Page 78 of To Free a Soul (Duskwalker Beginnings #2)

After placing a white feather on the windowsill of Orpheus and Reia’s bedroom, Lindiwe peeked inside.

Both were naked and partially covered by their blanket, his arms around her with his hands squeezing her in sleep like he feared she’d disappear.

Reia’s head and delicate fingers were buried in the fur of his chest.

Hopefully Reia sees my feather when she wakes up, she thought with a warm smile at their snuggling.

If not, Lindiwe would have to find the opportune moment to speak with her privately. After what had happened, and how he’d almost lost Reia, she doubted Orpheus would be feeling inclined to allow anyone – let alone someone he barely trusted – near his precious bride .

It will also be easier to speak to her alone.

As she perched in a tree to rest during the long wait, dusk blanketed the Veil with oncoming darkness. Every time the feather fluttered away, she used a tentacle to put it back.

Eventually, blonde hair rose above the sill as Reia sat up. Her eyes blinked lazily when she peered outside, likely gauging the time of day, then her gaze narrowed. Good. She’s seen it.

Before long, she exited the quaint log cabin home with a white gown on – a wedding dress of another offering that had yet to be dyed a colour.

“Hello. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Reia said, lifting the feather Lindiwe left behind. “You keep leaving me these.”

“And you keep following them. You’ve been a very good human in letting me guide you,” she answered with mirth, happy that everything had worked out, despite the fact that it all could’ve easily ended in tragedy.

“You’re lucky I have. It’s only because you made the garden grow, and that Orpheus trusts in you, that I was able to follow your clues to the bookshop.”

“Perhaps it is instinctual that he trusts me.” Lindiwe said this but knew it wasn’t true.

Their instincts told them not to trust her, but with Orpheus in particular.

.. perhaps it was the past he couldn’t remember well that allowed Lindiwe a presence in his heart – despite how much someone else had tried, fervently, to make him turn against her.

“Are you not going to step out of the salt circle?”

Reia stepped forward bravely, and it was in that moment Lindiwe truly became smitten with her. Orpheus needs someone like this. Someone courageous in the face of everything that could be dangerous to help him out of the broken shell he’s been forced to hide in. Stern, yet kind.

“Did you know I was going to be taken by the Demon King? Is that why you gave me all the books?”

Yes... But also no. It had never been certain that Jabez would, although it’d always been likely. Being prepared for the future, whatever it may have been – either Jabez or a stray Demon that tried to rip its claws into her – had always been Lindiwe’s goal.

She also didn’t want to give the impression she was omniscient, when she absolutely wasn’t.

“Not at all, but it wasn’t hard to guess what would happen. You wanted to learn how to wield a sword, and I provided a way for you to be taught. History wanted to repeat itself, but it did not expect a girl to be her own knight in shining armour.”

A snort of laughter burst from Reia. “I got stabbed in the back by a dagger and died. Some hero I was.”

Lindiwe lifted her gaze towards the house and the direction of Orpheus.

“But you were his. You killed his past and gave him a future he has always sought.” Pride swelled in her chest, as well as gratitude, even if she tried to hide it in her expression.

She kicked her legs to give the impression that this was all meaningless to her, despite how she’d been worried every minute of every day. “How does it feel to be a Phantom?”

“Like I can escape the world.” Reia folded her arms and lifted a brow. “You knew I would become one if I gave him my soul, so why didn’t you tell him?”

“Sometimes mystery leaves us wanting more.”

Because they didn’t actually know what would happen, only that their child could have a bride. Their abilities beyond that were unknown, as was this bond.

“Then what of the children’s book? It was very funny where you left your feather. Beauty and the Beast , really?”

“Didn’t you enjoy reading it to him? Your story is not the same, but you still fell in love with someone most find hideous.”

Someone no one else wanted to love. Which made her a pillar of hope for dozens of her children across the world. Lindiwe planned to share this possibility with all of them.

“But the beast was a dick in the beginning, and Orpheus was kind to me the entire time.”

“He was also worse. You were almost eaten many times,” she reminded her. “I didn’t think you would survive, and yet here you are, speaking with me as though I have done something wrong.”

She sighed. Why does everyone treat me like I’m the bad guy? She was trying her hardest to help, but she also had to protect herself and her bruised heart. She had to distance herself, otherwise she worried she’d grow... tired of wanting to be here.

Living forever was hard. It was harder when she felt alone and had been made an outcast by the very creatures she sought to love and be loved by in return.

If she let them hurt her too much, and with her future with Weldir despondent, Lindiwe wondered if there was a point where she just wouldn’t be able to take it anymore. She may be a Phantom, and to everyone some strange, otherworldly spirit, but in actuality, she was human.

She had limits.

She might want to stop existing if she didn’t barricade her own emotions and protect her heart, and then they would no longer have her when they truly needed her the most. She knew that was why she kept living on – for them – even when sometimes she didn’t want to.

Weldir doesn’t really need me anymore.

She’d given him enough servants to obtain and cleanse souls for him. The few that Lindiwe retrieved during her travels were meagre in comparison. Her role was almost complete in this regard.

I promised him that once he woke up again, we’d finish what we started. The Sing Empire and Pyrssia still only had one each, and it was the last major landmass that didn’t have many Duskwalkers. After we place a few there... what need will he truly have of me?

So, she had to emotionally distance herself from her children enough to stay present in this world, just so she could take care of them. Not that she was unwilling to try and form a bond.

Lindiwe manoeuvred herself so she could swing upside down from the tree branch while still facing Reia. Maybe I should one day try being a bat? She could take on any form she liked.

She was also childish when she wanted to be, and she knew trying too hard to become a mother figure to this woman, or someone she could befriend, would only scare her off. I’d rather she think me odd than an enemy. Someone to keep at arm’s length, so she could do the same.

Then again, Lindiwe was odd, considering the life she’d lived and the beautiful beings she’d given birth to.

“Can a mother not care for her child?” Lindiwe asked when Reia questioned her motives.

She wanted to laugh at the young woman’s shock, but kept it in.

Hopefully Reia would explain what it meant to Orpheus, only so they would rely on her a little more in the future.

They didn’t have to like her, just trust her enough to know that she always had their best interests in mind when giving advice.

“So, you’re just here to help your children? What about the others, then?”

She went to explain the depth of her situation, and about the other Duskwalkers – all of them. To explain that everything was more complicated than they could ever imagine.

Something stopped her.

Sometimes it’s best to let them believe their world is small.

What use was there in telling them about Duskwalkers they’d likely never meet in person? Why complicate it for creatures who already struggled to understand life and the world?

One thing Merikh has taught me... the less they know, the better.

She’d never tell another why they were truly born, after learning how much damage it could do. She’d rather they question their existence than know it was due to a selfish and yet selfless reason – to aid Weldir but also help humans.

She told Reia about the other Duskwalkers only pertaining to Austrális – those she may meet in the future. She also left it open-ended just in case Weldir wanted more here, or across the world. The many tomorrows to come were uncertain.

Regardless, she’d come here for many reasons: to reveal part of the truth, plus her and Weldir’s presence, but also to share information.

She didn’t want to leave Reia unprepared for the possibility of pregnancy.

Weldir said it’s likely they’ll become compatible if the human shares their soul. It’d changed Lindiwe, after all.

If they can heal, create protection domes, and, uh, other sexual things, then surely there is a way to prevent pregnancy. All they needed was a reason to learn.

Orpheus had even learned how to make wolf illusions, just like the spell she’d discovered in the Anzúli temple so many years ago.

How? She didn’t know. Perhaps he thought if it appeared he had companions, the Demons and Demonslayers would leave him be when he travelled the same path he took every ten years.

For once, I’m going to be like Weldir and... guess.

Hopefully it was true they could prevent pregnancy.

If not... oops?