Chapter 16

My hands arerubbed raw and my feet cut to hell. I’m in a damn sight worse state than I let on to Sohven, but the big guy was off-balance enough for both of us, and nothing was going to make me weigh him down with more worries.

Truth be told, I’m still a bit shaky. When I look too long at the body of the massive creature I killed, I get woozy and my vision goes dim around the edges. It’s worse up here under the open sky, the bright sun highlighting the sheer ugliness of the beast. My feet sting and ache, and I’m not certain the wart-like protrusions on the rough-edged scales didn’t excrete some sort of poison or venom. The only positive is that the cuts don’t seem to be bleeding—Lohnya don’t like the way humans bleed, at least Sohven doesn’t.

Vozu grips my arm to steady me. “Easy now. I see the medic up ahead.”

I nod in acceptance, belatedly remembering he probably won’t read the gesture. “That’s good,” I grit out. All the nonchalance I affected for Sohven has run out.

The medic works quickly when we get to him. Vozu tries to help me, but I collapse onto my ass before he has the chance. It feels good to get off my feet, but I’m really missing clothes right about now. There’s some sort of rough scrub growing in spotty patches, and it prickles where it scratches my skin.

The man crouches beside me and lifts one leg to inspect my sole, hissing and clicking before he flashes a light across it. I don’t see a portable regen-chamber, so I figure I’m probably out of luck until he presses a device to the arch of my foot. He lets go of my leg, setting my foot back down on the ground before he moves on to the next one. He repeats the process, and a curious sensation almost like numbness floods my lower limbs. When I attempt to wiggle my toes, I still have an awareness of the ground, even if I don’t necessarily feel the movement. The medic rubs the hair on my ankle curiously before he lets me go, ear tips perking up in what I assume is curiosity.

“How long will that last?” I ask.

The medic’s round eyes shift up to focus on my face before he tilts his head. “You won’t be fully healed until tomorrow, but you shouldn’t experience any more pain. Rest once you return to the eyrie. You did well,” he says, pointing toward the body of my sahvatsu.

“Thanks,” I reply.

Vozu helps me up, although I don’t really think I need the assistance.

“I’m flying you back this time,” he says, finality ringing in his voice as if he’s anticipating an argument.

“Good. When do we go?”

He turns towards the lake, lips pressed together, all stern and forbidding. “We must wait for the others to surface. Once everyone has left the water, we’ll return to the eyrie for another meal and some rest. You could use it,” he adds, an accusatory note in his tone that seems highly unnecessary. I’m not planning on refusing. A nap sounds great right about now. Wrangling that sahvatsu took more out of me than I like to admit.

“How about you? Are you disappointed you weren’t able to get your own sahvatsu? If you hadn’t helped me haul mine ashore, I’m sure you would’ve caught one.”

“No.” His nostrils flare and flatten. “I believe you now. After seeing him again today, as improbable as it seems, I don’t believe Sohen will take any other mates. He’s different, isn’t he?” he says thoughtfully. He discreetly scans the area before he shuffles closer. “My nestmate who was exiled, he was different, too.”

“Yes?” As far as encouragement goes, it’s not too creative, but it gets the job done. Vozu tips his head down, wrapping his large fingers around mine. I swallow. Some things really do feel universal, like the simple connection of two clasped hands.

“He also claimed to only want one mate. He wasn’t a gazla, just a normal man like the rest of us.” He pauses, fingers fidgeting a bit. It tickles where his talons tease against my skin. “His lover wasn’t a gazla either. He couldn’t bear, and he didn’t want to join a nest, so the elders sent him down to the lowlands.”

I look around. “Down here?”

Vozu squeezes my hand. “No. The manufacturing centers are on the other side of the eyrie so they don’t spoil the view.” His thin lips almost disappear as he rolls them inwards. “Holan wanted to join him, but my fathers disapproved. Then Jokta got sick. It was the wasting illness, an overgrowth of cells in his ryos.”

My translator can’t parse the word, but I get the gist. Cancer, of a non-human or uncommon type of alien organ.

“Was there anything they could do to treat it?” I ask.

“Yes.” Vozu starts leading us further away from the others. I let him. I’ve been waiting for this type of intel since we first started talking. “The medication to treat it is one of our most valuable exports. The microbes necessary for its production only survive under very specific conditions found in our southern eyries. Exporting holya is what provides the raw materials to maintain our communications networks and a large portion of our technology.”

“Okay. You seem to know a lot about it. Are you a scientist?” I ask when he doesn’t seem inclined to continue.

That gets a rough chuff out of him. “No, I’m not. My aptitude scores were high enough, but my fathers wanted me to join a nest. That’s the highest calling on Lohnyal—hasn’t Sohen told you?” There’s a bitter edge there, the acrid flavor of sarcasm on his tongue. His wings snap and rustle like he’s rolling his shoulders. “Everything I told you is common knowledge. It’s why what Holan did was punished so severely. He stole. Holya distribution is limited. There isn’t enough to treat all of our people who suffer, and Jokta wasn’t important enough to receive it, so my nestmate stole the medication. He betrayed his people.”

We’re not moving any longer. More sahvatso bodies lie lined up beside my kill. By the time they’re done, the shore will be littered with them.

“How’d he get caught?” I ask. I already know this story doesn’t have a happy ending.

Vozu’s wing rubs across my back like touching me will give him strength. The slide of the thin membranes over my bare skin makes me shiver. “Someone at the distribution center reported him. Holya supports our way of life. Despite all their talk of tradition, no one wants to go back to what we were before the Allvek’hi came.”

“Did Jotka get the medicine?”

I’d almost forgotten Vozu’s fingers are wrapped over mine, but his entire body shudders, jolting my hand. “No,” he says quietly. “His spirit went back to the winds.”

“And your nestmate left?”

“Holan was exiled, the worst punishment any Lohnya can receive. He was stricken from the registers as if he’d never existed. I’m not allowed to speak of him, even within my own nest.”

“I’m sorry. That sounds…” I hesitate, knowing any word I can think of is inadequate. “That sounds painful. Why did you think Sohen went after him?” I catch myself before I accidentally use his claim-name, but it’s a near miss.

“He thought the punishment was unjust. He spoke against the elders, but we all assumed that Sohen may have been attached to Holan, and his passion was due to their bond. It caused a great disturbance in our eyrie. I remember it well, and I was still a youth. When the Onavas announced Sohen was returning to claim his nest, the news shocked us all. It was a triumph for them, of course.”

“So if he leaves, they lose standing?”

Vozu’s close enough that I sense each small movement he makes. When he turns towards me, I twist to meet his gaze. “Yes. They won’t let him go.”

I need to respond, but I’ve got to play my cards right. I press my tongue against the back of my teeth as I try to work it out. “What do you think?”

“About what?”

“Do you think it’s wrong for Sohen to leave again? Do you think he abandoned his family?”

Vozu’s head tilts to the side as his nostrils open and close. “No and yes. Are you certain you can’t be happy here? I could be content as your mate, small one. Leaving won’t be easy, especially with such a successful festival. I’ve never heard of so many men declaring themselves for a single gazla. Sohen could have a nest to rival those from our early eras when our eyries were full of young.”

“Where are the children, if you don’t mind my asking? I haven’t seen any since I arrived.” I shift my gaze back to the lakeside. There are still a few Lohnya hauling in sahvatso, but most seem to be crowding the shoreline now. It’s easy to recognize Zana with his bright green markings and red vossan. He’s walking past the others as he lifts his horns at us. He’s coming this way, so my time for questions is limited.

“Of course, you haven’t!” says Vozu, forgetting to be quiet. I think I’ve shocked him. He’s baring his teeth at me, eyes bright. “The fertility festival isn’t for our young, at least not until the final mating flights. Everyone comes out to view those, but the children stay on their side of the eyrie during the trials. They have training and lessons, but once the festival is over, they join us for meals and entertainment. You’ll see.”

Hopefully not. As far as I’m aware, our plan is to hightail it out of here as soon as the mating flight is over. If everything Vozu’s telling me is true, we’re going to have to craft a plan B, and right quick, because Sohen’s fathers aren’t going to make it easy. I give Vozu a tight smile. I want to ask more about the Lohnya relegated to the plains and where they house the shuttles like the one that brought us down from the station, but I’m not quite sure how far I can trust him. He said Sohven was different, like his brother, but he didn’t say that he was.

Come to think of it, his wing is getting a little cozy with my asscheeks, and my entire right side is pressed up against his body. I was so engrossed in the conversation, I didn’t notice him getting closer, but we probably look loved up to anyone giving us a passing glance.

“Greetings, Zana. Did you bring in a sahvatsu?” Vozu asks. He’s not letting up with the wing clasp, and Zana’s only a few meters away and moving in fast.

“Yes! It was a good kill, but not nearly as impressive as our future mate’s.” He looks at me, thin lips spreading into a broad smile. “What a glorious first trial! The others will not so quickly underestimate a human again. Are you also a master grappler?”

My lips part, but I don’t speak right away as I try to visualize how that would work with Lohnya wings. “No, I think you’ll be able to defeat me there,” I tell him. I do alright in hand-to-hand drills, but it’s not my strong suit.

“Good. That will allow the rest of us to display our skills for Sohen.” He walks right up to us, ignoring any imaginary boundaries delineating personal space. “Let me join you.”

Zana wedges himself between the both of us until we’re all standing in some sort of lopsided, compressed triangle. He rubs his forehead against mine, his low humming making his lips vibrate where they drag over my cheek. It’s entirely too intimate, and I’m grateful that I saw Sohven leave earlier with my own eyes, otherwise I’d be worried for Zana’s health.

“Alright,” I say as I work my way free of both Zana’s clinging arms and Vozu’s sticky wing—I’ve been out of the water long enough to start sweating again, and the day’s definitely been heating up. “Maybe we should go over to the others. Are we going back up soon?”

“Yes. That’s why I came over. The gazlas are watching up in the eyrie, and they want us all to pose with our kills. It was a good hunt,” replies Zana.

“I wish I’d had longer underwater to watch everyone before my sahvatsu attacked. I feel like I missed most of the event,” I tell them as I start walking. My feet don’t hurt anymore, and luckily most of the strange numbness has worn off, so I don’t have any trouble.

It looks like all of Sohven’s men did well. There are a lot of red marked Lohnya standing proudly next to their slain sahvatso. Vozu sticks by my side when we get to mine, but I don’t mind sharing the credit. I wouldn’t have been able to haul the body in by myself, and everyone has the video evidence that I was able to handle the animal on my own when push came to shove.

I jostle him lightly with my elbow. “Thanks for helping me out down there,” I tell him, keeping my voice low so the others won’t try to listen in. “I appreciate your help.” I’ve got to toe the line between building a friendship, or at least an alliance with this guy, and not giving him any ideas that I’m looking for more.

He brushes the smooth side of his talons against my hip. “It was gladly given, Jace.”

We don’t have to stand around long before some of the older ones dismiss us to return to the eyrie. It might be childish, but I feel no shame as I duck my head when I notice Ulya looking my way. I’ll pass on another ride in his arms, thank you very much.

I clasp my hands behind Vozu’s neck. “Do you think you could fly us around the other side of the eyrie before we land? I’d really like to see what the manufacturing areas look like and the section of the eyrie with the children. I want to know more about your world.”

He smiles as he reaches around to lift me up by the hamstrings. He hauls me forward until I’m plastered to his body, legs dangling on either side of his hips. I reluctantly lock my ankles behind him and pull myself up a little higher, getting a good grip as I settle in against his chest.

“Yes, I’ll show you,” he agrees, and I resolutely ignore how duplicitous I feel.

I mean, I do want to see his world, but it isn’t simple curiosity that drives my request.

Vozu doesn’t bother with a running start like Ulya. Our takeoff is far less dramatic since we’re not hurtling off a cliff, but it still gets the blood pumping. The whole field is noisy as all get out—fifty or so Lohnya flapping their wings at the same time makes a terrible racket, but it’s not like we’d be doing much talking mid-flight anyway.

It’s a magnificent sight. They’re far enough apart not bump wings, but close enough together that we seem to fill the sky. The combination of their natural markings and the bright ceremonial paint has them strung across the lake like a living rainbow. I hope Sohven’s calm and able to enjoy watching us. I know he was still uneasy when he left earlier. Despite my misgivings, there are aspects to this festival that are beautiful.

Vozu starts to pull away from the others as we fly higher. I prefer ascending to the mad flight down. It’s illogical—it’d hurt just the same if I fell now, but it feels less dangerous. I’m able to enjoy the view this time, even if I do have to keep craning my neck to look down.

When the others continue towards the open area at the cliffside where we landed in the shuttle, Vozu swings left. I’m glad he’s got a good grip on my backside, but I really wouldn’t have minded a ride in one of the harnesses Ulya mentioned. I can’t help but notice Vozu’s half hard, and there’s an interesting situation nudging against my ass crack. Still, as long as he doesn’t thrust, I think we can get past the awkwardness.

It’s too loud up here to speak, but Vozu sort of tickles my spine with his talons. I almost break out of his embrace when my body shudders and I gasp. “Shit,” I whisper against his collarbone. That’s a sensation I don’t need repeated.

He nudges my head with his face like he’s trying to get me to lift away from his chest. I turn my head and look down. It makes sense now—it looks like there’s an entire city below us. We’ve rounded the prominence where the gazlas first flew yesterday, and it’s like seeing a completely different settlement. Not only are there sprawling buildings and several shuttles of varying sizes parked beneath us, the visible portion of the eyrie appears much more developed. There were a few hanging “perches” on our side, but the setup here looks like an adventure gym. Tiny Lohnya are scrabbling over hazardously high open climbing frames and up gauzy, weblike netting strung between rock formations. A few large rings are floating at different heights, and children attempt to fly through the obstacles.

Vozu’s drifting on the wind now, giving me a chance to take it all in. My neck is getting sore, but I can’t look away. There’s a waterfall further away. I can see the splashing and the small bodies moving in and out of the water, but I can’t hear them. A few adults roam about, but no one seems to notice us. Our flight path has us curving around the edge of the eyrie, but Vozu executes a quick turn back. He flies lower this time, and I shift my focus to the buildings below as the eyrie falls out of sight. It looks quiet down there. I’m assuming the majority of the people are inside those structures, although I do see a few small specks darting around.

Vozu completes a few more passes back and forth, descending each time. Worn paths mark the outlines of each building, and more Lohnya are visible now. They sit, wings curved behind them, perched on old machinery. Most of them wear pants, just like the workers I saw on the station. A few look up as we pass, but most steadily ignore our presence.

Vozu doesn’t give me any warning before he has us ascending almost straight up again. I slide down enough that my stomach’s swooping with nerves until he resets his hands, one across the middle of my back and the other beneath my ass. I think he’s playing. We spin, fast enough that my head feels fuzzy. The loud rush of the wind makes everything even more disorienting. I wonder if this is what the mating flight is like. Will Sohven hold me like this? Will he press inside my body while I can’t tell up from down, while the world blurs in front of me as I struggle to catch my breath?

Vozu shivers and I feel his low groan hum against the back of my neck. I shouldn’t have been thinking of Sohven while he held me. My stiffening dick is trapped between the heat of our bodies, and he’s definitely noticed. We’re ascending in loose circles now as he licks the space behind my ear. He sniffs my hair, mouthing my neck before he puts his tongue on me again. We need to land now. This may be the natural way of things between Lohnya competing for the same gazla, but I need to tell Vozu no.

I tap the nape of his neck with my fingertips. I don’t dare unclasp my hands. He doesn’t feel it at first, so I tap harder. His tongue stills, then retreats, and then he rubs his face back and forth across my neck and ear. I recognize the feeling—it’s a gesture Sohven’s performed many times. I will my body not to react. He’s not Sohven, and he never will be, no matter how familiar the brush of his warm cheek feels.

I’m tense as he flies us back to the opposite side of the eyrie to join the others. Zana, Ulya, and a few more are loitering near the edge waiting for us, so I can’t speak to Vozu yet. He helps me get my feet on the ground, but it takes a few moments before my legs feel steady. My blood pounds too loudly between my ears, and my head feels cloudy. It’s that same dulled, not quite numb sensation I got from the Lohnya medication. I can’t tell if I’m still experiencing side effects or if it’s a result of the dizzying flight.

“They’re showing the trials again over in the viewing chamber. We should go. They’re already saying our trials will be remembered for years. Your catch was the largest sahvatsu found in Jovas Lake since the time of my fathers’ fathers.” Ulya tips his horns towards me, but he doesn’t crack a smile. He’s just as solemn as he was earlier.

I lower my head briefly, mirroring the gesture.

“Jace is supposed to rest. I’m taking him to the sleeping grounds.” Vozu’s hand wraps around my arm with more than a touch of possession.

I feel like I should object, but my legs are still wobbling, and the nap I was promised is too tempting to pass up. “Maybe we can do both? I am tired, but I’d like to watch the trials afterwards,” I tell the group.

“Yes, we should stretch and condition ourselves after this morning’s exertions,” one of the smaller Lohyna says. He slips between Zana and another man to come closer. “I’m Salas. I can help you recover from the hunt.”

“We’ll all help each other, like good mates should,” adds Zana. “Let’s go.”

That’s how we end up trailing behind Zana like a line of baby birds following their mother. I may be dead tired, but I’m no longer preoccupied with a life-threatening water trial, so I’m able to observe the so-called sleeping grounds better this time around. It really is a giant depression, so orgy pit wasn’t too far off as a description. The shallow crater in the rock is filled with pale gray sand. The wind draws swirling patterns in the fine grains, and some of them remind me of the soft, rippling waves on the surface of the lake below. Other areas look like a giant hand let its fingers drift through the sand. Although a fluffy blanket wouldn’t go amiss right now, it’s a testament to my level of exhaustion that it looks incredibly appealing. I’m just about ready to toss myself in.

“Careful!” Vozu pulls me back from a face first plunge.

“You can let go now. I’m fine,” I tell him, this time taking a sedate step down. The sand shifts under my foot, but I don’t lose my balance. I go out a little further once Vozu drops his hand, and then I fall to my knees with a sigh.

The gray sand is more comfortable than it should be. It dips beneath my weight and is surprisingly soft against my bare skin, but it doesn’t remind me of the quicksand or sinking mud I’ve encountered before during missions. Maybe I’m just growing accustomed to all the nudity, but I recalled the red sands of Jalichst irritated me quite a bit more when they stuck behind my knees and rubbed between my thighs.

A massive shadow falls over me, and my muscles try to tense, but it’s a half-hearted effort. My shoulders stiffen, but I don’t manage to get back up.

“Are you certain you’re uninjured, Jace? You look…weakened.” It’s Zana, and for the first time, I’m glad it isn’t Vozu seeking me out.

“My feet got scratched up, but one of the medics by the lake took care of them. I guess the hunt just took more out of me than I realized. I promise, I’m only tired. A quick nap will help.” I collapse the rest of the way, rolling to my side as I look up at him. “Don’t worry about me.”

He leans forward like he wants to join me on the ground, but in the end, he shows me his horns and leaves. I settle into the sand, closing my eyes as I exhale.

I can join the others soon, but I’ll just lie here a little longer. Maybe it wasn’t just their bodies that had me sweating this morning. The sand that surrounds me, cradling my back and side, is pleasantly warm. It eases the aches and knots left in my muscles from clinging to Zovu during our lengthened flight. I find myself startling awake at the sharp sound of someone hooting in the distance. I blink, but my eyelids feel unbearably heavy, so I close them again.

A bit of rest won’t hurt anything. Someone will wake me again before tonight’s feast. I’ll find Sohven, and we’ll figure out what to do next.

My eyes stay closed this time. By the time I open them again, it’s to a star streaked sky.