A Soul to Embrace (Duskwalker Brides #8)

Chapter 13

When Zylah woke, her mind stayed groggy and her body lay limp with lethargy. She struggled to wade through the blur of the last day, and the disorientation was only eased by the warmth and scent surrounding her. She buried her skull into the masculine cushion before her as she tried to bring herself out of her muddled thoughts.

She found it hard to let go, as if the only thing anchoring her in calmness was the male before her. His heartbeat was gentle and steady, his breaths even.

She managed to lift the coverings from her head and look up without disturbing him. With her shoulders nestled between his lax arms, she took in the way he rested against the bedding.

He lacked a pillow, and most of the blanket was resting over her. There were noticeable dark lines under the inner creases of his closed eyes, as if he was exhausted and had only just recently fallen asleep.

The shaved part of his scalp was visible since the long strands of his hair were brushed back and pooled beneath the side of his head. One of his dark, segmented horns was tangled in his hair, while the other was hidden away. She noticed how his long white eyelashes framed his cheeks with spiked shadows, and they looked even more delicate up close.

He’s very pretty, she thought as her sight dipped to his parted lips. They released quiet breaths that rhythmically pressed his pectoral muscles into her. His jagged, mean fangs were just visible past the soft lips she was moments from reaching up to pet.

It took her too long to notice that his chest was bare, and that waking like this was unusual for them. His back was even towards the entrance of the cave, when usually he slept with it against the wall protectively.

I like this. She adored how they were lying together.

Bright yellow flickered into her sight as joy overcame her, and she squirmed a little to get closer. He’s so warm. His soft, smooth skin tingled her straying fingertips as she touched the hard muscles going to his back.

Then the reality of the last day came to mind.

I... the sickness! she recalled with a horrified whine.

White invaded her sight, and she gasped before shoving herself away. She scrambled until her back met the cold wall of the cave, and she flinched in surprise when it felt like the wall struck her; she was still affected by the residual fever from earlier.

Jabez grunted in surprise as her shove pushed him to his back, and he quickly sat up as well. He opened his eyes into tight, tired slits, and the wrinkled creases under them deepened.

With her heart racing in her chest, Zylah cupped her hands to her breasts while shaking her head. He saw it! She didn’t want to be seen like that! She reached up to grip her antlers as she remembered how she’d acted, how she’d clung to him, squirmed against him, licked him.

Reddish pink lifted into her sight in mortification at the same time tears began to float around her vision. I didn’t want him to see it.

“I’m sorry,” she cried, covering her face in disbelief.

Why couldn’t he have just stayed away a little longer? Why did it feel like it’d gone on for longer than she was used to? Especially since the sun was bright, as if noon had come and gone.

Silence greeted her apology, and she tried to make herself as small as possible against the wall. With her shoulders turning inwards and her feet overlapping, she refused to look at him.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated.

“How often does this happen?” he asked, his voice stern but croaky from sleep.

She whimpered before answering. “Winter and summer. I don’t know why.”

He let out a loud expire and material shifted. She managed to brave peeking to watch him don his shirt once more. However, she also took in the tangled mess that was their sleeping beds, and how his spare shirt, usually hidden away in a bag, revealed she’d retrieved it like a crazed animal seeking his scent.

Oh no, she thought, hiding her face once more. Why did she do that? What else happened that she couldn’t remember through the fog of her memories?

“Calm down, Zylah,” Jabez stated, his voice surprisingly soft and kind. “It’s normal. This isn’t the first time I’ve experienced a female going through this.” Then he grumbled to himself, “My first time remaining present, though.”

“So... you know?” She was both relieved by that knowledge, and uncomfortable.

“Do you remember how I spoke to you about the differences in fertility cycles for humans and Demons? It appears you have more of a Demon nature regarding this. It’s... unpleasant for unmated females.” He glanced at her momentarily, but she registered an awkward, uncomfortable glint to his gaze as he averted it. “Your emotions are heightened and I’m sure you’re feeling very sensitive right now.”

“Did you know...?” she asked, her shoulders turning inwards even more until her back stretched taut.

“No,” he answered immediately.

Zylah gasped when he approached and pushed her back up against the wall, but it prevented her from getting away. He merely placed his hand on the crown of her skull, shocking her into lowering her arms.

“You are the first female Mavka I’ve ever met. I didn’t know this would happen.”

He appeared tired, and there was noticeable strain in his handsome features. Yet he offered her a warm, and likely sympathetic, smile. It quickly died, and he removed his hand while remaining crouched in front of her.

Despite everything, her tears only floated faster.

She always had this horrible feeling afterwards that something terrible could have happened to her. She hated that feeling usually, and yet it made her entirely beholden to him in that moment.

He’d kept her safe, especially in this wide-open cave. She’d liked her burrow because it’d been small and easy to curl up in when she was like that.

“Thank you.” She didn’t know what she was thanking him about, but it was all she could muster.

I still feel so strange.

“It’s fine,” he answered. “But I do think it’s time we leave.”

“L-leave?” She looked around the cave... their home. “Why? I don’t want to leave.”

“I’ve decided it’s time you come to know yourself a little better, but I can’t answer those important questions.” His head turned to the side as he peered towards the wall. “I know someone who will aid you, and she will be a more fitting person to teach you about what’s just happened and why.”

“But you said you knew!” she argued. “That you’ve... seen it before.”

He released a sigh as he covered his face with a palm and then dug his fingers into his closed eyes. “I guess the truth is that I won’t answer these questions for you.” Jabez stood and retrieved one of the two bags available, then began to collect his personal items. “Pack light. I know you’ll want to bring all your books, but it’s best you leave most of them behind.”

“Why?” Her books were important to her. Each one had been a gift from him and had helped her gain knowledge. They were so precious to her, she thought she would protect them with her life.

“Because it’s unwise to pack heavy when you are travelling through the Veil. I won’t even be bringing our bedding. Just food and my shirt.”

“We’re going to the Veil?” she asked, her voice raspy with surprise.

She’d only ever entered it to follow the bright light that led her to him. She mostly refrained from going in after being attacked by Demons multiple times.

Too much was happening too fast, and Zylah didn’t know how to react. Why did they have to leave now? Why couldn’t they bring everything? Why must they go into the Veil? It was all so sudden, but she could sense the urgency in him.

He didn’t even appear to have slept properly, and she wondered if he had at all the previous day he’d been gone. The fact he was choosing not to rest beforehand was even more alarming.

Her sight flickered with blue. Why do I feel like I did something wrong?

“We’re going to the inner ring, to be exact,” he stated. With his back to her, he reached for one of the blankets and pulled it closer. He whipped out his scissors and cut two holes in it before coming over to her. “It’s not the most suitable cloak, but it should hide your skull from a distance and should keep you warm during the night.”

He threw it around her shoulders and then tied the ends around her neck.

She fingered the thin brown material. “But I don’t feel the cold.”

His red eyes bore into her orbs as his lips flattened. “No, not usually, but I’m guessing your temperature is higher than normal. This is just a preventative measure in case the cold suddenly affects you.”

Zylah grumbled at that, wishing the cold pang in her heart would settle. See? He obviously knows about this and refuses to tell me. Why couldn’t he just explain it? She didn’t want to go see a...

Her skull jerked back in realisation. “Wait. If we are going to the Veil, does that mean you are taking me to a Demon?”

The corner of his lips quirked, and humour filled his expression. “The fact that you were able to summarise that on your own means you’re ready for this kind of journey.”

Zylah self-consciously chittered at the compliment. She tried to not be annoyed by the fact it was obviously a female Demon, which meant he had companions other than her. It was difficult to hide how she felt about that when her orbs flickered with dark green.

She hated that he saw it, and both his brows raised up, crinkling his forehead – he likely knew what the colour meant when she didn’t.

He backed away and handed her an empty bag.

Zylah threw her hands up. “But I don’t have anything to bring.”

“Pick one book from your current collection. You will be carrying three others I brought back for you last night.”

“You obtained more books for me?”

His lips curled higher. “Don’t I always when I go to the village?”

That was true. Despite how she currently felt – confused, wary, unsure – she was giddy at the prospect of what she could learn further.

He always brings me gifts.