Page 43
Story: A Soul to Protect
Why did that twist her insides further?
“It’s fine, Nathair.” She had meant what she said: she trusted him. Her bruise was an accident, and she wouldn’t judge him for it.
When she leaned into his palm, trying to show him it was okay and all was forgiven, a strangled whimper choked out of him. He twisted, walked on his hands as he headed for the freshwater lake, and dived. Liquid splashed in an arc as his tail flopped in, causing droplets to crash near her bare feet.
The surface rippled, seeming to vibrate, as bubbles popped. By the muted sound she could faintly hear, she thought he may have roared. Tiny waves formed near the middle.
She had assumed he intended to release whatever emotions had overcome him for a long while, but he flung out minutes later.
Orbs glowing with the depth of his guilt, Nathair flopped back out of the water. He didn’t return to her, instead moving over to the entrance of the cave like the night before, as though he wanted to block it. He coiled himself up like a snake, as if hiding from her, the world, and how he felt.
By the lack of his glowing orbs, she knew he wasn’t watching her. He must have completely hidden himself under the wraps of his tail.
He thought to grab the fish, the shell, the chest, even my shoes.He apologised, rather than shrugging and blaming something he couldn’t control. He’d healed her and made amends by communicating the only way he could.
Nathair had proven just how much he didn’t want to hurt her and cared for her wellbeing and feelings.
And that he was exceptionally tender-hearted.
With her spare clothing in one hand, and a lit flame lantern in the other, Linh wondered how she was supposed to get past Nathair.
Throughout the course of last night, the Duskwalker hadn’t moved from his spot. It’d been difficult to see him in the dark, and her concern for him had grown when she heard small, distressing noises echoing off the stone walls.
Figuring he wanted to be alone, she’d distracted herself.
She investigated the iron lantern, then noted the candles were a little worse for wear. The ones at the bottom of the box were almost unusable, like the chest they’d been in slowly leaked once dragged from the ship.
The first candle she burned constantly sputtered, threatening to go out before it did finally die. She slowly heated the ones that were useable over the fire to try and remove any water or air pockets that had formed, hopefully preventing that from happening in the future.
Then she made sure she had all the supplies she’d need to get the torches going. The cloth in the chest was a little stained andcrusty from sea salt but should still burn.
Whatever burning oil was used smelt pungent and gross, but two of the four containers had managed to not leak.
She put them to the side, wanting to utilise them at a better time.
Linh also washed the fish of sand, then prepped and cooked it. The wine was bitter, but gave enough flavour to make eating bearable. She wasn’t used to consuming this much fish, so her dinner made her a little queasy.
Sleep had fallen over her with great difficulty, especially when her lazy eyes had kept drifting to where she knew Nathair to be. Only when the hour had to have been late, did she finally pass out.
Linh had woken to stray streaks of sunlight, which allowed her to see that Nathair had not moved from his spot. Eventually two desires had clutched at her: to remove the smell of fish from her clothes and skin, and to go to the bathroom.
Which is why she now stood next to this snake Duskwalker’s huddle, assessing how to squeeze past without disturbing him. The sliver of a gap meant she had to press herself hard against the opening.
Once through, she turned to the left with her lantern barely lighting the way.
She removed her precious Ao Dai garment her grandmother – on her father’s side – had made for her twenty-first birthday, and dropped it under the subtle waterfall to soak it. She also removed her pants, underwear, and the undershirt she wore as a bra.
She went to the toilet, hating how she had to do that over some strange hole. She tried not to think about it, or the weird paranoia that a Demon hand might shove its way through with swiping claws.
Linh sat down in the sprinkle of water to scrub at her clothing with soap before washing her skin. She also untwisted her braids so she could rinse them of grime, and used a bone comb she’d brought with her from when she’d originally been taken.
Once she was done, she placed her washed clothing over a jutting section of rock to dry. She donned a new undershirt and underwear, but paused at the knee-length dress in her hands.
I haven’t worn this in months.
If she hadn’t been naked, Bragg made her wear simple, plain dresses – for the cruellest of reasons. She’d then forced herself to wear his pants, wanting a barrier even if it was a pointless one.
But this dress... It had been her mother’s. It’d been gifted to her, and she’d packed it because she just wanted to bring her family with her in the wake of her upcoming loss.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43 (Reading here)
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189