Sylas

SYLAS

I told my sweet mate I knew Chohan. In fact I only know this area, given I was brought here for a brief time to recover from my injuries before being sent to the procurator and the amphitheater for training, then on to the dome.

I was lucky enough the old captain was prepared to indulge me, to a degree.

I never want to wear a control collar again. But if it meant I got to fly, to breathe in fresh air, eat as much as I wanted…

But now I know what contentment is, all I was doing was preparing for the inevitable, the day when I'd have to fight for someone else.

But my little feather, my eregri , does not need to know these things. She needs to know she is safe and no one will take her from me.

The settlement, a speck in the huge forest called Ryle, is the one adjacent to where I was kept. It is a mixture of mostly the native population, the Tref, and a few other species including Cirmos and Lepke, both of whom thrive in the darkness of the forests.

Alex takes my hand as we make our way through the forest into the center of the settlement where there are a few market stalls and the hub. We get a few glances, but mostly those milling around take little notice of us.

Probably because I will kill any male who looks at my mate.

I tamp down the aggression as we enter the hub.

"?" The Lepke gets up from where he was seated, scrolling through a screen. "!" He pulls me in for an embrace and releases me. "We did not think you would be allowed to return."

"I'm here now," I respond.

"And you have a mate!" He chitters, his feathery antenna swiveling like leaves in a breeze.

I step in front of Alex. "Stay back, Boran."

He flutters his soft wings with excitement.

"A mate for the Gryn!"

"I need a nest," I growl.

His furry brows knit. "A nest."

"He means we need somewhere to stay." Alex shoves my wing aside and steps forward. "We have credits."

Boran skitters on the floor, unable to contain himself. "A human! Your mate is a human."

I growl and unsheathe my claws. Alex stands beside me, pressing her small body into mine and sliding a hand into my feathers.

The effect is instant. I don't want to kill anyone. I just want her.

"Have you met other humans?" she queries of Boran.

"I talked with one, a female, like yourself, in Sartak,"

"The weapons city?" Alex queries. "There was a human in the weapons city?"

"My larvae cousin has met other humans too," Boran says.

"Slaves?" Alex's voice rises in pitch.

"I don't think so…" Boran replies. "Not all of Trefa is like Tatatunga." He smiles widely. "You are very welcome here, without fear or favor, mate of ."

"Alex," Alex says holding out the hand not buried in my feathers.

Boran stares at it. I release a snarl at him. Alex's hand belongs to me and only me, so only I get to hold it.

"I am Boran," Boran says. "I manage this community such as it needs managing. Anything you need, I will do my best to help."

He gives us both a sweeping bow. It doesn't stop the low-level growl I'm making, but Alex's magic touch does, and I tune his voice out as I enjoy what she's doing wholeheartedly.

"So, that's you fixed for a dwelling, providing is happy with it," I hear Boran say. "Is he well? He's drooling."

Alex smiles up at me, her little face alight, wreathed in what I know is joy. "He does that," she says.

"What did I miss?" I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Boran has found us somewhere to live. We can go check it out now."

Boran holds out a small screen with a direction finder displayed. "I think you'll like it, ," he says gently with the hint of a smile.

I swipe the screen from him.

"I will determine if the dwelling is suitable for my mate," I reply, stretching out my wing to enclose Alex.

Outside, I check the screen and then hand it to Alex.

"I'm terrible with directions, ," she says.

"This is easy. We just follow the arrow. You're going to be a great navigator."

"And what are you going to be doing?"

I lift her off her feet and into my arms.

"I'm going to be flying." I open my wings and start running.

After a few paces, I have us in the air, and beating my wings hard, have us rising over the canopy. There is a warm wind, and Alex throws her arms around my neck with a laugh of joy.

"You're supposed to be navigating!" I say in her ear, but all she does is kiss me on my jaw.

I think some sort of sling would be the best idea, given this is the only way my mate is going to travel, her warm body pressed against mine, her hair whipping in my face, her scent burned into my brain.

"This is amazing," Alex sighs, her words whipped away as she looks down and I circle.

"Navigation?" I query.

"Oh! Yes." She smiles. "This is so much better than the transport!" She looks down at the small screen, and I can see the direction we need to take.

I swoop low over the trees, capturing their rising heat to avoid having to expend much energy.

"It's up ahead," Alex says. "There." She releases me to point, then grabs straight back on.

Ahead of us, rising out of the green, blue, and purple trees, is a small triangle of light. As we get closer, it reveals itself to be a glass atrium of a dwelling raised high above the ground. I land on the spacious balcony, my wings lifting up debris and flinging it into the air.

Alex slides down my body but doesn't make any other moves.

"Is this it?" she whispers.

"This is ours, little feather. I will nest here, worship you, and protect you. I will take the sky and the wind and gift them to you because fate has come for me and delivered a mate I hope I'm worthy of."