck this up,he mentally pleaded.

He needed more time. He’d barely scratched the surface of his past with her and had only laid out different pieces, like a puzzle waiting to be completed once she had everything.

Not until she knew his reasonings could he share his intentions with her.

Intentions he found himself thinking less and less about...

Shifting into her monstrous form for additional strength and speed, Zylah hesitantly stepped into bright sunlight.

When she saw the two people disturbing her new territory just within the tree line, she instinctually lowered and placed herself in a defensive stance. With one hand against the ground and her knees bent into a crouch, she raised her fur on end in wariness.

Since they were too busy talking to each other to notice Zylah, she tried to decipher the Mavka and human approaching.

The human appeared to be stout in comparison to her male companion, since she only came to the bottom of his ribcage. Her figure was round and curvy, and she was so plump that her breasts and stomach jiggled with each step. Hair so dark it almost appeared black waved around her face and shoulders, while her eyes were a bright brown that changed depths depending on if the light hit them or they were cast in shade.

She was dressed in a cream blouse with a light-brown skirt, and a fluffy, wintry black coat sat around her shoulders. The rounded toe of dark boots pushed up the hem of her dress as she crossed over forest debris.

Once Zylah assessed the little human, her sight moved to the well-dressed Mavka beside her. She knew his skull was that of a fox, thanks to Jabez capturing one to show her. His antlers were unmistakable in their deer-like quality, although much, much larger than her newly evolved, daintier ones.

Despite having no wings, he had a collar of long black feathers around his neck. Other than that, his fur was black with a blue highlight and obviously covered him from neck to toe, much like Zylah. He wore a button-up shirt, black trousers, and even strange boots that left his odd hooflike toes free. She noted the white protruding knuckles on his hands and peeked at her own.

She tilted her head at the orange flame of a curvy woman floating between his antlers. She’d never seen anything strange like that before.

Why would he carry fire with him?From her experience, fire was nasty, despite being alluring to stare at and providing warmth.

The little female glanced up from where she was watching her footing before looking down once more. With lips parting on a quiet gasp, she snapped her head up, eyes wide. She smacked her Mavka companion on the arm with bouncing, rushing steps, causing him to dart his arm away with a surprised grunt.

“Oh my god, Magnar!” the female exclaimed. “There she is!”

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