Page 159 of To Trap a Soul

At the time of theirpleasurableintimacy four years ago, she’d been ninety-five, and bonded to Weldir for seventy-three of those years. She’d been longing for sex each and every day, then her body had taken her by the reins and made her act out of character when she finally got it. Horny as it ground on his fingers, needy and bliss filled as she moaned with abandon and scratched at him for more.

She was still embarrassed he’d witnessed that, while getting nothing in return.

She was still rather eaten up by it.

She should have offeredsomethingfor him, to return the pleasure he’d just given her, but she’d been so gobsmacked at the time she’d fled with her cheeks so hot she thought her skin would melt from her bones.

“Ari is doing what is natural for our offspring. You are interfering with their evolution. Isn’t this what you wanted? One of them to develop enough humanity to converse with them? Stopping them from doing so is only opposing your goal.”

I hate it when he’s right,she thought, then rubbed her eyes with fatigue and to clear them of dust, which was a poor decision, as she was covered in it from head to toe.But... I just don’t want to be the reason humans die, if I can.Did Ari reallyneed an entire village for a meal? Surely just a few humans would suffice.

But there was no point in her staying here much longer.

“Fine,” she conceded, before noticing the dirt under her nails. “Can I at least bathe first?”

Time to get these braids taken out.But she did like how they protected her hair in this environment, and the person who did them explained their meaningful significance as they braided them.I should have learned how to do them myself.She’d thought she had more time, which wasn’t something she was used to feeling.

“Whatever you wish.”

She looked up at the bright and cloudless sky with a sigh.

I guess it’s time to face him. I can’t run from this, no matter how much I want to.

Thought the person who literally wanted this in the first damn place. Then again, she hadn’t expected it to bethatgood.

Her insides clenched in anticipation, and her cheeks heated as a groan fell from her.A bath first.

To cleanse her body and her naughty mind.

May 22nd, 1760

Clean from head to toe, her hair combed with a lustrous shine from silkening oil, and loose, and her body groomed and nails trimmed, Lindiwe had finally run out of excuses to delay any longer. Still, despite her trepidation and the nervousness skittering along the edges of her consciousness, she found comfort in escaping the summer heat by being pulled to the never-ending darkness. As usual, it wasn’t hot, wasn’t cold, and held her in the perfect temperature.

If only her body would react the same and didn’t immediately flush with warmth. Giddiness also simmered beneath the surface, stimulating her muscles until they were twitchy and leaping with anticipation. Her fingers trembled before she came here and only seemed to intensify the moment she met Weldir’s direct gaze on her.

She’d shy away from his penetrating stare, but she wasn’t that insecure. Instead, she held his glossy eyes, no longer unnerved by his black sclera.

Reaching up to the tie banding across her chest, she pulled onone of the strings to remove her feathered cloak.

“Hello, Weldir,” Lindiwe said, cutting in before he could greet her first, like usual.

Before she could release her hold on her cloak, and it turned physical within Weldir’s nothingness, a tendril stuck to the corner of it and kept it within his touch.

“You’ve damaged this again,” he stated, pulling it to himself so he could hold it. He pulled the material taunt and thumbed the feathers, putting them in disarray, while checking the rips – results from sharp claws.

“You can blame Ari for that,” she stated, as spare black feathers appeared from the abyss.

Her children were a hazard, as were their main food source: Demons.

Multiple tendrils attached a single feather at a time, Weldir’s magic seemingly sparkling while the tears in it closed shut like he was a mystical seamster. For a moment, the mana stone attached to the inside of the cloak floated upwards. The stone glowed a light blue, with a paler Elvish rune carved into the centre of it. Then it disappeared once more, and Weldir released the cloak so it could turn physical and out of his reach.

Weldir drifted his body towards her, part of his cloud lagging behind before catching up to him with a swiftness. “Your clothing is much more vibrant up close.”

His features were more minimal than she expected. She saw much of his face, but that was usual for him these days – ever since she first said she’d prefer to see his face over feeling his hands. The rest of him wrapped around his torso like twirling ribbon, barely making up a sixth of his large body. His right hand and left foot were visible, while the opposing biceps and thigh were.

All this talk of nothing managed to soothe the worst of her nerves, and she looked down. Both his hands patted down thepatterned yellow-and-red skirt that had been rolled at her hips, while her loose bright-yellow overshirt hid most of her curves. The sleeves were loose, flapping often in the wind, but she found it agreeable underneath the heat of the sun – like permanent shade.

The thick red cloth she’d tied around her head after her bath to push back her thick curls was then loosened without her knowledge, and she flinched when it pulled away. Her tresses waved forward and framed around her face, tickling the tops of her ears and her cheeks.

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