Sylas

SYLAS

" S mells," I grumble with a sniff at our less than salubrious surroundings.

This is not a nest I want my eregri to spend any time in.

"Shhh!" Alex hushes me. "She was the only one who would take you…I mean us."

"She's taking more than just us." I lift up a bulkhead container to see a number of bugs skitter away. "I'm going to get feather mites."

I shake out my wings.

Alex folds her arms, and my stomach does the dipping thing from earlier.

"I thought gladiators were fighters not divas," she says.

"I am a fighter," I growl, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her into me. She squeaks deliciously. "And I want the best for my mate."

"Oh, so it's all about me now, is it?" She laughs. "Good, because I have something to show you."

I did not like leaving Alex to do the negotiations, and the second she set foot inside the transport, I was very nearly in the air and pulling her out. The simple fact she had been speaking with a Cirmos prior to entering was the only thing holding me back.

Cirmos are friends, not food. There was a small cohort back at the dome who provided medical care to me and the other gladiators, not that I needed much. They were good and kind, where they didn't need to be. Especially when Klynn threatened to tear their fur from their bodies.

I follow Alex farther into the transport ship, and we step through an airlock into a pristine operations center.

I step back and check. Yes, the place we've come from is still filthy. I return into the rarified air through the doorway.

"I know." Alex grins at me. "Haxrix says it means she gets less interest when traveling around Trefa if her ship looks like it's transporting…bugs."

"Clever." I nod, my feathers shivering with interest.

"Cirmos are not entirely idiots." A small furry creature slides out of the pilot's seat and glares at me. "Nor do I usually transport dangerous goods."

I look around. The spotless place doesn't have a container in sight.

"She means you," Alex hisses, elbowing me in my side.

"I am not dangerous." I bristle. "Unless my mate is threatened."

Haxrix laughs and stalks towards me.

"Listen, Gryn," she growls, fixing me with a mesmerizing gaze. "I like my ship. I like it to stay the way it is, with no new holes or scratches. Pax has served me well and I want her to stay that way. So, unless I say your mate is in danger, you do absolutely nothing, understand?"

I snarl at her.

"Or I can put you both off here and you can walk to Chohan."

I catch sight of Alex. My mate is safe here on this ship. The Cirmos is not stupid. Any more aggression from me will only put my eregri in a worse position.

I flick my wings back.

"No, do not do that. I agree to your terms," I say, holding up my hands, palms out.

Haxrix hisses under her breath and narrows her eyes.

"You have my bond, tiny Cirmos," I say, in a way I hope is conciliatory.

Her tail fluffs and she makes a strangled noise. "I'm adding credits to your bill for that remark, Gryn ," she spits, turning her back on me and making her way to the controls.

I risk another glance at Alex. Her eyes are tightly shut and her shoulders are shaking.

"Are you feeling well, little feather?" I ask, reaching for her arm.

"This is going to be a very interesting journey," she says, wiping her eyes and leaning into me.

"From here to Chohan is only half a nova-day."

"Not for this ship. It's two nova-days' travel," Alex says. "And Haxrix says we're not stopping."

"So, we're stuck in here for two nova-days?"

"In the back, Gryn," Haxrix shouts from her seat without turning around.

Alex and I exchange glances. I take her hand as it's what she seems to like. There is a narrow corridor leading out of the control center. The first three doors do not open for us, but the final one does, sliding silently into the wall, Alex peers in.

"Oh!" she gasps.

I shove myself into the doorway to see a spacious room with a large Gryn sized bed, and, if I'm not mistaken, there is the scent of water.

It needs a few things doing to it, but as I look around, this could be a nest.

A nest for my mate.