Page 56 of To Trap a Soul

“Yeah?” She laughed, bringing them closer so she could nuzzle her cheek against their bony one. “You like the name Nathair?”

Unable to keep himself as apart as he thought he could, he asked through their bond, “Nathair is the name you have chosen, is it?”

Although she kept swimming, her smile instantly fell. She kept her eyes on them, knowing there was no point in searching for Weldir when he wasn’t truly there. He almost wanted to wince with how quickly he’d stolen her fun.

“Is that suitable for you?” Her tone was cold, which was such a contrast to the uplifted coos of just a second ago.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have intervened after all.

“I take no issue with the name. It’s nice that we can call them something proper.”

Her features softened and didn’t appear so harsh.

“I think so too. I just... it was hard to figure out what to name them, but Nathair means snake or serpent, which I think is fitting for them.”

“This is an excellent name, then.” He hoped he’d been named with such care by his mother, just as Lindiwe had done for their offspring. “But it has always been your choice. You’re the one who will call and interact with them the most.”

Her lips puckered as her eyes squinted in that suspicious manner of hers. She placed their offspring upon her chest as she stroked backwards through the water, her expression turning bland.

“Is that why you didn’t offer one?”

“Precisely,” he answered, as he lifted his hands upwards towards the sky with his palms flat towards the ground, which rumbled as he grew a mountain peak. “I also know little about humans and what they prefer to be called. I don’t even know many Elven names.”

Weldir knew no one.

Lindiwe was his only friend, his mate.

Only recently had he begun exploring human memories through their souls. He didn’t know how they came to be named, if there was significance or not, only that they’d been gifted one and inherited another.

Weldir paused for a moment as he looked up at the black sky of his realm.

“What does your name mean?” he asked quietly, wondering of its importance.

Her lips thinned as she looked down at Nathair, who snapped their maw at her playfully. She was slow to answer.

“Awaited,” she muttered quietly. “My mother waited a long time for me, and my birthing wasn’t easy. Even though theytried, there were no others before or after me. She loved me quite dearly for that reason.”

Liquid welled in her eyes before she quickly batted away her tears. She turned and swam for the shore, and the joy of watching them play was taken from him.

Even though he had an inclination he was the reason she’d abruptly stopped, he was still pleased to have learned something new about his mysterious mate.

I have waited a long time as well.

For someone, anyone, to be his companion.

January 9th, 1690

Oh shit, where did they go?!Lindi panicked as she sprinted through the forest in the direction Nathair had slithered off to.

One minute they’d been wrapped around her shoulders, both of them a little damp from their swim, and the next Nathair had leapt off with a snarl. She’d had a split second to see and hear them thump against the dirt before they shot through a patch of bushes with a rustle.

Even though the shrubbery had been covered in thorns, she’d climbed through it in search of Nathair, but they’d already wriggled away. For the past few minutes, she’d been chasing what she hoped were their long and thick tracks.

She couldn’t believe they’d suddenly taken off on her.

She’d been too distracted after giving them their name, and annoyed by Weldir inviting himself to the moment, that she hadn’t been listening to her environment. But now that she was searching for them, evenshe, with her weak human ears, could hear the rustle and clomps of an animal’s feet in the distance.

Using branches to propel herself forward, and occasionally breaking them to get past, she yelled, “How am I supposed to find them again?!”

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