Page 96 of A Soul to Guide

His head snapped back into an upright position, as did his spine, as he towered over her. He practically blocked out the beautiful sun, casting an ominous shadow over her.

He was so... massive. He was wider than she’d pictured, and his imposing skull had the ability to loom over her with the height difference.

There were moments in time when someone recognised they were making the wrong decision, were doing the wrong thing. It didn’t stop them from making it; they were just aware of it.

This was one of those times for Raewyn.

Despite how deeply her guilt and shame twisted her stomach, she still shook her head. Raewyn dropped her cane.

“No,” she whispered.

Raewyn didn’t want to give it back.

When he parted his deadly fangs, his snarl lowering in depth as it echoed, she darted into the forest.

As if she was going to give him back his sight! She could freaking see! She’d searched for a cure this entire time, and it had been floating right in her face for the past month and a half.

His roar made her shoulders turn inward. She risked looking over her shoulder as she sidestepped tree after tree to see him knocking into multiple as he gave chase. She was used to navigating environments sightless; Merikh wasn’t.

That didn’t make him any slower, since he just rebounded and kept moving. He even trampled a bush that would have tripped her.

Raewyn squeaked when she thought he was gaining on her.

If I can see, I don’t need him anymore. I can find all the ingredients I need by myself. If he has a mana stone, then there must be more.She pumped her arms as she sprinted, and her soul took flight.I can walk through the human towns easily now!

She no longer needed Merikh’s guidance or help.

She was no longer trapped, confined to her situation, because it had drastically changed.

If she played her cards right, she could wear him out today and pluck the blue jewel she’d seen on the crown of his forehead.I can be home within the month, I’m sure of it!

She could make the sun stone, run through the Veil with it as protection, and then storm Jabez’s castle – once she found it. She may even be able to talk to her brother, perhaps even change his mind, bring him home.

She could stop the war he was obviously trying to incite.

The possibilities were endless.

Though she could hear Merikh’s snarls, not once did they frighten her. Instead, she swiftly moved through the forest, as if she’d always lived in it. She breathed it, sensed it through her feet, her fingertips, how it swirled with wind and blew through the core of her being.

She reached up to grab a low-hanging branch and used it to swing herself across a fallen tree trunk. The impact to her bare feet when she landed had her catching herself on her knees, but she grinned at the slight lance that radiated up her ankles.

I can’t remember the last time I moved like this.

The wind cut through her clothing, her speed so fast, it lifted the ends of her braided hair as they tapped against the back of her shoulders. It was chilly, but exhilarating, and her movements warmed her through it.

There were little yellow and white flowers littered on the ground here and there. She’d remembered smelling them as they came through near here.

She looked up, watching as the canopy of leaves glittered with the sunlight poking through the gaps. The bark was rough, and momentarily touching it to catch herself or push off a tree reminded her of how much she’d enjoyed playing.

The faster she went – not having to be cautious – had her laughing, as she could examine each hazard as she approached it.

Probably not the wisest thing to do with the Duskwalker still steadily chasing her, but she couldn’t deny how muchfunshe was having.

Not once had it occurred to Raewyn that she should be running from him because her first glance at him had been scary, or that she should be fleeing because he was a monster.

She should be running away from what he was, not because she wanted to selfishly keep what he’d accidentally given her.

For the first time in years, Raewyn was able to push her body to its limits. The longer she ran, unused to it, the more her lungs tightened painfully, her thighs stinging with the strain. She revelled in the ache.

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