Page 65 of A Soul to Guide

“What are you doing?” she asked as she pressed against his chest and shoulder to back up from him.

“It is going to be a nearly two-week walk at my usual pace. With you, you’ll make that longer. I’ll be carrying you most of the way.”

Her hood fluttered back, and she didn’t have time to catch it as he began their journey. The wind cutting through her clothing gave her the impression they were going really fast, even though she could tell he was only simply walking.

Her braids tapped against her back with every step, and after a few minutes of uncertainty, Raewyn relaxed. Who was she to pass up a free ride?

She reached down while straightening her leg and untied her boot. Before she could toss it, he said, “We’ll need to keep those. We will be stopping off at the last town so we can sleep before I take you past the border wall. I will need to rest, and so will you.”

“Ughhh,” she groaned, taking her boot off and tucking it under her armpit as she undid the other. She tied the laces together, and he stole her boots from her before she could do anything more.

“Finally, I can remove this,” he stated.

She was just about to ask him what, but his breaths became clearer. She reached forward and touched his snout, feeling no cloth covering his nose hole. Her forefinger curled inside, and she was surprised and a little grossed out to find it was wet.

Then she realised what she’d done and yanked her hand back. After the first night she’d discovered he wasn’t human, she’d never touched his bony face again. She was beginning to get a little too comfortable with him.

She closed her eyes when his orange and cinnamon scented sniffs puffed over her jaw and neck. He was sniffing her!

Raewyn tightened her thighs when her stomach clenched in reaction to it. His breaths were ticklish, and his own draflium flower scent warmed her senses. She often had that reaction to it, a hint of desire, but it seemed to have worsened since their short stay in the city.

He drew away from her to watch where he was going, but she’d noticed his grip on her thigh was stronger, as though he was tense. Even his claws were stabbing through the material of her dress.

I guess he’s never smelt me properly before.Raewyn nibbled her bottom lip.Did he like it?Her cheeks heated when she registered what she’d just thought.Oh, holy maiden, where did that thought come from?!

Why did it matter if he liked the way she smelled? Or if he liked holding her thigh and having her pressed against him?

Raewyn was by no means a saint, but she barely knew him! Well... she kind of did, and after his actions in Ashpine City, her opinion of him had changed substantially.

But this much? Where she was kind of hoping he’d sniff her again to deliciously tickle her? Raewyn tightened her thighs when she clenched a littlelower andnaughtierthan her stomach.

“So,” Raewyn started, in an attempt to run away from her own thoughts. The word came out a little more heated than she wanted it to, and she hurriedly cleared her throat. “I’ve been meaning to ask, what did the Anzúli overseer mean when she questioned you about how you obtained your magic?”

Merikh grunted. “I was hoping you didn’t catch that.”

A coy smile spread across her lips, her eyes crinkling with something she was sure appeared puckish. “Have something to hide, do you?”

“I have no shame nor guilt for any of my actions, but yes, I will hide things from you for your own safety.” His casual, non-script tone neither denied nor confirmed his statement. “However, you should consider the questions you ask. You may not like the answers you receive, should I be willing to give them.”

Raewyn’s eyes narrowed into a glare that held little animosity, but perhaps a little judgement. “Did... did you eat the Anzúli?”

His chuckle wasdark, answering her before he said anything. “Like I said, I have been searching for a way off Earth. I needed to obtain more magic, and they were the only way to do so.”

“Would you have eaten me if I were not an Elf?” Raewyn joked.

“No. I knew you could be useful, since I could sense your magic was strong.”

She was just about to tease him, a playful remark on the tip of her tongue, but she slowly pressed her lips shut. Instead, she faced forward, her eyes wide as realisation struck.

Is... is he lying? Had he been intending to eat me when we first started travelling together?She tried to remember to back then, to nearly two weeks ago.

His very own words echoed through her consciousness.“I’m not your friend. By the end of this trip, you will see that.”

He did, didn’t he? He wouldn’t have said that if he didn’t have any bad intentions.

Her ears flattened as she felt his body moving against hers while he walked.

But he didn’t. He didn’t do that. He hasn’t hurt me, nor has he been cruel.He was rarely mean to her. Yes, she’d witnessed him being callous towards the humans, but he rarely, if ever, turned that hostility towards Raewyn.

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