Page 185 of To Free a Soul
“There is nothing I can do now for him,” Weldir stated. “He is out of my reach, my magic, and my capabilities.”
“H-how do I help him, then?” she asked, clutching her shoulder and putting space between them.
“Put him to sleep. That is how I assisted when it was this bad in the beginning.” After Weldir had removed enough of the fragments to take him out of his permanent seizing.
Her complexion grew ashen as horror fell over her features. “The only way to do that is to behead him.”
“Hmm.” Weldir regarded Nathair and the way he tore into his own throat. “If you’re unable to do it, he will surely do it himself.”
“Ugh!” she screamed. “I hate this!”
She went to lift both hands to help him, to get it over with, rather than him clawing at himself slowly and painfully until he achieved unconsciousness. Only her left arm rose, as the other twitched and spasmed, but wouldn’t lift more than partway.
Lindiwe placed her hand over the wound, then lifted it away to look at the blood coating her fingertips. “His venom. I forgot about it.” Her right leg shook before her knee gave in. She caught herself with her left hand when falling nearly made her go face-first into the ground. “Uh, Weldir?”
Before he could answer, Nathair dived for her. Her scream cut short when he dug his claws into her neck and abdomen, and pulled in two different directions.
Weldir brought her to his realm before Nathair could do any more damage and likely eat her. Their two young offspring shrieked when they lifted off her, reaching for her with little kicking arms and legs. They’d arrived awake and in their physical state, intangible to him.
Their flailing spun them around, sending them further and further from her.
Weldir neared while grumbling in anger at the life draining from her. Blood trickled from her deep wounds, her lips, and nose, and each scarlet drop floated off her skin and surrounded her.
“I cannot heal you until your body disappears and you return to me.”
He tsked, rather fucking angry about this, her pain, and the events. When her heart ceased, her body began to crack and break apart like chalk, and disintegrated bit by bit.
He looked at the viewing disc of Nathair, who had finished decapitating himself with a gush of purple blood streaming from his headless throat – before he exploded in a cloud of black sand.
Their young offspring continued to let out shrill cries as they blindly searched for her with grabby paws reaching in the direction of her scent.
“Well, this could have gone better.” He moved towards his offspring. “Perhaps you two should stay with me until Nathair stabilises.”
Although being eaten by a Demon ensured they’d birth themselves from its stomach, he had no idea what would happen if a Mavka ate them.I’d rather not find out.
Considering Nathair’s current instability, it was a possibility that he could turn on her again and might do so when Weldirwasn’t watching. Which meant... she would return to his realm after being eaten by her own son if he managed to get his venom into her.
“I imagine that will be quite horrifying for her.”
He wished he could feel his palm as he rubbed his face.She will be upset.Not just about that, but about Nathair’s mind in general.I did warn her, but I had power in Tenebris that she cannot wield.
If worst came to worst, and Nathair couldn’t adjust to life due to his fragments, then it might be a mercy to bring him back to Tenebris.
Despite the circumstances, Weldir decided to revive Aleron without waiting for Nathair’s body to return. There was no use in putting it off.
There was also little else for him to do between waiting for Nathair and Lindiwe to return.
So, he took himself back to Tenebris.
He found his winged offspring and the human locked in a naked cuddle, Aleron rumbling a purr as Gideon chuckled in answer.
“I leave for a few hours, and this is what my poor eyes are blessed with upon my return?” Weldir teased half-heartedly, rather surprised by these two.
I hadn’t truly expected Aleron to find a companion within Tenebris.He actually thought his winged offspring would let this human male slip from his claws in some way, but they continued to persist and were now intimate.
Aleron squeezed his wings tighter around the tanned male. “Go away.”
“Yeah, shoo, Mr Dusty Man! Or I’ll sic my giant feather duster on you,” Gideon chimed in. “We’ve had enough of your interruptions.”
