Page 128 of A Soul to Guide

“Wings?”He turned his head over his shoulder and then subtly wiggled them up and down.“That is what these things are called?”

“I see...”

“Yes, so do I.”

“Ha! I cannot believe you did not figure that out.”

“You did not either!”

They shoved at each other as they chuckled.

“So, are you happy with them?” Raewyn asked as she clapped her hands together once to gain their attention. “In-grem and Ale-ron?”

The way she sounded them out was funny to Merikh, but he found her Elvish accent made them even nicer.

They both nodded.

“Yes, we are,”Ingram stated.

“We are pleased,”Aleron confirmed.

“Good,” Merikh lightly snapped. “Now that the matter is settled, go away. We have work to do.”

“Merikh!” Raewyn cried, which only made him chuckle when her face was scrunched in displeasure. It was cute, the way her brows furrowed and her lips pursed.

After some back and forth between him and the twins, they did eventually leave. They shoved each other playfully, speaking their new names, and an unidentifiable emotion swirled in his chest.

One that made it puff out with warmth.

“That was nice of you,” Raewyn commented as she held her hand out, as if she was expecting him to offer. She was right, he would have, and he took it so he could help her to her feet. “I like the names you gave them. They were really thoughtful.”

His sight moved back to where they’d disappeared into the forest.

“I didn’t give them new ones,” he answered. “Those are their names.”

She pushed her hand through the loop of her cane – he’d found it for her yesterday, near the boulder. Once steady on her feet, she frowned up at him.

“What do you mean?”

“Those were the names given to them by our mother. They just don’t remember, as most of us don’t.” When she nibbled at her full bottom lip with a strange kind of concern on her features, he couldn’t help tilting his head. “What’s with your expression?”

“I just don’t understand. Why would she name them so sweetly but give you a name that means... something so hateful?”

“Ah,” he gave a singular, dark chuckle. “That is because I renamed myself. Most of us will find our own names, ones we like or are given when we are ready. The twins may even forget the ones we’ve just given them.”

“Do you know what yours was originally, then?”

Silence stretched between them, his answer slow to come, his heart burning with each beat. He was hesitant about answering.

“It was Orson, meaning bear cub. She named us each after our features, like Aleron’s wings and Ingram’s skull.” He turned his skull away, wrapping his hand around his snout as he rubbed it. “I ask that you never call me that, as that name is dead to me.”

He expected her to ask him why, but was thankful she didn’t. In doing so, by her showing him more respect than anyone else had in his entire life, a different emotion swirled in his chest. It was utterly tender, and he was utterly terrified of it.

He grunted and cleared his throat.

“So, are you ready to begin your experiment? I will give you my diadem, and hopefully, what we’ve done to put the flowerpot back together will last until you are ready.”

Her lips twisted to the side in thought, but a mischievous smile played at her lips. He liked it when she looked conniving; it didn’t match her guileless features.

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