Page 38 of A Soul to Guide

When he peeked over his shoulder, he saw her head bounce up and down as she nodded. Then, her lips parted as she gasped, right as her left leg slipped to the side on a patch of mud. She righted herself by tugging the rope.

Since he’d seen the whole scene, he could have caught her, but he also didn’t want to. He shrugged.

“You seem to know much about Earth. Elves are known creatures to humans, though believed to be a myth. I’m assuming your kind came here often?”

“We studied this world before we sent the Demons here.” Raewyn rubbed at her neck in what he thought might be awkwardness. “Honestly, we only chose Earth because Jabez had already created a portal here. We thought it best if we only infected one world, rather than many.”

“I wouldn’t be alive had your kind not.”

The smile she wore was bright. Merikh softly growled at her for it and turned forward.

His statement hadn’t been a thankful one, but rather, resentful. Had it not been for them sending more Demons here, Weldir’s magic wouldn’t have been spread so thin on Earth. He wouldn’t have sought a mate to empower him.

The sun came back to warm the world and dry them, and Merikh looked through the sparse treetops to see that the light rain would eventually return. Grey clouds still circled, casting a dangerous, looming shade over them.

Another squeal came from her, and this time, she actually fell into his back. Catching herself by gripping two bundles of his long quills, she was lucky his thick shirt had protected her hands.

“Ugh! I can’t do this anymore!” she blurted.

The tension of the rope faded, and he turned around to see she was no longer following him. “I can’t help that the ground has become wet. I am taking us on the safest path.”

“It has nothing to do with you or me!” she bit, as she bent over and unlaced her boots. “It’s these stupid foot prisons! How can anyone walk in these things? You can’t feel the ground, can’t steady yourself through it.”

Merikh looked at his own bare feet with paw-like toes. He never wore shoes, as they never fit. He cared very little if the humans raised an eyebrow that he often appeared barefooted, considering the glamour only made him appeared human but didn’t clothe him.

She removed both shoes and then her socks. “Since you know I’m an Elysian, there’s no point in me wearing them anymore.”

Just like that, she tossed them into the forest as though they were the foulest things in the world.

She stamped one of her feet like a demonstration. “There, much better. I shouldn’t lose my footing anymore.”

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Merikh chased after her boots. Once he’d collected both, he tied the laces together and slung them over one of his shoulders.

“You’ll need to wear them when we’re in town. You’ll already appear odd with the hood over your head, and I doubt you’ll be able to handle people stepping all over your toes.”

He could handle the odd boot crunch, but he wondered if her feet could withstand such pain. They were dainty for her size, but large simply because she was inhumanly tall.

Then, Merikh tilted his head and got down on one knee. Yellow shifted into his sight, taking over its usual red.

He lifted her foot to inspect the arrow markings on her flesh in deep curiosity.Why does she have these markings? They are like tattoos.Three points in a row ran over the arch of her foot towards her toes, and, upon further inspection, he noticed more wrapped around her ankles.

Merikh drew her skirt up a little to see how far they went, noticing rings around the tops of her calves. He was about to go higher, but she smacked him in the forehead with the bottom of her fist and ripped herself away from him.

Merikh grunted. “What the fuck did you hit me for?”

“You were lifting up my dress!”

Curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he’d acted without thought. When she went to bash his skull again, he grabbed her wrist and shoved up her dress sleeve.

“I noticed the black rings on your fingers, but I didn’t realise there were more. Are you covered all over in tattoos such as these?”

Her hand had similar arrow markings that circled her wrist. However, her arm was free of any markings until right below her elbow, where she had an intricate looping knot all the way around.

She ripped her arm away from his large palm, and she placed her hand over the marking around her elbow.

“Yes, I am. All Elysians are.” Her tone was defensive, and her puffed cheeks and tight lips told him she hadn’t liked being inspected. “They’re magical symbols, and they grow over time. They aren’t tattoos.”

With an annoyed exhale, Merikh stood.

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