Page 206 of To Free a Soul
As if expecting him to mention them, Linh was already pulling their twins from her person to hand them to him. Nathair then, surprisingly, shoved them at Lindiwe so she could hold them.
Oh my gosh. I can’t believe I’m holding two of my grandbabies!Her heart was bursting with affection. She never thought she’d be allowed!
She couldn’t help laughing, especially when they both curled their serpent tails around her forearms.
“I can see you want to make them like you, Nathair,” she stated warmly. They looked nearly identical, and very much like him when he was a baby. “Make sure to feed them fish until they gain their gills and fins.”
“We’ll definitely remember that,” Linh answered with a giggle.
Then Nathair reached out to Weldir, who darted his shadowy hand upwards and blocked the serpent Duskwalker from grabbing his hood with the back of his wrist.
“Don’t,” he warned.
With a snorted huff, Nathair pulled his hand back to sign.“Come now. I want to see your face.”He lowered to the side and flicked his forked tongue out in his direction.“I should be the first to see it. Why hide it?”
Weldir didn’t like to be bested, nor did he want anyone – except maybe her – to know how he really felt. He grabbed the sides of his hood and flicked it back until it evaporated in smoking shadow.
Just as he’d feared, the other Duskwalkers came over like a stampede, except for Merikh and Zylah, who were, in general, wary of the others. Then again, the female Duskwalker just seemed a little awkward in general, even as she looked at him curiously.
She reminded Lindiwe of a wallflower.
Both of Weldir’s hands were lifted so the golden bones in them could be inspected, all their adult Duskwalker children, for some reason, seeing him as harmless. Except when their brides also tried to approach, then they were quick to shuffle them back to a safe distance, warily.
He said little, just answered their questions in his usual indifferent, dull way, but she knew he was holding it in. So when Nathair, cheeky and quite used to Weldir, went to grab a horn, her overstimulated mate materialised them both back to the top of Magnar’s home.
He shuddered next to her but didn’t yank his hood back up. “I knew I would despise that.”
She offered a comforting smile, then slipped her hand into his shadowy cloak as it opened to allow her in, and grasped his much bigger palm. “At least it’s done.”
When the afternoon began to truly creep in, Linh approached Mayumi to ask about the tent she’d offered to set up in Faunus’ ward. They left temporarily to make sure that was done before night fell, with the intention of returning.
Now that there were fewer eyes on him temporarily, Jabez brazenly approached them. He climbed the side of Magnar’s home with his bare hands and feet, as if he worried about startling them by transporting himself to their side.
Just as he neared, a shadowy tendril, rigid and sharp, pointed right in front of his face. Jabez halted, and his red eyes crossed as he inspected it before pulling back slightly. Then he leaned sideways to look at them while remaining crouched.
“Touch her, and I’ll finally break my oath and kill you. You’re lucky that Mavka is the only reason I have not turned my fury from the past on you.”
Lindiwe expected him to grin or be a cocky little shit. Instead, his lips drew down, and he nodded. “Fair enough. Although, aren’t I impervious to death? Unless you want to destroy your own granddaughter.”
Weldir leaned back, and for the first time ever, greeted Jabez’s gaze properly. “Your threads are woven, but I’m still a god of souls. I can surely unravel them with a little practise.”
Jabez threw his hands up with a sigh. “I have no interest in this shit anymore. Trying to move on from the past, blah blah blah.”
“Doesn’t mean we have to forgive you,” Lindiwe cut in.
Still crouching, Jabez placed his fingertips against the rooftop to balance himself. “I’m not particularly asking forgiveness, nor do I want it. I can be as sorry and regretful about the past as I want, but we all know it matters little to fix what I have done,how I have done it, and what harm I caused.” He lifted his free hand and shrugged. “However, obviously I have no interest in my war anymore, to my annoyed dismay. I come with a peace offering and a request.”
“You have quite the hide to ask anything of us,” Weldir stated coldly.
Jabez gave a low, dark chuckle. “I have always been arrogant and opportunistic. Merikh is unlikely to approach you soon, whereas I am impatient and would rather have my answer now. If I ask it, would you be willing to lower your ward?” He quickly put up his finger to pre-empt them interrupting him. “Not for war, but to end it. I want to replicate Spiral Haven within Nyl’theria, and having citizens who understand how to govern themselves would increase its potential for success. I’ve already spoken with the synedrus council, and they have agreed to it pending your answer.”
Weldir was silent for a long while, perhaps too long. Jabez didn’t move, no matter how the minutes passed by, awaiting an answer. The lack of one was surprising, and likely a good sign for him.
“For now, no,” Weldir answered.
Disappointment deflated Jabez entirely, and he fell back from his crouched position to land on his arse. With one arm across his upright, bent knee, he threw his hand up. “Why the fuck not? Isn’t that what you deities want? Peace and control, so the Elysians can eventually take back their realm?”
“Because it has never been about my wants, but my duty.” Weldir interlocked his fingers in his lap and tapped his clawed thumbs together. “I’ll have to speak with the others first. With their approval, then I can do so, although it would be in a controlled environment. I have yet to reveal that I have left my imprisonment, so I must speak with them personally about this.”
