Chapter 9
The nest was actually surprisingly lovely once Lori was fully rested and able to really look around. The walls were rounded and smooth, and the light of the galthie flowers strategically anchored in neat rows provided just the right amount of light. The stone itself had an almost transparent, luminous blue coloring in contrast to the raw black stone that made up the shinara.
It was also definitely very open in ways that would have made her concerned if it was located within a human settlement, but the vague and minimalist allusions to privacy didn’t bother her after living among Seshanamitesh. Although her mates were understandably uncomfortable, she knew that it was highly unlikely that they would have to deal with an intruder within the shinara. The females may not have the same territorial nature that the males possessed, but the sanctity of the nest was something that was clearly respected, given that no one even seemed to fly anywhere near the entrance to another’s nest, much less make a direct approach.
That didn’t stop her mates from taking turns vigilantly guarding the nest. When one of them wasn’t coiled in a hidden spot just inside the narrow entrance, they were attentively listening for any echoes from disturbances. It made her miss the casual peace offered by a locked door. She’d forgotten how cautious and tense day-to-day life was in the Aglatha cave system. That they were within the supposed safety of the shinara didn’t seem to matter to her mates as they were as alert and aware of the subtle changes in the nest as they had been in the upper caverns.
All in all, however, their provided quarters were comfortable, and they were left undisturbed as promised. Lori was somewhat surprised at the courtesy and trust being extended to them. If all they had to do was show up for the feast, then they could certainly manage that without incident—she hoped.
Lori glanced over at Slengral as she drew on a billowy, knee-length tunic over her leggings. Cut in a dressier fashion, the long sleeves were full and scalloped and the scooped neckline complimented her figure. Taking a long sash of deep purple fabric several shades darker than the lilac fabric of the tunic, she tied it just below her breasts, emphasizing the nestling growing within her womb just in case anyone had any intention of doubting her maternal state.
“Are you sure of the time we must return to the palace? I don’t want to be late.”
Slengral snapped his gavo in affirmation and drew a deep breath, his upper chest rising and expanding in a way that let her know that he was filling the long organ, his ethin, that, according to the medics, ran like a long band beneath his clavicle bones. Expanded with air, a hard, white ridge rose between the bones. Holding his breath for a moment, his gavo rose slightly before he expelled the air from his organ with a soft hiss. He inclined his head.
“You still have some time,” he assured her. “The feast does not start until the suns drop.”
She raised an eyebrow at him as she ran a comb through her hair. “I didn’t realize that the sun played such an important role so far down in the caverns.”
He smiled in response, displaying his abundant sharp teeth endearingly. “Humans are not the only ones who track the measure of time by the sun. Aside from knowing when it’s safe to hunt, we would not be able to organize our efforts if we could not determine the passage of time by ganda, units of vapor within the air at a given time.”
Lori returned his smile. “A built-in timekeeper. That certainly sounds a lot more convenient than having to wear a comm everywhere.”
Daskh chuckled from the corner where he was reclined with Hashal draped playfully over the girth of his upper tail, his head angled toward the entrance. The feathered webbing of his ear shifted regularly as he listened for any sounds coming down their nest’s tunnel. “It is not so convenient for a nestling learning how to do it. But they begin to learn young and catch on quickly. Hashal already knows his gandas.”
Her little son thrust out his small chest proudly. “I do! = My first father made me practice every day. I knew my gandas before I could fly from the cavern.”
“For safety reasons as well as general well-being,” Daskh explained. “We learn this before we are even of age to enter into the haga. Not only do we have to know when it’s safe to surface from the caverns, which we start doing at that point in order to learn how to scavenge and hunt, but the haga has set times for all meals.”
Kehtal sighed as he surfaced from where he lay coiled within their sleeping nest. “The shinara itself is run on a rigid schedule. Even the hours in which a male can present his offering to the shinara, and likewise himself to any females watching, is highly controlled.”
Slengral grunted in agreement, his eyes following her movements as she continued to get ready. “We do not break it down as minutely as humans, but it certainly plays an equally important role in our world.”
“I guess I’ll just have to trust you three to make sure we are where we need to be on time because I can’t tell any difference,” she retorted with a small, inward sigh. It was really a good thing that she didn’t have to play ambassador without them. Any human without a Seshanamitesh sharing a nest with them wouldn’t have fared well.
As it was, she still wasn’t entirely sure what she was stepping into. As much as Slengral had tried to give her a crash course in etiquette, there was still so much she didn’t know, and she was acutely aware of the fact that she was going to be interacting with a room full of females for the first time when everything she learned was from a male. She didn’t know anything about the social norms of a female Seshanamitesh. As it was, she was styling her hair into a short braid to give a small sense of familiarity to the females as it seemed to look almost like a lowered gavo.
Brushing her hands down the long tunic, she straightened the hem and gave her mates a nervous smile. “Well, what do you think?”
Kehtal hummed with delight and slipped from the nest, his wings stirring the air so that he whipped forward with an astonishing speed to gather her into his arms. His leathery wing snapped around her and he nuzzled her jaw. Laughing, Lori leaned into him, enjoying the intimate warmth of their bodies pressed close together until Slengral impatiently batted the male’s wings away.
He regarded Kehtal with amusement but fanned his wings toward him as if shooing him away. “Enough of that,” he groused. “We should leave now. Nest play can resume when we return, after we satisfy my mother’s expectations.”
“I wonder how many of those there will be,” Kehtal muttered, giving voice to Lori’s own thoughts.
“Not too many, I hope,” Slengral replied with a heavy sigh. “It depends on how determined she is to secure my presence here as the return of an heir. There could be many parties that we will be subjected to designed to convince me to comply.”
“At least she yielded to Lori’s demand and did not try to nest you separately. I would not put it past her to try to send females to entice you,” Daskh huffed.
Lori’s jaw dropped. “She wouldn’t really try to do that—would she?”
“She may try,” Slengral admitted reluctantly, his wings drooping. “Although she will respect some of your demands because you are a female, it does not mean she will not try to test me and manipulate me into doing as she wants.”
“What?” Lori’s eyes widened as she looked from him to Daskh.
Her large mate nodded grimly. “If she is able to successfully get Slengral to mate with a Seshanamitesh female, it will be the legally recognized mating. She could not get rid of you or your offspring because of your prior claim, but you would be reduced to the charity of the other female while remaining under the protection of our laws.”
“Scraps,” Kehtal muttered. “I knew of one case of a young male who died very young—he starved to death because there was a contested mating where two females argued over a single male. His bond was not fully formed with his mate and another female was able to lure him away in a moment of vulnerability. The new mate was given legal status, and his former mate and offspring were provided very little—just scraps from the hunts. The mother survived, but she was unable to provide enough nourishment for her nestling. Such things rarely happen, but the queen matriarch may attempt it in the hope of securing an heir who isn’t a hybrid. You’ve cast serious doubts on Vekatha’s claim, but it will only likely make Queen Zathexa even more determined.”
“Especially when she sees that Hashal will also be brought into the royal nest, even though he is nearly of age for the haga,” Daskh’s added grimly. “A Seshanamitesh female will see that he is placed into the haga in accordance with our traditions, ridding the queen of an unknown male from her family.”
“Fuck.” Lori drew in a sharp breath and shakily expelled it. “Ok. No problem. You guys are going to be by my side, so there isn’t going to be a chance of anyone being cornered alone and away from me. We can do this. We just need to provide a united front at all times regardless of what is thrown at us.”
A faint look of confusion briefly passed over her mates’ faces at her choice of words, but they mulled it over and seemed to get her meaning as they inclined their heads in acknowledgment.
She rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms against her legs and looked uncertainly at her mates. “I guess that’s it. We are ready to go.”
“Slengral will carry you,” Daskh rumbled as the male in question moved forward.
Lori blinked at him in surprise. Not so much that Slengral was going to carry her, but more specifically his wording. Although Daskh carried her long distances, it was not unusual for the others to pick her up and haul her along whenever the mood suited them. It was the first time, however, that it was assigned like it was a job that had to be done.
Kehtal grimaced and bumped her affectionately with a wing. “He just means that it will reinforce your connection. Daskh has a head for strategy and is thinking of the message that it will send to the court.”
“Oh. Of course,” Lori said as she turned to Slengral and gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m guessing that this is going to be a very long evening.”
He huffed in annoyed agreement, but the smile he gave her was sweet. “We will try to fill the time in our own way as much as we are allowed to. It will not be all bad, I promise,” he whispered as he lifted her hand and rubbed her knuckles against the soft scales of his cheek.
She knew that he was dosing her with fresh pheromones, but the gesture was one of intense affection and love. Despite the gravity of their situation, a smile tugged at her lips as some of the weight lifted from deep within her chest.
Opening his arms for her, Slengral gathered her up against his chest and held her close for a heartbeat as he fanned his large wings before bursting forward with a speed that stole her breath. With a rapid weaving of his tail, he launched them from the tunnel of their nest and into the cavern air, setting off for the palace that loomed just ahead of them.
Seshanamitesh had size and speed on her, but Lori’s jaw hardened as they glided for the high entrance. If the queen matriarch thought she would be an easy one to play games with and push aside, she was going to be disappointed.