Page 82 of To Trap a Soul

“Tenebris is within my stomach”– she already knew this –“and it has been as empty as the rest of me, which you have seen. I am working to rectify that, especially after Rökul’s assistance.”

She could only imagine what he meant. “Are you making stars?”

Is that how the ones above her had been formed? Had a divine being really made them? And was she simply resting in their stomach as they spoke? To create one’s own realm, what would that entail?

“I... have not tried to make any. I can. I don’t imagine it would be hard to make glittering dots in the distance.”

“So you don’t know what the stars are made of?” she asked, looking up at them in the inky sky with wonder.

“I do. Most are giant balls of hot hydrogen gas, although they can be made of other gases. Science is an encouraged studyamong the Elysians. Some of it I know, some of it I don’t. I only received trickles of information within my prism.”

Prism. She’d heard Weldir use that term before, but had never asked about it. She wasn’t going to ask now, either, not when she had other questions.

With her cheeks heating because she didn’t understand science at all, or what hydrogen was, she asked, “Can you describe for me what you’re creating then? If not the wonder of stars.”

A small silence bled through the bond.

Lindi’s ears began to heat instead.Is it because I’ve never done this before? Or never really tried to speak with him?Although she tried to be more forthcoming, Lindi still found it hard. She didn’t know him, wasn’t all that trusting of him, and he felt so, so far away.

It was hard to talk to someone she couldn’t see, couldn’t touch, couldn’t smell. All she could do was hear him, but his detached nature made even that difficult.

“Sure, Lindiwe. I can describe what I have made of Tenebris so far.”

Lowering her head to hide her face behind the curtain of her unbound tresses of her bangs, she watched Orson curl their back to get comfortable as she waited for Weldir’s decadent voice to bless her ears.

It was like being read a story.

With every detail Weldir described, he watched his mate’s eyelids slowly droop before eventually drifting shut. She fell asleep to the sound of his voice, and something about that left a tingle in the back of his consciousness. It was somethingpleasant, and he hoped she’d enjoyed the narrative of his world, while he also tried to ignore the nagging doubt that perhaps he’d bored her.

If only I could reach through this viewing disc and lie her down comfortably.

She looked cramped with her back against the wall and her body slipping to the right, which was the way her head had fallen. Orson remained cuddled in her lap with her lithe arms around them to keep them secure.

He looked over her summer outfit, consisting of a dirt-stained cream tunic and brown breeches. From the memories he’d sifted through, women wearing such masculine attire was uncommon for the humans – although not so for the Elvish. He figured she’d forgone dresses for ease of travel.

Her boots lay next to her, sheltered from the wet that had long passed. They were exceptionally worn. Her hair was neat, recently washed and brushed and, although her bangs were down, the rest had been thrown up in some kind of simple updo that created a fluffy cloud on the back of her head. She’d seemed content to use its softness against the hardness of the uneven rock behind her.

With his mind, he directed the disc to zero in on her relaxed face so he could inspect it in closer detail.

Her long, dark, and curling lashes created a fan of shadow over her cheeks. Her round nose tip had the tiniest mar of soot on it, likely from some stray ash fluttering away from her dying campfire. Her lips were open just slightly, revealing even teeth and a pink little tongue as she gave light, steady breaths of sleep.

Her cheekbones were high, her jaw subtly defined, while her brows were arched and prominent. Her features were... distinctive, from what he could gather, and exceptionally feminine. Made more so by her full, soft-looking lips, and the smooth quality of her brown skin.

Her beauty is quite beguiling.The further he looked through human memories of the souls trapped within Tenebris, the more he found her incomparable.

Even her eyes, although hidden from him in that moment, were such a rich brown with amber flecks in them that they looked like pools of molten liquid.

And that gaze of hers... he’d seen it harden over the years.

She used to appear so wide-eyed and bewildered, so lost and unsure. Now, her eyes held a steadiness in them he found quite attractive. She knew what she wanted, what she wanted to do, and no longer seemed to be denying herself.

Lindiwe’s eyes flickered open just long enough that she, half aware, repositioned herself so she was lying upon the rock on her side. She gathered Orson to her chest and snuggled them with her nose buried into the back of their neck. Once more, her eyelids drifted closed with her knees pulled up around Orson.

I like watching her interact with our offspring.

She gave them both affection, despite Nathair’s unwillingness to reciprocate or allow her close enough to even pat his back. He appreciated the lengths she was going to, tending to them in her own way, as it was more than he had expected of her, or any human mate.

She’s keeping this one young to remain with them for as long as possible.He found that oddly tender.

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