15. Kerry

Chapter 15

Kerry

M aybe I was a fool for telling him something like that.

"I was lonely on Earth." I explained about my mom, how I grew up with few friends, how, once I was an adult, I escaped into dreams of finding one person who'd love me like no other. "I kept hoping I'd find someone special, but I didn't."

"I've been lonely too," he said solemnly. There was something profoundly sad about this male, as if every bit of hope and joy had been sucked from his life. He'd lost everything. His mate. His clan. His whole way of life.

Who did this to him?

"My mom loved my dad like what you describe as true mates," I said. "He died when I was little, and I don't remember him. He and Mom worked together. I remember her telling me that. It wasn't until she died that I realized he must've been an agent like her and that he was probably killed on duty. I only know his name, Robert, and that he loved me as much as she did. I imagine it was like you and . . ." I barely knew him but the thought of him mourning someone else for the rest of his days strangely gutted me.

"She was incredibly special." His sad smile rose before smoothing. "As I said, I didn't love her. I tried but it's not something that can be forced. My grandfather, our clan traedor, and her parents told us we were mating, and we agreed. It wasn't a matter of choice," he said with a wistful smile. "I was young. Too young to mate, though that didn't matter. She was pretty and sweet, and I assumed we'd do well together."

"How old were you when you mated?"

"We were both twenty-three."

"You didn't have younglings?"

"It never happened."

So much sadness in his voice.

"How old are you now?"

"Twenty-six."

Four years younger than me. Age didn't matter, however. Only the heart.

We continued walking.

The forest slowly thinned, and a wide-open expanse of purple waited ahead, but he must've been joking when he talked of his former clan living on islands floating above the ocean. They'd fall and sink.

Our footwear crunched on fallen leaves the size of my head, and small, fluffy purple creatures scurried away when they saw us. Most scampered up trees and perched on low limbs, chattering at us when we passed.

Molly looked up from where she rode on Nevarn's shoulder and growled.

"My little watchdog," I said. "Funny how I adopted a pet so soon after I arrived when I'd never had one before. Mom wouldn't let me have a cat or a dog or even a fish, though now I know why. We had to be ready to flee our home at any moment, and that would be a challenge with a pet."

He patted her back. "Molly's special."

We continued, the ground becoming sandy and the vegetation thinning. Light glowed ahead, touched with purple. Could that be the sea?

"My grandfather died not long after I was banished," Nevarn said. "And my older brother took over."

Banished by family , another sad brick to add to this growing wall.

"Traedors sound like clan royalty," I said. "Like a king."

He shrugged, and I could tell he didn't quite know what I meant. "Some clan elders choose a new traedor when one dies. In other clans, males battle for the honor of leading. In the Dastalon Clan, any surviving youngling of the current clan traedor will take the position when the elder has died, assuming they're old enough to assume the role. If they're not, they're raised by elders, taught how to be a good leader."

"That is a bit like a royal line. I can't believe your grandfather didn't believe you when you told him you didn't kill her."

"He was a strict male, and the evidence made me look guilty. When no one could find signs that someone else had been near, they accused and banished me. I left with only my weapons and the clothing I wore when I found her."

"They accused you of murdering her and banished you the very same day? No trial or any kind of hearing?"

He frowned. "They could hear me well. I protested and explained that I found her mortally wounded, but they didn't believe me."

"Did you tell them she was trying to tell you something, maybe even the name of her murderer, when she died? That might've swayed your grandfather's mind."

"It wouldn't have brought her back, and it wouldn't have pointed to who killed her, so I didn't mention it. I wasn't allowed to take anything else with me, not even my ryvar who I raised from the time he hatched from an egg."

"What's a ryvar?"

"They're very large birds the Dastalon Clan members ride through the sky."

My snort of laughter faded fast. He was serious about this. A spark of excitement shot through me. Maybe he was also serious about islands floating in the sky. How amazing was that?

I walked faster, eager to see. "Your large birds sound like a dragon, which is cool, because I love them." I tipped my head back and peered at the sky. "Do they breathe fire?"

"No."

"Snatch up people and eat them?"

"They do eat meat, but it's rare for them to attack one of us."

"What about humans?" I asked with a shiver. I hefted my bow and tapped the ends of the new arrows I'd made last night resting in their sheath.

"Not so far."

"I'll remain alert then."

"Is a dragon a large bird on your planet?" he asked.

"Not really. Some say dragons existed long ago, but we've found no evidence they did. They're stories told around a campfire and something we read about in fantasy books. We had large birds the size of dragons in the past, but they all died."

"There are many large predators here," he told me in a hushed voice. "Be on alert at all times."

Nodding, I kept my bow close.

"You said you were banished. Did you find your new clan after you left?" I asked.

"Fourteen males left with me. They didn't believe I'd done it, but like me, they couldn't prove it. It caused a rift in my old clan, one that has only partly healed since my grandfather died. I recently saw my brother, and he told me my banishment had ended, that I could return to live with the clan, but I refused his offer." He stared forward as we walked. "I've created a new home, and I'm happy there."

"Where are the other Earth women you mentioned?"

"Two live with their mates—both clan traedors."

"Willingly?"

"Adoringly."

"I'm having a hard time believing something like that." They must ache to return to Earth.

Though I didn't. Nothing waited for me there. Here?

It felt like a brand-new world had opened up before me, a place full of potential. Perhaps here, I wouldn't be lonely.

Perhaps here, I could be with someone who'd adore me.

Nevarn.

"You don't trust the will of the gods to choose the perfect person for you to mate with?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with humor.

"It sounds like an amazing thing."

"I'll take you to the other women soon, and then you'll see that they're happy."

We strode out of the spindly woods and stopped at the top of an expanse of pale purple sand that plunged down to a darker purple sea.

Huge birds soared high overhead and . . .

His old clan really did live on floating islands.