22. Firion

Chapter 22

Firion

A fter floating a bit, I carried her to shore. This time, I dried her body with a tunic, and I teased out another orgasm from my mate with my tongue while I did it. Because she was worn out completely, though she wore a contented smile, I helped her dress and placed her in the soft grass, then retrieved our packs. We ate and refilled our flasks.

Then we tumbled down together and slept, wrapped in each other’s arms.

I woke to the sound of a small creature scampering through the bushes before tentatively moving down the bank to drink. I rose onto my elbow, watching my lovely sleeping mate.

When she woke, I made love to her gently. She was tiny and despite her insistence she wasn't sore, I still didn’t want to hurt her. I carried her into the water again and washed her before returning to where we’d left our packs .

“What's on the agenda for today?” she asked, her spirits and body restored. She was incredibly strong and equally determined, and seeing that on her face and hearing it in her voice only made me love her even more.

“I thought we could look around, see if we can find anything edible we can take with us.”

“We have to travel a long way, don’t we?” She shivered as she gazed toward the desert around us. “Will we be able to stop at other oases?”

“That’s my plan, but . . .”

Shadows flitted across her face. “The Veerenads will expect that. We’re probably on borrowed time right now.”

“We are, but we needed to rest. We went through a lot while escaping. This time is important.” Both for recovering and for being together. We didn’t know if we’d live longer than the next moment, so spending time like this with her was vital for my soul.

She held out her hand. “Let’s explore, then.” She grabbed my now-dry tunic from the day before. “We can put what we find in here.”

After hiding our packs, we walked deeper into the oasis, weaving around the trees, the air thick with the scent of moist vegetation. The flora here was unlike anything I'd seen near my Dastalon Clan, with leaves in shades of blue in addition to the lavender I was familiar with. Flowers radiated a soft, ethereal glow. Talia's eyes sparkled as she took it all in, her hand reaching out to trail across petals of low-hanging blossoms.

“Everything here is so alive,” she said, her voice a whisper of awe. “Unlike the desert, and unlike Earth. It's a new, exciting world.”

I nodded, squeezing her hand. “It's a world that provides for those who understand its secrets.” I pointed to a cluster of fruit-bearing bushes; their boughs heavy with ripe, orange-colored globes. “Those are safe to eat. They're called zunberries. Sweeter than anything you've tasted, I promise.”

Her eyes lit up, and she plucked one from the branch, bringing it to her nose for a sniff before taking a cautious bite. The look of pure delight on her face was worth more than any treasure I could imagine. “Oh, wow,” she said around a mouthful of fruit. “You're right. It's like the best parts of a peach and a mango had a baby.”

I didn’t know what they were, but when she explained, I had to agree. We both ate two, stopping there to keep from overdoing it, then spent the rest of the morning exploring the oasis, our makeshift sack gradually filling with a variety of fruit and edible tubers I unearthed with my stone knife. We also collected some plump, purple-striped pods that contained seeds encased in a sweet, chewy pulp. I’d love to overload our packs, but we’d have to carry whatever we took.

Talia was a quick learner, and she was soon finding new varieties of leaves we could eat. She listened intently as I explained which plants were poisonous and which could be used for medicinal purposes, her mind soaking up all I said.

I would protect her. Stand by her side. Be with her always .

As long as the world didn’t take me from her.

If it did, and I’d do my best to keep it from happening, I wanted to share what I could with her. Each suggestion could make the difference in her survival on her own.

As we finished collecting what we could carry, I shared stories of my life before the mine—tales of my clan's floating islands, the gorgeous creatures we tamed that flew through the sky, and the way we harnessed the power of the wind and the sea.

I told her about my role as traedor in my clan and what that would mean for her as my mate. We spoke of my brother and how we could visit him as well as the other clans, especially those where males had found love with human mates.

We didn’t need to announce that we wanted to be together always. That knowledge rested in our hearts.

I told her more about the stone gods that watched over us, how they were a constant source of guidance and strength. Talia hung on every word, her curiosity about my world making me gush about everything I adored about my life.

“It sounds beautiful,” she said, her gaze distant. “I’ll see it one day.”

I stopped, taking her face in my hands and meeting her eyes with a fierceness that left no room for doubt. “You will, Talia. I swear it.”

Her smile was all the encouragement I needed to keep going, to keep fighting for our future, a future I was determined to share with her .

By the time we returned to the shore, the sun had started to slip toward the horizon, its rays creating shimmering patterns on the water's surface. We laid out our bounty on a bed of soft grass and feasted, washing it down with cool water.

Talia laughed as a bit of zunberry juice dribbled down her chin, and I leaned in to catch it with my tongue. Of course, we kissed after that, and I savored the sweetness on her lips. It was a simple moment, a fleeting slice of happiness in a world that had shown us nothing but hardship and danger. But in that instant, we were free to love, free to dream, and free to simply be ourselves.

We packed away the remaining food, making sure our supplies were well-stocked for the journey ahead. I watched as Talia carefully tucked a tunic full of provisions into her pack, her movements efficient and purposeful. There was a newfound confidence in the way she carried herself, a strength that shone from within.

As the sun began sliding toward the horizon and painting the sky in fiery orange and deep purple, we made sure we hadn’t left anything behind, though our possessions were few.

The sun disappeared, and night fell, bringing with it a chilly breeze and the scent of sand.

“We’ll challenge the desert again,” I said quietly, my arms tightening around her. “We’ll travel as far and as fast as we can without exhausting ourselves. We’ll take breaks, but we need to keep going. We’ll stop again at sunrise. ”

“How do you know what way to go?”

“South, always south. Use the sun during the day and the stars at night to guide you.”

“Guide us, Firion. Us,” she said firmly, guessing where I was going with this.

She was right. But I had to tell her what to do in case something happened to me. That would be bad enough, but the thought of her being unable to survive alone gutted me.

“See that constellation shaped like a partial moon?” I pointed to the cluster on our right. “Always keep it to your left as you travel at night, and that’ll take you south. When you reach the edge of the desert, you’ll find scrubby brush and eventually lush forests. My brother, Nevarn, lives there, and his clan will welcome us and give us shelter.”

“Will the Veerenads follow us into the forest?”

“If they do, they’ll regret it,” I said grimly. “We can rest with my brother’s clan and then continue to my own, which is a few days walk to the coast.”

“I can’t wait to be home.”

I loved that she considered my home hers as well. “We’ll take time to rest again there, and then we’ll travel to the central god island and make them tell us where Maggie is.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Thank you. I love you.”

I pulled her into my arms. “I love you too.”