Page 132 of A Soul to Guide

Staring down at her, he gently moved a clump of curls stuck to her face behind her ear with one of his claws. Her pointed ear didn’t twitch.

You fucking lied to me, Elf.She’d said it wouldn’t be too bad, that he hadn’t needed to worry, but he’d been panicked since this started.

His gaze dropped to her hand, and the orange in his sight deepened.

He hadn’t known what else to do, but he’d made it worse by trying to help. Since she’d told him the sickness might come on due to a depletion of magic, Merikh had gripped her hand and tried to figure out a way to give her his own.

Red glowing lines formed through her veins, and with the dark complexion of her skin, her hand looked as though it had lava streaks. It went up just past her wrist, and it was a terrible reminder that whenever he helped someone, it always came back to bite him in the arse.

Her entire body had contorted at the time, and her scream made him stop. Her heart ceased beating, but it eventually started back up on its own.

Raewyn’s fever had intensified.

Occasionally, his orbs would flare a brighter red, like they did now.You should not have pushed yourself.

Merikh was beyond furious.

He was angry that she’d done something so foolish; it looked as though it could have killed her. He was pissed she hadn’t further explained the effects of this, especially since his interference had only hindered her.

He wanted to believe it was because he didn’t want to lose his only escape off this world. He wanted his anger to be because of self-serving concern – pure selfishness, and nothing more.

Unfortunately, it was hard to deny his own feelings of guilt, especially when his orange orb colour refused to permanently recede over the last few hours, always coming back. It was even harder to deny it when his chest ached in sympathy for the pretty female, wishing he could bear this for her.

Merikh had tried, but he wasn’t able to transfer the illness to himself. Instead, he was forced to bear witness.

He understood none of his reactions, or maybe he just didn’t want to understand them. In the few months he’d known Raewyn, she’d flipped his damn life upside down.

He’d experienced more unpleasant emotions in that time than he had in the last few decades. He’d also laughed more than he could truly remember.

There must be something I can do to help,he thought, lifting his sight to the dark entrance of his cave.

There was something he could do, but he didn’t want to. More than anything else in the world, he didn’t want to. He’d rather cut off his hand, his arm, his own head, than do it. Had it not been for her wellbeing, he wouldn’t even be considering it.

It was only when she’d stopped shivering, going completely limp like she was losing even more strength, did he finally gain the courage to lay her down on the bed by herself.

Worried that her sweat-soaked hair would suffocate her, he moved it away from her nose and mouth. He turned away.

Then, Merikh’s orbs flared red, not in normality, but in hatred. He took himself outside and into the night.

At first glance, it appeared as though no one was there. Sniffing at the air, it was empty of unusual scents.

He knew better.

“Come out of the shadows,” he demanded, his gaze roaming over the tree line.

The woman he sought immediately poked her head out from behind a tree trunk, knowing better than to annoy him by playing any hide and seek games. Her ethereal form was transparent, white only due to her current ghostly nature.

When he saw her, his quills shuddered in revulsion as his fur stood on end. Thankfully, he wasn’t wearing anything more than a pair of shorts; otherwise, he would have torn his clothing.

The silence that hung between them was so heavy, it was like a blanket attempting to snuff him. He hadn’t looked at this woman in nearly a hundred years, and he’d told her he didn’t wish to look upon her ever again.

Yet, there she was, right when he needed her the most.

Her gaze upon him was not unfeeling, to those who could identify her tells.

A soft growl rumbled from his chest without thought – an instant, uncontrollable reaction. She turned her eyes up to the ward she floated on the other side of, before bringing them back to him. Her brow raised in question, and he gave a curt nod.

The moment she passed into the safety of it, she changed her form to one that appeared human, although smelt entirely different. Brown skin formed when her bare toes touched the grass, and it grew up her limbs. Her white dress appeared, as did her white feathered cloak.

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