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As the summer midafternoon sun slowly warmed her raven feathers, creating a warm blanket across her back and shoulders, Lindiwe sat on the very edge of one of the most exquisite and majestic places she’d found thus far in her travels.

Discovering it the first time she’d touched her feet down in Zafrikaan had been an accident.

She’d merely followed a daunting and expansive river as it snaked its way across the lower end of the massive continent.

With wings unfurled and flapping as she flew, it’d taken hours as she strived to discover where it ended – without taking a smaller, thinner path that branched off it.

The moment she came to this location, it was like her very soul had returned to her chest and doubled in its size and heat.

This overwhelming sense of awe had struck her, and she’d been stuck in the air, doing enough to keep herself from falling but unable to tear her eyes away. It radiated immense beauty and power.

For as far as the eye could see, the world dropped off into a great gorge. Nothing like the Veil, as it was much thinner and definitely not as long, but it was surprising that something like it could be naturally made.

The impressive river she’d been following, that was so large it had lush green islands scattered all throughout it, ended in that gorge.

Water cascaded off the edge for what had to be thousands of kilometres.

Thunderous mist sprayed into the air, the falls loud and ravenous as they fell to the bottom of the gorge.

Rainbows glittered constantly, refracting the sun above and creating an almost heavenly aura.

Upon viewing it, if it wasn’t for her attachment to Weldir, the old Lindiwe may have thought the Heavenly Father truly existed by the mere design of it.

On the other side of the river that disappeared into the depths lay forests and meadows teeming with wildlife. Of course, Lindiwe had also spotted the telltale signs of a few Demons, yet the area had been mostly untouched.

But this place was a testament to the power of nature.

She’d appreciated it back then, and even more a second time.

Which was why she’d chosen to take a seat on a tall yet narrow island of wet stone between two cascades and soak it in as she had before. Not even the early summer heat bothered her, although she did have her tunic sleeves rolled up and her hair twisted into a thick bun.

Being here, she felt a sense of change in her, a sense of renewal. Like the waters here were divine enough to wash away her worries, fears, and regrets under their harsh drops and scour her clean.

She needed that, as the last time she came to this continent, she’d received the most heartbreaking news and loss. But it had been seventeen years since then, and in her womb, she was growing a new child.

This time, she had every intention of finishing her duty by leaving them here.

With one leg lying down along the rough slope of rock and the other bent, she rubbed the barely noticeable bump of her belly. They were still small, and she had a few weeks to go. They grew so fast, yet when they were just starting out, they seemed even more precious and vulnerable than usual.

I hope you adore this place as much as I do, Lindiwe thought, keeping one hand there as she placed her elbow on her bent knee and then rested her chin on the top of her forearm.

She winced a little, her firm stomach repelling the tightness, but it was bearable for now. Soon, she wouldn’t be so flexible.

It’d only been a week since she left Weldir’s realm, and she’d been trying everything in her power to not linger on what had happened there. Yet, no matter how she tried, her mind kept drifting back to it, which often made her sensitive and hormonal nipples harden and her clit tingle.

She had much to reflect on.

The last time she’d sat at this beautiful gorge of disappearing water, she’d had this horrible sense of disappointment. She’d been despondent, and the idea of performing any kind of intimacy had been terrifying. She’d lost her will for sex, for pleasure, for anything really.

This time? Well, it was like Weldir had cruelly snuffed out the original flame, only to spark it much wilder. He’d rummaged through her untended garden of desire, unearthed it, and then replanted it with vibrancy.

Lindiwe groaned and buried her face against the soft crook of her elbow. Whyyyy? Why did he have to be so good at that? She’d been fine with giving it up!

She’d accepted it, and once she did, she found she was content.

She’d felt sturdy within herself. Everything had been easy to read, easy to understand, and the future of her emotions was easy to predict.

She never got upset with him, as she had no expectations.

She’d begun to find his infrequent company agreeable and sometimes relied on it to ease any pestering loneliness.

Now? Well now she was fucking confused all over again!

Lindiwe threw her hands up into the air and screamed. Nothing reacted to her noise of frustration, the thunderous gorge much louder than she could ever be. She slammed her face into the crook of her elbow again before sighing and tilting her head to the side to watch the view.

I can’t believe he made me come. She couldn’t even count how many times!

It was like her touch-starved body had released a dam that had been overfull.

Over and over she’d climaxed until it’d become so painful that the pleasure was all too much.

Until her nipple had strained under his tendril , and her clit had throbbed so hard her groin thrummed and her legs shook.

The fact that Weldir , of all beings, could do that made her want to tear her hair out.

He was meant to be this inexperienced, emotionally lacklustre entity.

She’d been hoping for at least one orgasm but thought there’d be a lot more fumbling for it, and for it not to be so powerful that she thought she was going to disintegrate under the waves of bliss.

I guess I did kind of explode. At that thought, remembering how her eyes nearly fell from her skull at his drenched fingers, her face grew so flushed she thought she’d fucking faint from the heat.

She didn’t even know why she was so angry over it.

Maybe because they could have been doing that the entire time they’d been married. Lindiwe didn’t actually mind a life filled with endless pleasure between them, considering her time on Earth was mostly filled with pain and loneliness.

Maybe it was because she was embarrassed that she’d come so quickly and so much. She remembered grinding on his damn hand like a wanton, lusty woman! It was only her second time doing anything sexual and yet her body, singing from the affectionate caresses, had just taken her by the throat.

Maybe it was because things shouldn’t need to be this hard between them. Why did he have to be so... distant? So obtuse and reserved. He makes it so hard to connect with him.

And now that he’d given her pleasure, she wanted that stupid demi-god to connect with her pussy constantly.

Her body hungered for it.

It had been starved for too long, and it was now a ravenous beast that wanted its deserved treats. It craved more touch, more lust, more gentle tickles and rough squeezes. It even wanted the tendrils that used to sicken her stomach to wrap around her limbs and breasts again.

It wanted to feel... alive. Like it wasn’t the ghostly creature she could become.

Please tell me it’s just pregnancy hormones, she pleaded, as she groaned again. If my pussy is going to throb like this for the rest of my life, I think I’d rather it end.

Especially as she had no intention of ever admitting to Weldir just how much she’d liked it. Or that she wanted to do it again so desperately that she might be willing to have many more of his kids if she got to experience that each time.

Lindiwe covered her face with both hands, ashamed of herself when she thought, A part of me wishes I didn’t fall pregnant straight away. How pitiful!

She’d gone through a personality shift! She’d told herself she would no longer be that na?ve or shy woman she’d been. That the Lindi part of her was gone – just like her parents, her village, her very home.

And yet, here she was, about to have an aneurysm because she was horny for a shadowy cloud of weirdness.

“Lindiwe, what are you doing?” Weldir asked through their bond, and she screamed in fright – which was unusual for her.

Mortified that he’d been watching her have what she thought was a private moment, Lindiwe’s heart nearly burst out of her chest. Even the child within her stomach seemed to bounce around and flutter from the shock.

“Nothing!” she yelled, so glad her flushing ears were obscured by the loose bangs of her hair so he couldn’t see their heated tips.

“It doesn’t look like nothing,” he said, and his rough, decadent voice had her insides twisting into desirous knots.

The man’s vocal cords were a sin, especially as she doubted he lacked any!

“H-how’s Nathair?” she asked, reaching for something, anything, other than the conversation revolving around her.

He gave a hum of thought, likely wanting to press the issue. He must have decided against it, since he said absently, “He’s good. Trying to hide from me.”

Her brows twitched before furrowing. “Is that even possible?”

Weldir laughed, all deep and masculine and right in her damn ear, and she almost wanted to moan like a horny idiot. “No, but I let him believe it is.”

“You must have a lot of souls there now. How do you find him if he slithers off? Or can you just sense him no matter what?” she asked, actually curious about this.

I’ve always wanted to visit Tenebris. Considering that was where Nathair was, and that Weldir spoke of it often, it was the one place she wanted to visit. But the idea of being swallowed whole kind of gave her the heebie-jeebies, so she hadn’t asked.

She didn’t know if she ever would.