A Soul to Embrace (Duskwalker Brides #8)

Chapter 10

With night shielding where she stood hidden in shadow, Zylah watched as Jabez climbed the side of the cornfield village’s walls.

He moved effortlessly, utilising both his hands and feet like a regular Demon to grip at the stakes of logs. His long hair swished and swayed behind him, while his cloak fluttered around his body with each pull up of his strong arms. When he was at the top of the wall, he paused to check the surrounding area within the town before jumping down.

Then Zylah was alone.

Her snout bounced as she took in wafts of strange smoke – some sweet, some musky. Jabez didn’t cook any meat he hunted, but he did occasionally boil vegetables and fruits in a pot he placed over his campfire. These smokes smelt similar, but as if their contents were more complex.

Just beyond the wall, muted chatter warbled in her ears – like the humans were speaking softly whilst it was dark.

She stepped closer in curiosity, and her pawed feet crunched in the grass. Her snout pointed one way and then the other, before it lifted to the top of the wooden stakes.

I want to know what it’s like inside. She’d only ever entered a human dwelling once, and she’d been enraged the entire time. Her memory of it was foggy.

Although she hadn’t understood what the swollen, painful ache behind her sternum had meant, she’d come to learn what it was called. How weighing it could feel. Zylah had been... lonely. Humans lived together, and she’d longed to be part of such a way of life. To not be discarded within the forest like a creature, but someone worth being in the presence of.

That feeling had dissipated with Jabez’s companionship. The more they spoke, the warmer her chest radiated. She could no longer imagine not being by the male’s side.

Zylah took another step towards the village, her feet itching to explore. She touched the wall, and her claws dug into the rough timber as she hesitated. He always tells me to wait outside. She chittered to herself, nervous, excited, and irritated all at once. I’m smart now. I... I won’t get caught if I have a peek.

Even Jabez complimented Zylah’s abilities. Surely if he could go into the village, so could she. She didn’t understand why she needed to wait outside anymore.

With her mind made up, she followed the same path as Jabez. Once she climbed to the top, she assessed over the other side of the wall, unsure of what he searched for but observing it was empty. She jumped down, her knees bending to take the worst of her fall, and darted her head in every direction when she noticed how different just a simple wall could make the world.

She quickly followed his scent. Stalking low down some kind of path on her hands and feet, she looked at the strange, fabricated environment with wonder.

Buildings lined each side, tall, daunting, and larger than she could have ever imagined. She brushed her fingertips along the nearest wall built with some kind of rectangular stones and dried clay, noting the surrounding roofs were made of straw or tiles.

Zylah sniffed at windows to take in the scents that bled out from the cracks, finding each human smelt different, as did every home. Many windows were covered with cloth, as if they wished for privacy or to hide, while a few were just dark and appeared empty. When she came across ones with firelight and no visual shield, she braved peeking inside to see all sorts of new and interesting things.

Little humans sat down at a dark wooden table with bigger humans speaking to them. Are they the younglings Jabez told me of? She didn’t know if she found them cute or not, as they looked fairly odd to her. Especially the chubby, tiny thing who could barely even sit upright on their own in some kind of tall seat.

What a defenceless thing. She took in the way the adult female wiped at the youngling’s overly messy face. The presumed father was busy trying to keep the other two from fighting with hushed but deep commands. Is this what a... family looks like?

One of her novels had touched on such subjects, although with much strain. This family appeared healthy and happy, and her orbs shifted into a bright green as she inspected them.

The colour startled her, as she’d never seen it before, nor did she know what it meant, and she shook her head while pushing off from the wall. She’d also been stationary for far too long, so she quickly moved on.

She sniffed at the cool, aroma-filled air to follow Jabez.

Just as she reached the end of the path, she paused when she heard movement, like footsteps and heavy material shifting. She shuffled back, and two male guards wearing silver breastplates on top of leather armour passed her hiding place.

Curious about them, and about human soldiers, she stuck her head out to watch them walk away from behind. Both wore swords at their waists and had some kind of helmet over their heads. Their footsteps were quieter than the clunking of their swords and the creaking of their leather armour.

She scratched at the side of her snout. They aren’t doing a very good job. They hadn’t even managed to sniff Zylah less than a few feet from them! Perhaps their noses aren’t as good as mine.

Hers was even better than Jabez’s.

Then again... I’m better at everything than Jabez. She tried not to tell him that, as he was always quite offended whenever she stated such truths. Well, maybe not everything. He was better at hunting, sneaking, and speaking English than her, considering he taught her everything she knew, but she thought there was a high possibility she might exceed him in all aspects one day.

She kind of liked the idea of that. He is very confident. Currently she could run circles around him, but she’d like to do that metaphorically as much as physically.

Realising she was musing on Jabez rather than exploring the village, Zylah tentatively stepped out onto a much wider path. She instinctually slunk low to crawl on her hands and feet, much like how they hunted to avoid being seen.

Each of the buildings stole her curiosity, as they appeared so unique and yet somehow the same. She didn’t understand how Jabez could locate anything when they all had straw or tiled roofing, and similar looking walls. There were no signs to explain what each building contained.

When a different pair of soldiers appeared on the path ahead of her, she snuck down a thinner path like the one before. They patrolled past without ever noticing her presence, and she once more mused on their inability to sense her.

See?! I am perfectly fine walking through the village.

Confidence put a spring in her steps, and she walked more self-assured on the wider path. The buildings began to change, as if they were designed to be larger. When the scent of more soldiers approaching drifted to her from beyond, she hid in a narrow gap once more with a quiet giggle.

Just as she was about to leave her hiding spot, the fur on the nape of her neck stood on end when something dropped down behind her.

“Zylah,” a body-tingling voice growled in a low and deep tone, causing her head to droop and her shoulders to lift. She froze, as if that would conceal her despite being caught. “I told you to wait outside the village.”

With her orbs shifting to white, she chittered nervously as she turned around. Jabez stood before her, and her shoulders lifted higher at the disapproving scowl on his handsome features.

“But I wanted to see,” she said, shaking her head around apprehensively.

He darted forward to cover the end of her snout and placed a finger over his lips. His red eyes narrowed at her skull, and the angry glint in them made her stomach knot.

“Quiet,” he whispered, making her realise he’d been speaking in a hushed tone the entire time. “I know you wanted to see, but coming here is dangerous for you.”

Says the male that tricked me into destroying a different village.

Zylah turned her head away defiantly. “I didn’t get hurt or seen.”

Surprisingly, he placed his hand on top of her skull and turned her back to him. He’d pulled his hood further down his face, as if to better hide in the darkness. She could no longer see his eyes clearly, but his mouth remained tight.

“It’s not about you being seen; I knew you could remain hidden.”

Just as he opened his mouth to continue, he placed a single finger over his lips again and she was beginning to realise this meant he wanted her to stay quiet. Two soldiers passed their hiding spot, and Jabez leapt closer to cover her orbs with both his hands to hide their light.

A tremor raced down her spine at the warmth of his large hands on her skull, and the way his strong chest pressed against the tip of her snout. Her mouth instantly watered at his delectable scent as it slipped straight into her nose hole on each inhale. Her breaths deepened to take in larger draws, while her mind grew muddy and momentarily lost the ability to sense around her as joy flittered inside her entire being.

Once they were gone, he removed his hands with a sigh, bringing her back to reality.

Energy continued to buzz around her bloodstream, her lungs tight and her mind dozy as she peered up at his attractive face. Hehe! she giggled in her mind. He touched me! Okay, maybe only her face, but it was so utterly satisfying that she didn’t care it was so meagre.

“Look, we’ll speak of this after we leave.” He eyed her over before adding, “It’ll be best if we stay on the ground, rather than scale the buildings. You may be too heavy to be light-footed.”

With that, he waved his hand and directed for her to follow. Her giddiness died at his sternness.

They went back the way Zylah originally came, and she constantly bumped up against his back, trying to look over his shoulder whenever he paused at the end of a narrow pathway. He often looked over his shoulder at her with a disapproving frown when she did so, causing her to back up.

They didn’t spot a single soldier or human, and not once were they caught as they crept towards the protective wall. The moment they climbed outside of the village, they walked to where her original hiding spot had been, at the edge of the cornfield.

Before he could scold her, Zylah stated, “See? I knew I could do it.”

She put space between them and stood up straight, and only folded her arms because he did. She wouldn’t let him bully her into feeling bad when nothing had gone wrong.

He loosened his arms and gave a deep huff of vexation as he pushed back the hood of his cloak. He brushed his fingers through the strands of his hair to neaten it before merely shaking his head.

For some reason, she found the obvious disappointment more harrowing than a scolding.

“Where I first climbed into the village is a housing district. What if you had smelt blood or fear?” he asked with a hissy bite to his tone, waving his hands to the side, then lifting them with tensed fingers to show his ire. “Children, younglings... they often have nightmares, and so do human adults. At night, they fear Demons coming to eat them in their sleep.”

Refusing to unfold her arms in petty reluctance, her hands balled into fists when she couldn’t deny... that may have been bad.

If I had smelt blood or fear... It’s true, she may have succumbed to hunger, but it had to be strong and sudden to send her into a craze now.

“I would have just covered my nose hole like I usually do.”

His brows narrowed further, and his eyes took on a mean glint. She resisted the urge to chitter in reaction to his darkening gaze.

“You also have to take into consideration that humans are a clumsy species. They often hurt themselves.” His hands fell before he shook his head again. “Most women often bleed freely once a month as well. I know you’re able to handle small and fleeting whiffs of blood now, but if you were stuck down a tight path of houses with many human women going through such a part of their fertility cycle, you would’ve been trapped with that scent. What then, Zylah?”

Her arms finally fell, just as the reddish pink of shame lifted into her sight. She scratched at her arm when she realised what she’d done could have led to horrible consequences.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t...” she started, her voice small.

Jabez cut her off. “You’ve asked me to not let you attack humans again if I can help it. Yet you refuse to stay back at the cave where it is safest and demand that you accompany me, despite all these things being present outside village walls. The wooden stakes aren’t just there for protection; they also form a barrier of scent and sound. But it’s not infallible, Zylah.”

Unable to respond, her sight fell upon the two bulky satchels strapped to his body. Not only had he managed to sneak inside the village effortlessly, it appeared he’d finished his tasks quickly before he found her.

She’d been hoping to catch up to him and help.

When he said nothing, her sight flicked up to his eyes to find his brows were narrowed at her beseechingly. The expression was strange upon his usually hardened features, as if he truly couldn’t understand why she’d allowed such a risk. He looked... deeply concerned , and that wasn’t something she was used to seeing from him.

“I didn’t think of all that,” she answered, turning her skull away as she subtly hugged her stomach. “What is a fertility cycle?” She’d never heard of such a thing.

“Don’t change the subject,” he growled out, his ears darting back in anger.

It made her want to shy away from him. He was rarely angry – only ever calm, collected, and almost... emotionless.

“I’m sorry!” she whined, throwing her hands forward. “I just wanted to see what it was like inside. You have spoken about the humans, their markets, their homes, but I didn’t know what it all looked like.” She scratched at her arm self-consciously. “I couldn’t imagine it, not even when the stories in my books detailed them. I wanted to understand.”

“You Mavka and your curiosity,” he bit out, before turning. “Let’s head back to the cave.”

He was still furious, considering his ears refused to spring back to their normal height and were tight with strain. Even his steps were more like stomps as she followed him, a whimper threatening to crush her chest.

The forest was illuminated purely by her sight, and she longed for the reappearance of the moon to brighten it even further. Jabez stated it changed monthly, explaining this flow of time to her so she could count the year by its twelve full moons.

The fresh, cold powder of winter’s snowfall was half a foot thick at first, but became minimal the further to the coast they traversed. Their mountain was small, and it resembled a string of rocky hills.

The walk felt gruelling and lengthy under the weight of her guilt. Minutes passed, and each silent one with a fuming Jabez storming forward only made time seem to drag on.

When he purposefully slowed to force her to his side, he finally broke his silence.

“You asked about fertility cycles,” he muttered in a low voice. His ire was still present but had softened in the half an hour, if not more, that had passed.

Her head perked up at the conversation, as she was eager to add to her knowledge. He is going to tell me?

“It is something females of many species go through. For humans, they bleed midway through their cycle, and the other half they become fertile. It’s how they produce children. For some animals, that can be different; their blood and fertility happen at the same time, or right after each other. It solely depends on the species. It’s something you should be conscious about, as you don’t like to harm any creature. Knowing this will help prevent you from doing so.”

“What about Mavka?” she asked, tilting her head.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye before stating plainly, “I can’t answer that.”

She took a few steps forward to be partially in front of him just so she could see his face. “Why not?”

His expression turned dull, his eyelids lowering to show indifference. “Because you are the only female Mavka I’ve ever heard of. From my knowledge, the rest of your kind are all males.”

That was a rather curious thing. She lifted her head enough to view the canopy of bare branches above them in thought.

A giddiness had her tapping a claw against the side of her bony snout. “So there is something you don’t know about us?”

“There are many things I don’t know. I’ve lived a long time, but that doesn’t mean I know everything. The world is ever-changing, and tomorrow may be different from a decade from now.”

She hummed in answer. At first, she’d thought Jabez to be all knowing because he’d taught her so much, but this wasn’t the first time he’d been stumped by one of her questions. She liked that he was willing to admit it.

“Do Demons go through such a thing?” she asked.

Jabez shrugged. “Depends on the Demon and their evolution. Some females go through a ‘heat’ cycle, but the closer they are to completion, the less likely that will happen. They start to become like the humanoids they eat, whether that be human or Elf. However, that isn’t always the case, and some females continue to have one. Demons and Mavka are similar in that they start to become what they eat, although for Mavka, it’s mostly limited to their intelligence. I’ve concluded in my studies that you will never lose your fur and your skull will never grow flesh, nor will it change into anything humanoid.”

Zylah took everything in while nodding her head to show she was able to comprehend it all.

“I saw many interesting things in the village,” Zylah said coyly, hoping it didn’t remind him of his earlier ire.

“I’m sure you did,” he answered, shuffling one of the satchels on his shoulder. “Do you want to talk about them so I can explain?”

“No. I understood them. It was nice to see those things in person.”

He nodded before wordlessly leading their return home.

The silence wasn’t heavy like before.

Just as the sun was rising, dawn coming to touch the world and shower it in light, Zylah’s sight shifted to bright yellow in joy as she remembered her rebellious adventure.

Tonight was fun.

Still wearing his cloak in case he accidentally knelt in the morning sunlight, Jabez rolled out his newly acquired bedroll. His senses were homed in on the female Mavka sitting in his periphery with her knees propped up and excitedly flicking through pages. Each book he’d acquired for her was of a different genre and choosing had taken up most of his time in the village.

She wasn’t very keen on reading stories of war and history, so he’d chosen those with less gory content.

One was of gruesome but heartfelt fairytales, and he was curious to see how she’d question him on unknown and fictitious creatures such as dragons or centaurs. Two others were of adventures throughout fabled kingdoms, apparently part of some kind of unfinished series – the books appeared new, as if someone had chosen to be an author in this dark era. Lastly, he’d taken a more scientific book about herbs and animals, so she had a better understanding of the world she lived in.

Zylah had been rather giddy to receive them. Her claws had twitched with excitement at each one he pulled from his satchel bags.

He eyed her growing pile that had already been six books tall. She really likes to read, he thought with humour.

She was already seven pages deep by the time he set up a bedroll for her as well. Then he collected the blanket and pillow he’d taken for her and left them at the head of the roll.

Zylah shifted awkwardly, her shoulders lifting. “Can it be closer?” Her voice was higher pitched than normal.

Jabez looked at the large gap he’d left between their rolls and considered it. The idea left him uncomfortable. Her choosing to lie beside him of her own volition was different to him making accommodations for her to do so.

He didn’t wish to blur the lines of their companionship.

His brows furrowed deeply. If I don’t, she’ll likely sleep on the ground just to be next to me. Which would defeat the purpose of him procuring the bedroll in the first place. With a huff and jagged movements to highlight his displeasure, he shifted it much closer but made sure they weren’t touching.

“There. Better?” he bit out, only for his forced annoyance to die when her little tail tuft wiggled in delight. He wished it hadn’t been noticeable from his view of her side profile, as his cheeks warmed at seeing it.

“Yes. Much better,” she chirped happily, before returning to her book.

Defeated by the night, and just by her, he plonked his backside on his own bedroll and pulled a green apple from his bag. His sharp fangs bit through it like butter, and the extra crunch in each bite combined with the sour-sweet taste was satisfying.

He hadn’t grabbed as much food as usual since all the items he’d obtained for her had taken up most of the space. He’d considered stealing more material to make her a new dress, so she had something to change into, but just couldn’t fit it. He also didn’t like leaving her outside of the village by herself for long periods in case a Demon came.

As time went on, Jabez found he was becoming rather... protective of her. Apprehensive as well, which didn’t coincide with the fact that her presence was oddly soothing for him.

I should have known she’d follow me inside one night. So foolish.

Once she’d been able to fully communicate her wishes to him, she’d asked that Jabez not make her kill humans again. He’d argued with her on that front, considering the more she consumed, the more advanced she’d become, but she didn’t care. The idea apparently made her feel ‘sick in the heart,’ as she put it.

Now that she was able to voice her lack of consent on the matter, he’d thrown the idea out.

So now, even though he disagreed, he would attempt to help her no longer rampage against any humans. Even Demonslayers, should they come upon them. He already expressed he may not be able to help her in that matter, as Demonslayers attacked first without a shred of self-preservation.

She doesn’t wish to harm Demons, either. He had a feeling that was due to Jabez being a half-Demon himself. She really is a strange Mavka. Then again, their entire species was made up of fucking oddballs.

“What’s a prost... itute?” Zylah asked, tilting her head one way and then the other as she assessed the new word on the page.

Sucking in a sudden, shocked gasp, Jabez choked on a mouthful of apple when it went down his windpipe. His chest burned as he bashed on it and coughed to dislodge the chunk of fruit, hacking until it flung past his fangs.

“What?” she asked, lifting her skull towards him. “The hero of this story is speaking with one about some special information she may have. A secret.”

“I’ll explain later,” he wheezed, refusing to answer. “Just finish the book first.”

She let out a huff through her nose hole and shrugged. She reached for her dictionary, but he doubted the word was in there if she hadn’t come across it yet. Unless she just didn’t understand the word and its meaning at the time.

He reached forward and slapped his hand on top of the dark-green hardbound book. He hated the way his ears darted back and his cheeks heated at the simple thought of her learning about this topic, especially as he couldn’t fathom as to why it made him uncomfortable.

“I told you there are a few things I won’t teach you.” Anything of a sexual or romantic notion would be avoided, so as to not put silly ideas in her head. “This is one of those things. I know the definition, and it pertains to words I have refused to explain. Those that require... further depth and demonstrations.”

Zylah licked the inside of her mouth, which he took as her way of pouting. “But how will I understand this scene if you do not explain it?”

“It is a woman who prefers the company of men.” That was all he’d say on the matter.

“Then how would she gain secrets?” she asked curiously.

“Because her occupation has a tendency to make men relaxed and stupid. Many prostitutes are often used as a place to lay troubled minds.”

“Is this solely a feminine role?”

Jabez sighed when strain flared at his temples, and he pulled back to lean against the cave wall. “No, not always. There are males who do this as well, although I think that is less common within humans. I know Demon males do.”

She hummed in thought and accepted his vague answers before burying her face back in the book. Only to lift her head once more.

“Did you ever meet with prostitutes?”

Jabez closed his eyes in mortification and tilted his head back until the ends of his horns prevented him from going further. Someone strike me down now. He opened his gaze to the ceiling.

“No. I had other means. Those females would be considered concubines.”

“What’s a–”

“It’s a similar role, except the female only keeps the company of one man.” He purposefully left out that they usually tended to someone in a position of power.

Not that he’d had one for nearly two centuries – before Katerina, to be exact. Jealous little female wouldn’t share. He hadn’t particularly minded, as he’d grown disinterested in bedding Demons who had ulterior motives.

“Did you speak with them?”

Please. Someone strike me.

“No. I’m not the kind of person to share my thoughts with others.” Jabez had always found it hard to lay his heart and sins bare to anyone.

Not even Merikh had been gifted the worst of his dark thoughts. Sharing from the depths of the hollowed-out hole where his heart should be... he was rather uncompromising on the matter.

Satisfied, Zylah returned to the story, only for her head to perk up seconds later. His ears pricked higher in alert when she darted her skull towards the entryway.

“I hear creatures approaching,” she stated quietly.

At first, Jabez heard nothing. Then, in the distance, footsteps crunching within the forest became loud enough for him to detect. He couldn’t scent them, but he figured Zylah could by the way she sniffed the air.

He quickly propped himself into a defensive position while eyeing their protective barrier of sun. If it was a Demon, they were safe for many hours. I doubt they’re humans. If they were, they could only be Demonslayers foolish enough to come to these hills.

The stronghold wasn’t that far to the west from here, after all.

Jabez had picked this small mountainous location purposefully, as there were fewer Demons in the area. It was far enough away that Demonslayers approaching would be infrequent, but close enough to the stronghold that it’d give quite a few Demons a spook about choosing this as their home.

Only more advanced Demons chose this area, which meant they were wise enough to leave them the fuck alone.

It was also the only stronghold connected to an Anzúli temple in all of Austrális. Jabez knew it to be the western temple, as each section of this continent had just one: northern, southern, eastern, and western.

“I can’t smell them yet,” Jabez stated as he flicked his hood over his head, readying himself for any potential confrontation. The bright sun showered this area heavily and left him incapable of walking out without protection. “Can you decipher what species they are?”

Zylah carefully placed her book against the ground and hopped into a crouch to crawl closer. Just as she went to poke her head out, he grabbed the back of her dress to stop her so she didn’t give away their position just yet.

“One scent is strange,” she stated, twisting her head in a show of puzzlement. “It smells human, but not. The other...” She chittered before sinking back into the cave and darted her skull to him. “The other is Mavka.”

Jabez cursed under his breath.

“Does it smell like the ones you’ve met?” he asked, shoving his hood over his head more to hide his identity, not that it helped.

“No. They smell different.”

Her answer didn’t particularly matter. No Mavka would be pleased to see he was still alive. Unless it’s Orpheus or the feline Mavka, I doubt they’ll recognise my scent. He just needed to remain hidden, and they’d likely think he was some strange Demon.

“Perhaps now would be the time to tell you I don’t have an amazing relationship with your kind,” he admitted, causing her orbs to shift to dark yellow. “You will have to speak to them without me and make them leave. Do you think you can do that?”

“Why–”

Before she could finish, a stick breaking close by stole their attention. Those approaching were doing so steadily.

“Are you sure she’s this way?” a woman’s quiet voice drifted over the distance.

A frown pinched his forehead when he tried to take in their scents, but it was hard to detect them past Zylah’s gentle tangle of jasmine and violets. His nostrils were also stained with the smell of humans, cooked food, and straw roofing.

But they were familiar, and he tried to figure out who exactly they were.

“Her scent is strong now,” a male answered, his voice gruff, deep, and very inhuman.

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...