Page 151 of A Soul to Guide

Instead, he was so rude and thoughtless that she regretted doing it with him at all.

With an annoyed huff, Raewyn got to her feet. She found her cane near the cave entrance, picked up her toiletries, and walked towards the lake.

The idea of dousing herself in lukewarm water wasn’t what she wanted to do, especially since she would have rather stayed laying down, all relaxed. Her thighsachedwith every footfall, and each one thumped inside her tender core. She was aware she was limping on certain steps.

That should elate her! She should be grinning at the pain, and instead, her internal hurt just made each twinge annoy her.

Not long after getting into the water, a soft growl growing closer informed her of his approach.

“What do you want?” she quietly bit out, hoping to unnerve him. It wasn’t as powerful as she’d have liked it to be, since her throat was hoarse from crying out earlier.

She didn’t bother covering her chest like she was tempted to. Although she didn’t want to show her body to someone who didn’t deserve to see it right now, she just washed her arm while giving him her back, pretending she didn’t care.

“Enjoying yourbath?” He had the audacity to sneer the words at her.

“Very much so,” she answered with an air of nonchalant. “All squeaky clean and no longer covered in your cum.”

His growl stuttered for a moment before returning. “I’m leaving.”

That made her pause. “Pardon?” she said as she turned around slightly. “Where are you going?”

“Stay away from the ward.” His sounds began to fade as though he was walking away.

“Hey!” she yelled, reaching over the ledge. “When are you coming back?”

She received no answer, and once more, tears stung her eyes.

Merikh had never just up and left like that, except for when she’d eavesdropped on him. Usually, he let her know how long she could expect him to be gone for, and where he was going.

What’s he mad at me for?she thought, looking off in the direction his body made a shadow when he went through the ward.I’m the one who should be mad.

Now, Raewyn wasn’t just royally pissed – she was livid!

He had the audacity to screw her brains out, then turn into a jerk within the span of minutes. And after leaving her by herself to clean up, she was forced to have this bath in the lake when she would rather be asleep. He was such a... a dick! He was being a dick, and he must know it – if he didn’t, then he was an idiot.

Which meant he was doing it on purpose.

He’d never truly turned this kind of hostility on her before. Gosh, she knew he’d probably kick a small puppy if it suited him, but currently, she felt like the puppy.

He’d never made her feel that way in the past.

There was a lot she could forgive, but this treatment wasn’t it. She wouldn’t reward it, but she also wouldn’t accept it with a smile.

So, whenever he decided to turn back up, she hoped he didn’t plan for her to be a ray of sunshine. It was time for her to show him her ire.

With that thought in mind, she exited the lake and went to bed after changing the sheets. Her sleep was fitful, as she expected. She woke up in a fouler mood than when she’d laid down, her eyelids heavy and achy.

Her desire to return home strengthened in her want to get away from him as soon as possible, and Raewyn finally put her mind to the mana stone.

It was weak. She didn’t know how long he’d been using the stone for his glamour, but it was nearly depleted of magic. It had also been a poor quality stone to begin with.

Whoever had mined it obviously hadn’t known that. They also likely didn’t have a lot of experience with these kinds of stones and how to read them.

It took her most of the day just trying to unravel the glamour. Despite the stone’s lack of quality and magic depletion, whoever had created the glamour itself was vastly powerful, able to weave a tight, perfect spell.

Weldir,she mentally sneered.

This kind of magic was nearly divine in construct, and for a lowly Elf like herself, it had taken her hours just to learn its woven craft. Then, she had to loosen the threads in the opposite way he’d wound them. If she didn’t do it correctly, the tension could destroy the stone.

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