Page 46 of A Soul to Guide

He often just grunted, informing her he’d heard her, but wouldn’t answer. That, or he’d just tell her she would be better off not knowing.

She couldn’t tell if he was good or evil unless he revealed something about himself, something that wasn’t in self-interest, like caring for her only because it got him what he wanted.

Currently, she was leaning towards... evil.

He’d destroyed crops when he didn’t need to, just to be spiteful. He’d threatened multiple people’s poor skulls with a thorough bashing. He’d... eaten humans, had already admitted to it, and yet, it didn’t sound as though he held even a shred of remorse.

She’d learned he gained intelligence and humanity by eating humans. Just. Like. Demons.

Should I tell him the truth about why that is?She was considering it, thinking a person should know themselves when it was important, but she’d gotten the impression that he didn’t like talking about his family.

Not his brothers, not his mother, and there had always been a growl in his tone whenever he explained something pertaining to his father.

Now that she was no longer wearing her blindfold around him, she’d even seen sparks of red right where she thought his face was, like a glow of anger before it disappeared. It was magic that allowed the orbs to change colours, and she was able to see the sparks of the change – and sometimes a trail of colour if it seemed like an emotion gripped him tightly.

They were often red, even when she hadn’t spoken for a long while. Even his thoughts were hateful.

I don’t trust him.How could she?

She wanted to, desperately wanted to, but she couldn’t.

Raewyn had always been told she was too trusting, especially when she employed Cykran as her assistant, but she’d never been an idiot. She didn’t foolishly trust those she was uncertain about.

She always weighed the pros and cons.

Merikh was a liar.

So what if his orange and cinnamon scent was delightfully delicious? So what if his deep and grumbly voice was pleasant and made her ears ring happily? So what if his big hand was so warm and rough that it made her skin tingle just from the meagre contact?

So why did she want to get closer to him so she could smell him better, or hear him better, or hope he would hand her something again so she could be blessed with the warmth and touch of his hand?

How can I like anything about him?It didn’t make sense.

She’d been bewildered the very few times he’d touched her or grabbed her. His touch had only ever been gentle when he’d saved her from those Demons many nights ago.

His pace was also something she could keep up with. Although she was tired – three days of non-stop walking was exhausting for any creature, except him, apparently – it wasn’t because of the pace. The path was usually quite flat, with little to nothing for Raewyn to trip over.

A cruel captor would usually drag their captive through any treacherous path, at the speedtheychose.

In some ways, this was just a pleasant stroll through an unknown world. It wasn’t a march.

If he’s so strong, I wish he’d carry me.She wouldn’t have minded. She’d considered slowing down to whine constantly, just to see if she could get him to do it.

Raewyn thoughtfully hummed.If he did carry me, though, would he carry me nicely by cradling me, or would he throw me over his shoulder like a food sack again?

There were so many questions, and not an answer on the horizon.

“Are we there yet?” Raewyn whined, pulling on the rope so she could lean back as she walked, her face pointing towards the sky so she could rest her neck. “My feet huuurt.”

“We’ll be there soon,” he answered plainly.

He’d been saying that for hours.

Raewyn let out a sigh, no longer sure if he was actually taking her to the temple or was just planning to walk her to death.

With her neck craned back, she tried to feel the sunlight peeking through whatever foliage was above them.

“Merikh...” she slowly stated to get his attention.

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