Page 122 of To Trap a Soul

“Attempting to give you what you asked for.”

I thought that had been obvious.

Her cringe, although semi-hidden, deepened. “Was... was that supposed to be akiss?”

“Well, I did press my lips to yours, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, but it felt like I was punched in the mouth by a brick.” She brushed her fingers over her full lips, like she was trying to soothe them. “Why was your mouth so hard?”

Weldir’s mist spread out before quickly sucking back in, as discomfiture trickled through him. “Was it? I can soften my form.”

He stopped the physical part of him from pulling in so tight, and pieces of it flaked off to stick to the rest of his body freely. He leaned in closer to try again, and Lindiwe put her palm over his face to stop him. Inadvertently, she poked his left eye, but he felt no pain, as he never did.

“There’s no need. You said this was something you didn’t want.” Then, with her head to the side, she pulled her hand from his face and grumbled, “You even said it was pointless.”

His essence winced at hearing those words said back to him.

Giving himself a reprieve from using his magic to fully form his face, he let his oily self streak across his body like normal. “I admit my words were callous, and I did not give the idea more thought before speaking.”

Lindiwe peeked at him, her eyes slitting mistrustingly for a moment before softening. “Is that your way of apologising?”

“In some way, yes.” He gave her a little space since she brought her gaze to him fully. “Lindiwe... I am an imperfect being that has no experience with any of this. Matehood.Humans. Emotions. Even just sharing a casual conversation is out of the realm of my aptitude.”

“Then why this now?” She offered a mild laugh, but it lacked any humour, then she went on, “It’s been years since we married, or bonded, or whatever it is you call it. And when we spoke of it...”

Weldir had an inclination that his next words would be important and would weigh heavily on this moment.

“You... have sacrificed much for me,” he started slowly. “You may not realise it, but I do wish for you to be content in this bond. This is something you desire, and therefore, I wish to give it.”

Her brows furrowed with a pained emotion, which gave him the impression he was in trouble and had not said the right thing.

“But you won’t enjoy it.” She fidgeted like she often did when embarrassed.

“I didn’t say that.” He didn’tnotsay it either. “We don’t know until we try.”

He may derive pleasure from it in some way, much in the way he could perceive his emotions. Perceive his world. But yes, largely, this was for her.

I seek for us to form a proper bond,Weldir thought, reaching out with a tendril to push a few of her curls from her eyes.At one point, we had an amicable time when we spoke. I would like that again.

He didn’t want to feel like an outsider with the only person in any existence he was connected to. It never bothered him until her, but he tired of that. Of being alone, totally and utterly, even if he would always remain so.

Because, even with her presence, his lack of true form made anything real entirely impossible.

When she didn’t reply, nor pull away – instead cupping her hands to her chest shyly – Weldir read that as he could continue. This time, when he pulled his physical self to his face, he didn’t yank so tight, so the impacted layers weren’t so hard.

He was slow to lean in this time, being ever watchful of her reaction to know if he should stop. Other than her shoulders turning inwards nervously, Lindiwe didn’t back away even when he pressed his mouth over hers much more gently.

For a moment, they did nothing, and he had no idea how to proceed.

When her head moved but didn’t dip away, revealing she’d donesomethingin return, he realised he had no idea what was going on. He separated his consciousness from his physical self, and like an out-of-body experience he was all too familiar with, he viewed how his form and surrounding mist interacted with her.

This should help...

January 8th, 1738

Lindi flinched when his lips touched hers. She closed her eyes, unsure if she wanted to run away or stay.

Her heart felt as though it was beating a million times per second, her stomach fluttering with butterflies. Uncertainty and nervousness skittered beneath the surface of her skin, causing heat to flush throughout her body.

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