Chapter 12

Chapter

Twelve

As we flew over the farmlands and closer to Riverine, I stroked Liana's neck feathers.

‘How should I give you directions?' I asked her. She'd never been out of The Wilds.

‘Think in pictures and send them to me,' she responded.

Think in pictures… okay. Every human-creature bonded was different, and each pairing had to figure out how they would best work together and eventually fight together in battle. It was a huge part of what we would learn at boot camp.

I flashed pictures into my mind's eye about different parts of the city, and then finally stopped on the giant stone castle that we called home.

‘Oh that's easy. I see it from here,' Liana said.

I reeled back. She did? I squinted, peering at the ground. There was no way she saw my house from here when we were still hovering over the north end of the city. I certainty couldn't see it.

‘I have special vision,' she told me, and understanding dawned on me.

That made sense, and was super cool.

‘What other gifts do you have?' I asked.

‘I can breathe fire, emit a poison from my talons if I want to, fly, see super far, fly super fast. I'm a good judge of character just by smelling someone, I am obviously immune to fire, and I regenerate and rebirth so that I never die.'

Hah! That was all. ‘You're amazing.' I reached out and stroked her neck feathers.

She nuzzled into my hand. ‘Oh, and I heal within minutes. I think you got that from me too.' She peered back at me, noticing I had no burns on my body.

‘Thank you for that gift,' I told her honestly. I couldn't imagine the pain of trying to heal from burns that bad.

‘Can I ask you more questions or is this annoying?' I asked her. A creature and their human had to work out their personalities in the beginning. It could be a bit like having a new roommate. I didn't want to overwhelm her.

‘Not annoying,' she told me, and I sensed a smile in her voice.

‘I saw that your mate passed and that you had children.'

She nodded. ‘But they are all gone now.'

I frowned. ‘How can they pass when you are immortal?'

‘They were males like my mate. Only females rebirth.'

Right, she had shown me that.

‘I'm sorry.'

‘I also consider Onyx as one of my children.'

I grinned at that. Thinking of Liana mothering Onyx made me smile for some reason.

‘And that golden egg, you said it was yours but your mate is gone…' I was almost embarrassed to ask the question, but if a baby firebird was going to be born in The Wilds without a mother… ‘Should we go back for it?'

Her entire body rattled with what at first sounded like a cough and then turned into what I now recognized as a laugh.

‘Aisling. You are a woman who bleeds, yes?'

My cheeks went red and I knew I never should have asked her.

‘Yes,' I confirmed.

‘But every time you bleed you are not pregnant?'

Oh my stars, if we were about to talk about sex I was going to die.

‘Right.' I wanted to change the subject, but couldn't think of anything to say.

‘I lay eggs that are not fertilized,' she confirmed, and I nodded, feeling like an idiot.

She was like the chickens we had in the barn. A giant magical chicken.

‘Sorry, let's never speak of that again,' I told her, and her chest rumbled with a laugh again.

‘Hold on,' she said, as she began to descend.

I dug my fingers into her colorful feathers and then we dropped. My stomach gave out and a thrill ran through me. She shot forward faster than I ever thought possible, and laughter bubbled out of me. I had to squeeze my thighs to stay on her and then she slowed in front of my house.

I scanned our large compound, then the smile was ripped from my face. My father was watching us with crossed arms and a curious expression, Zuri perched next to him and glaring up at me. I sat up straighter and leapt off of Liana the moment she landed.

"Father. I'm sorry if I'm late. There was?—"

"Is this her?" He walked towards Liana, cocking his head to the side, making a slow circle around her. I could see the greed in his gaze, the jealousy. No matter how much he tried to hide it, his face dripped with it.

Could I blame him? I'd bonded a Talanagi. He was the emperor. It should have been him.

"Yes, Father, this is Liana. Liana, this is the emperor of Amersea, my father."

My father bowed slightly to her out of respect, Zuri doing the same beside him. "We are so pleased you have bonded with Aisling. You will make a great addition to my fleet."

Liana's nostrils flared slightly. I could tell something was off with her, a stirring within her that I couldn't explain.

But she bowed her large, feathered head out of respect, saying nothing to me.

"It seems we are all well met," I told my father, as he and Zuri relaxed after Liana's head bow, which was not only a sign of respect but submission. Something my father demanded of all of his subjects.

Meeting another person's creature for the first time was a bit unnerving. There had been attacks in the past if two creatures didn't get along well.

"I'm going to get her settled in the barn," I informed my father.

He nodded curtly. "Then right to bed. You start boot camp tomorrow."

I grinned at that. I never in a million years thought I'd bond a Talanagi and go off to boot camp with her. Every Imperial Fleet officer present would be staring at us no doubt. They'd be staring at Kohen and Onyx too.

I walked Liana across the large garden and to the huge barn my father had built just for this moment. There were four large stalls, enough for me and the triplets' creatures when they got them. I slid open the large double doors and then walked her into one of the open stalls. Fresh hay had been laid down and there was water and food.

Liana took one look at it and snorted. ‘Oh, my precious child. I am not a pet. I will not be living in here.'

My face fell and I immediately felt guilty. Of course she wasn't a pet!

‘I've offended you? I'm so sorry.' This was the roommate stuff we needed to work out. I reached for her and she nuzzled my hand.

‘Not offended. Just educating you. I sleep among the trees and the stars. I hunt for my food. I drink from streams. I fly where I want and I will never be caged.'

I understood completely. She wasn't like other creatures and I needed to remember that. ‘I'm sorry.'

I walked her out of the barn to the back of our yard where the perfectly manicured lawn stopped and the thick wild jungle began.

She looked content. ‘This is better.'

I chewed on my lip, worried now that we might have to work some more things out. ‘I start a month-long boot camp tomorrow. We are at war with Luska and boot camp is where we go to learn?—'

She nodded, cutting me off. ‘I know how it works. I live near The Wall, I see the war firsthand every day. I will learn to fight beside you, Aisling, and protect you with my life. I will lead you into battle, and one day, when you are empress, I will carry you across the entire world in a victory parade.'

I grinned. ‘You know about that? The emperor's parade?'

‘I am well known in The Wilds. Other creatures tell me things and I offer protection or give them ancient knowledge,' she mused. ‘They told me about your customs and we had a similar parade where I'm from.'

Where she was from? I didn't think she meant The Wilds… ‘Where are you from?' I asked, and felt nervousness run through her.

‘Home. Above the fire sky, from before the rock fell and brought us here.'

I was stunned by her answer. Creatures considered The Wilds their home, a home they wanted to leave and explore the outside world. For her to say that above the fire sky was her home… well, she was much older than I had initially thought by thousands of years. The realization was mind-boggling. Incredible.

‘I'm very grateful to have bonded you, Liana,' I told her.

‘And I you,' she said, bowing deeply to me, deeper than she did to my father. ‘I will follow every command you give me, and do everything in my power to serve and protect you. I only ask for one favor in return when the time comes.'

A favor? My heart hammered in my chest. ‘What favor?'

‘I will ask when the circumstances are ready, and you can decide if you want to grant my request.'

That felt heavy, an undefined favor. But she wasn't saying I had to grant it, only that she would ask.

‘Okay, ask when you are ready, and if it's reasonable I will grant it.'

She opened her beak in what I could only describe as a grin. ‘Goodnight, young one,' she said.

‘Goodnight, Liana,' I told her, and moved to leave when she stopped me with a feeling. It was like a pull on my chest, and then an uneasiness ran through my stomach.

I turned around to face her.

‘Do you love him?' she asked.

I stood there in shock at her question for a wild second thinking she meant Kohen. ‘Who?'

‘Your father.'

I sagged in relief, laughing. Did I love my father? What kind of question was that?

‘I mean, yeah. He's my father,' I answered, unsure. I'd never said it to him, not even as a child. My mother said it all the time, too much probably, but my father never uttered the words and so we didn't either.

‘Then I won't tell you what I think of him. Goodnight, Aisling.'

Her words carved their way through my heart as I wished her goodnight and walked back to my house in stunned silence.

She mentioned she was a good judge of character just by smelling someone. Was that what she meant? She smelled my father and she didn't like him?

I lay awake for an hour thinking about it before finally drifting off to sleep.