Page 188 of To Free a Soul
“I was wondering if you would be available to have an important discussion.”
“Sure,” she answered, as she scratched behind the skull of her baby. “I’m all ears.”
“I would prefer to speak with you in person.”
Hard to do that when you’re not a real person.He was a shadowy entity.
She understood what he meant, though.
She considered denying him. Lindiwe didn’t want to be in his realm, or near him. It still hurt, and that hadn’t gone away even if the last two years had been a distraction of sorts from her heartache.
But it’s not often he asks me to come to him anymore.
Considering how much he’d done to help over the past few years, denying him felt unfair. She had relied on him a lot – magically, physically, emotionally. He’d been there for her as much as he could and had gone beyond his usual capabilities to do so.
“Okay.” She grabbed both her babies. “I’m ready.”
She was brought to his comforting weightlessness, and she turned incorporeal for him. When she finally located his mist, Lindiwe squinted at him while leaning forward.
“There’s so little of you,” she stated quietly, noting that there was barely a sixth of him.
Streaks only a few centimetres long wrapped around his entire body sparsely. Enough for her to see him, so long as he didn’t move suddenly.
Then he made what seemed a deliberate movement. Perhaps he looked at his own hands? It was impossible to tell. “Yes, I’m aware.”
Guilt and gratitude swirled together in her chest.I didn’t know it was this bad.Her eyes followed the patterns.Does this mean he’ll sleep for a long time again?
Lindiwe didn’t know if she was relieved or saddened by that. She always missed his presence when he was gone, even if he was distant in another realm. She liked being able to talk to him freely, despite how it made the ache in her heart worsen at times.
“You wanted to talk to me?” she asked, hugging their sleeping babies to her chest.
“Yes.” From what she could tell, he lifted an arm and called a brightly glowing, goldensomethingto it. The piece of weird, broken, glittering metal hovered above his clawed hand. “I wanted to show you what has allowed me to be so useful lately.”
“Is that the gifted piece of the Gilded Maiden’s crown?”
“It is.” He drifted closer so she could see it properly. “I’ve used a small amount, but most of it remains.”
She wanted to reach out and touch it, but hesitated. It looked... hot, like it was molten despite its solidness.
“This is pure mana. It’s different from mine. I can manipulate it and pour essence into it. I can change it, create and destroy with it.” He lowered his face to regard it closely. His expression remained unchanging, as usual, but his following silence made the moment seem heavy. Important, almost. “I... know you have become discontented with our bond. I want to present a different option to you, as you have done much for me over the past few human centuries. A person should only have to suffer the whims of a demi-god for so long before being rewarded.”
Her brows drew together tightly as she flicked her gaze between it and his unchanging expression. Something about hisdeep voice, and the way it sounded solemn, twisted her belly with nervous unease.
She shrugged. “I guess.”
“With this, I would be able to give you back your soul, and more. I would be able to give you power that isn’t mine, and it would be totally your own to wield.” He lifted his face to hers, and she wished she could see more than an eye and part of his nose. “You could even choose between continuing your immortality or becoming mortal.”
“Weldir?” Lindiwe’s confusion deepened her frown as she shook her head. “I don’t understand where this is coming from.”
Nor why he was saying it.
“I would only need half to do this for you, and the other half would give me enough power to cover the rest of Earth in my mist. I can take care of our offspring with that reach, especially as I think I can convince a few to assist me, like Nathair and Odie. You would be able to live a life I have robbed you of, or continue as you are but without any attachment to me. You would be able to form a bond with another, as I have no need to create more servants. We have made plenty, and they can act as my physical self in that world as you have. They are even making more themselves.”
Squeezing her arms tighter around her babies, Lindiwe’s pulse raced. She knew he could hear it, and so could she, as it thrummed frantically in her ears.
“I... have no more need of you,” he stated quietly. “With this crown fragment, I can do the rest on my own.”
She knew why it felt like her heart was bleeding through her chest. Lindiwe had thought the longing and yearning would go on forever. That her unrequited affection and love would eventually eat her whole and spit her out until she was a misshapen version of herself.
