CHAPTER 18

"Nitiel, what was that?"

He shook his head, trying to shake off the haze of lust that had taken over him. What had he done? His control had been tethering on the edge while watching Loe being so passionate about her work, so inspired by the cibiris' flight and ready to spend the day here only so she could bring joy to the animals.

But when she had pressed her lips to his… Gone. His common sense had vanished, to be replaced by a need so all-consuming he had been swept away. It had been a craving to have her in his arms and bring her pleasure like no other male had ever given her. To see her melt for him and him alone. To hear her crying out his name, no emotions held back.

How could he ever think her wearing her emotions on her sleeve was bad? Goddess almighty, Loe had been magnificent in the throes of ecstasy. She would still be in their sweet embrace as he worked her hidden little gem that he had read so much about, were it not for the interruption. He would have done the unthinkable, were it not for the interruption.

An interruption that grew from one growl to multiple growls while he was struggling to clear his head.

"Nitiel," Loe whispered again.

The panic clawing its way into her voice helped sober him up completely. "Cibiris," he whispered back. "Young ones."

But it made no sense. The younglings' enclosure was further down the main path, not here behind the shrubs.

Then three small cibiris appeared from behind the greenery, and there was no longer any doubt. Wild, undisciplined cibiris were on the loose in the Arboretum. And judging by the orange around their mouths, they had eaten from the gusafana bushes. The leaves of which caused hyper activity unless consumed in moderation. And moderate eating was not one of the younglings' strong suits.

"Nitiel, please tell me these are good horseys."

"Loe, I need you to stand very slowly." Nitiel didn't want to scare her, but he had to let her know things could go sideways. More sideways than they already had because of his loss of control. So much for him keeping his inner beast on a leash. But he would think about that after he got Loe to safety.

Despite her panicked look, she immediately took the hand he was offering. No questions asked. No hesitation. She trusted him with her life.

But as careful as Nitiel was in getting them both up from the ground, the young cibiris were restless balls of energy after their improvised breakfast. They also had an unfamiliar bipedal on their territory.

The three animals charged. And more followed their lead from within the shrubs.

There was no time to pick Loe up and take flight. Nitiel had only one option, and he took it. He pushed her behind him and spread his arms and wings to appear bigger. If that didn't dissuade the younglings from going through him, he would have to block the stampede with brute force. His body would be Loe's shield.

It worked! Though out of control, the cibiris still recognized the threat he posed and veered away from him and Loe–

All but three.

Loe screamed as the first cibiri rammed into Nitiel.

He roared as he caught the youngling by the neck. Wings blocking the hits of the animal's wings, Nitiel pushed it to the side with all his might. The cibiri – a male looking to prove his worth – hit the ground then ran off in defeat.

Before Nitiel could regain his footing, the second cibiri's hoof caught him in the thigh in passing. He blocked the third cibiri's attack in the nick of time. The animal managed to deliver a vicious bite to his chest, tearing through his suit and into his flesh, but Nitiel did not relent. If he moved just a fraction, Loe would be exposed to the danger. He put his full strength into shoving the animal to the side.

He did it–

His leg gave out. The old injury flared, and Nitiel went down on one knee.

"Nitiel!" The foolishly brave female was immediately by his side, trying to get him up, instead of running for her life.

Because heading their way – again – were the rest of the younglings, riled up by his aggression and emboldened by his vulnerable position. The stampede would go right through them this time. Nitiel had failed.

"Run, Loe! Leave me!"

"No!"

It was at that moment that the adult cibiris descended onto the meadow, Cheyda in the lead. She landed right in front of Nitiel and Loe, shielding them. Buying them precious seconds.

Nitiel pushed up through the pain, somehow getting his bad leg to obey. He pulled Loe to his chest and picked her up at the same time as he pushed himself off the ground using both wing and leg power. He roared at the crippling agony in his thigh but managed to gain height. And just in time, because the chaos on the ground was complete.

The adult cibiris were trying to get the younglings under some semblance of control, but those untamed and intoxicated creatures would not be so easily herded. Some fought the adults while others ran off, too young to fly but full of energy to spare.

The Arboretum would be a dangerous place until all younglings were contained. Nitiel had to send a warning. He also had to fly Loe out of here.

But try as he might, the pain in his chest at every flap of his wings made getting all the way to the exit impossible. He couldn't fly high enough to get above the canopy, and his flight was so wobbly that he could barely avoid the tree branches. Still, he would get Loe as far from the cibiris' enclosure as possible.

"God, Nitiel, you're bleeding!" Her hands clutched at the torn uniform over his chest. "You need to land, now!"

"Further… for your… safety."

"Fuck my safety, I'm not letting you bleed to death. Land, Nitiel!"

He found himself obeying her command without second thought. Not that his brain was capable of thinking at this point, not with the pain and blood loss. Thank the Goddess, he managed to land rather smoothly between two trees; his bad leg gave out only after he had lowered Loe's feet to the ground.

Then he slumped to the grass, unable to stand.