Page 118 of To Trap a Soul

He found it... demoralising.

The easy laughter, the smiles, the depth of emotion they shared in their stories, the fact that they were able to experience all this in a world he could not touch. Weldir was so far from her, their realms didn’t even collide unless he made it happen by bringing her to him.

He wished he could experience such things with her.

So although her defiance irked him, as he wanted to protect her in his own way, it was how she was with Jabeziryth that truly had his mist agitated. Or maybe he was bothered because she was this waywhileblatantly defying Weldir, likely knowing it upset him.

And the fact that this child of a male was encouraging her did not leave him pleased.

Jabeziryth had no reason to return. He had many fully evolved Demons to familiarise himself with. He had companions, surely.

He didn’t need to be sniffing around Weldir’s out-of-reach mate.

The half-Demon pretended he understood her plight, but he and she were not the same. Lindiwe truly was other. She washis, and that made her special. She was stronger and more beautiful than the Demons or humans when she wielded his magic for those very reasons.

What does he seek from her?Surely he was there under the guise of false pretences.It cannot be for companionship. Not truly.

They both rarely spoke of Weldir, which somehow made the situation worse in his eyes. They were tiptoeing around her bond with him, as if it was something to be avoided, or perhaps ashamed of.

But Jabeziryth did occasionally, although rarely, mention him. Like now, for instance.

He leaned his lithe body against a wall of rock, folded his right leg so his ankle rested over the opposing knee, and placed his interlaced his fingers behind his head to cushion it.

“So, how does one do ‘it’ with a spirit of the void?” Jabeziryth asked casually, dipping his gaze up to the cloudy sky.

“Excuse me? Firstly, what kind of name is that for him?” Lindiwe blanched, causing her nose to scrunch up in a rather cute way and her tongue to stick forward slightly. “And secondly, how dare you ask me something so... so personal!”

He rolled his head to the side to look at her with a cocked brow. “Oh, come on. If you’re his mate, I’m assuming you both have done the nasty. Like how does one fuck a spirit that you can’t touch?” Then Jabeziryth waved to the horizon of trees before them. “Do let the world know. We’re all curious; I think anyone would be.”

A growl rumbled through his realm, deep and quiet.

Why would he be curious?

If he attempts to touch her –whether it be as platonic as her ankle –I will bring her to me before he even has the chance to lay a hand on her.

“I’m not going to dignify your rude and violating question with an answer!” Lindiwe yelled, reaching down while lifting her feet until she found what she wanted. She grabbed a rock and launched it at his head, which smacked him in the temple.

“Ow, fuck!” he barked when his head shunted to the side. “There’s no need to throw things at me like an ill-tempered child.”

“Ill-tempered child?! I should wring your neck.” Then she stood and pointed at him. “You know what? I’m going to do just that.”

He let out a laugh as he tipped his head back, arms once more going behind his head in a relaxed position. He wiggled his back into the crevice as he said, “I’d like to see you try– Uk!”

A thin tentacle shot out from the ground and wrapped around his neck, swaying him side to side. One hand reached up to claw at the choking limb, while a band of Elvish words glowed around his right wrist when he placed his palm against the ground. A combination of grass and moss that was present in the cracks of stone grew. They climbed up her ankles and tripped her so she’d fall to her backside.

Once they both yielded and released their magic, they stared at each other for a short while. Then they both burst into laughter.

“If you must know” – she put her hands up to make air quotation marks – “the ‘spirit of the void’ and I have never actually done it. That question will likely forever stay unanswered.”

She settled back onto her boulder, just as Jabeziryth’s features twisted into a look of disgust. “Seriously? That’s fucking boring, minus the fucking part.” He placed his hands behind his head once more and reclined. “I figured he’d want offspring or something to help him, like what he makes you do.”

Lindiwe opened her mouth, but promptly shut it. She turned away to look at the forest.

She never corrected him, and that at least drew some of Weldir’s faith in her.She still doesn’t trust him.When he looked back on their conversations, she’d wisely shared very little about their bond, their deal in it, or anything that could be considered useful.

She was keeping him emotionally at arm’s length and uninformed, at least in some regard.

But Weldir still didn’t like any of this.

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