Chapter 29

Ibarely knew this girl and had hardly spent any time around her, but I hated being away from her. I couldn't even explain it. Those unusual eyes were still haunting me. And not many cats could fight me when I tried to roll them. The only Theran who could were the rhinos and elephants and they wouldn't because of who I was.

My father was furious, of course. He thought he should have found out about this directly from Volaris, like I wasn't good enough to bring this message. Terros was basically mad about everything. I tried to tell him how amazing she was, but he didn't see it.

From what I understood, she fought a bear, won, and then healed from her injuries. My dad and I could have fought a wild bear and maybe won, but we couldn't have healed our injuries like she did. He thought she should have just waved her hand and turned the bear into a Theran.

He was mad at Sorcha, and it wasn't even her fault she didn't know this shit. Belisarus didn't teach her. I'd never met the man, and neither had my father, but my grandfather was the one who banished him. I didn't really see what he had done wrong.

We punished a lot of people for who they loved. Everything was about creating an army for when the humans came for us again because we'd only have a few Tempris at any time. We knew perfectly well that some people couldn't have children and didn't hold it against them if it never happened, but we forced people to marry for the kids they would produce.

My sister also didn't like men at all. She was very much just as into women as Sono's brother was into men. If Sorcha wasn't feeling the same connection I was, I at least hoped she would do something so that my sister could be with who she wanted instead of a man. But I really hoped she felt what I was feeling.

It was getting late, and we would need to find a safe place to sleep. We were all getting settled in a place my father thought we could all safely sleep for the night when all of a sudden, all the Farkhi around us jumped up, shouting, and some were crying. Some of them flat out flew off and disappeared. I went to stand by my father.

"What the fuck is going on?"

"Language! And I have no idea. You! What's happening?" he demanded.

Then I heard the music. The melody every Theran knew. There was no one here playing it and I wasn't hearing it with my ears. I could feel it with my soul. Sorcha was playing the Vudos flute and summoning us. The Theran were now losing it, too. Everyone was screaming or crying.

"They couldn't be back from Idric," I said. "They were a few days from the coast when I left. Humans couldn't have gotten to them on foot by now, but maybe they took a boat?"

My father was trying to yell over both the Theran and Farkhi and no one was listening, so he changed into his lion. He let out the loudest roar that we could. I think we were both relieved when everyone finally quieted down.

"I don't know why she's summoning us now. We need to get to her as soon as possible and may need to travel through the night to make sure they aren't in trouble."

"Esylle knows how to defend herself and I'm sure this girl does, too," Joron said, pushing through the crowd. "I can't travel like you do and I'll slow you down."

"You are a king, and you will not be left behind. You will ride on the back of someone large enough to carry you. Everyone needs to transform, and we need to move immediately in case they are in trouble!" Terros shouted.

Yeah, the Tempris couldn't change like we could, but I didn't think Joron got the same history lessons the rest of the tribes got because the humans took that from them. Belisarus had been the Theran historian, but he would have had to have been careful what he taught them.

Tempris rode on the backs of larger Theran in the first war. Joron's hair was still darkened with the herbs instead of red, but it was awesome watching a Tempris climbing on the back of a rhino like the old stories I used to be told.

Yeah, it was probably going to be war again, and we were down nearly an entire tribe of Tempris. But we had one thing we didn't have before and I couldn't stop thinking about those eyes.