Chapter 43
After a brief stop to leave the scrolls with a message in the guards’ quarters for Jathella, passing heavily veiled instructions to her, Therxian followed Dehv. They followed the winding corridors of the palace until they led to the outer parapets overlooking the shinara.
It was quiet, the glow of the crystal-lights filling the market that stretched beyond the majesty of the palace.
From his vantage point, he could see the activity below as Seshanamitesh wound amongst the stalls or sat together in designated social areas, often enjoying food with their nestlings or between young mates.
It was a quiet, simple atmosphere that he soaked in.
Outside of the intrigues of the court and palace, and beyond the discipline of the haga and the mating protocols that ruled every young male’s life, it was this part of the shinara that he had almost forgotten about.
He had forgotten about the magic of the market, and beyond that, where the galthie-illuminated nests created a softer welcome.
It was this part of the shinara that he had loved as a young male flying overhead while attending his duties for the haga.
“How long has it been since you last saw it?” Dehv asked.
Therxian could no longer accurately remember. Even in returning, he had been escorted through the back hunter’s gate and led directly into the palace once his identity had been made known.
“Longer than I can recall,” he admitted.
“I wish you could have seen it under better circumstances. Gareiia awaits. This way.”
Therxian inclined his head as he followed the male to a narrow, secluded area beyond view of the palace watchtowers.
The shadows were deeper there, as it was outside the illumination of the small luminary crystals set strategically around the palace’s parapets to create a welcoming visage for those who took some air out there.
He focused on Dehv, watching the male’s body language.
Now that they were away from the main part of the palace, the male was moving more smoothly and with more confidence.
He almost seemed like a completely different male.
Scales prickling, Therxian slowed, his gaze cautiously raking over his surroundings.
In the course of his research, he had recently come across detailed plans of the palace, informing him that the parapet would soon end ahead.
From there would be nothing more than a series of rocky outcroppings along the side of the cavern wall that the palace was carved into that made up the forbidden zone that was off-limits to those who occupied the shinara.
While he had expected to be lured outside of the palace, this was beginning to strike him as foolhardy.
“How much further, Dehv?” he inquired.
The male paced slowed but did not look back in his direction. “We are nearly there. Just a little further.”
Therxian glanced suspiciously around as the darkness enclosed him, his senses adjusting accordingly.
The short wall on his side had vanished, leaving only the stark wall of stone on his left and empty air on his right where the shinara rested silently far below.
They were no longer on the proper parapet and had moved onto a rocky ledge leading up to the cavern wall.
He peered past Dehv’s shoulder suspiciously.
The way ahead curved inward into a dark crevice.
Suddenly the other male stopped and turned toward Therxian expectantly as he flattened himself against the wall to make room for him to pass.
“Just keep straight ahead. Gareiia is waiting.”
Therxian remained in place as he stared into the darkness and laughed quietly to himself.
In hindsight, his plan now seemed incredibly foolish.
If Alex were there, she would murder him if he even visibly appeared to contemplate entering.
This was wrong. Even if he had been caught unaware and lured out by Dehv, they could not expect this to work.
“Do not tell me that you are afraid, Therxian,” a familiar but unexpected female voice echoed from the crevice.
Behind him, Dehv made a sound of surprise before diving from the ledge, leaving Therxian alone with her.
When he made no move to enter, she sighed heavily.
“Very well, if you will not come to me, then I will go to you.”
Her bio-luminescence shimmered with the dark veil of the crevice as it wound seductively forward, but it was not Gareiia who emerged. Ferinia’s pale glowing eyes focused on him as she slid out and cast a long glance around him.
“It seems that your companion has disappeared,” she murmured. “He seems to be as easily frightened away as the female who holds his leash.”
“Gareiia fled?”
Ferinia’s gaze slid back to him at his question, and she studied him, her gaze sharp and calculating. “I had come to investigate what the malicious little female was up to,” she replied. “I saw that her pet was sneaking around, following you.”
“And what is your interest, Ferinia?” he growled.
Her gaze widened at him with an air of surprise.
“Why would I not be invested in your wellbeing? You are the queen’s son.
Granted, I have my own selfish reasons as I also desire to mate you—but I am well aware that I am not the only one, even if I feel that I am by far the more suitable female for you.
” Her eyes narrowed on him thoughtfully.
“You should not trust the females of the noble matriarchal court so easily.”
“What makes you think I trust them?” he scoffed. “I trust none of you. I only came out here because I wish for this nonsense to end. I do not want to live a life where I must worry about females stalking me and lurking around every corner.”
Her smile slipped, and she regarded him for several heartbeats, her expression flat and unchanging until suddenly she smiled again and chuckled.
“You are so delightful, Therxian. But good for you. All of them are unknowns, after all. Records of birth can be forged. You never know who you might be dealing with. Would it not be better to have an ally?”
“You are suggesting that I trust you?”
“Why not? Unlike many of these females kept well-guarded in their mother-nests, I have been an active member of this court most of my life. Zathexa practically raised me during my maiden period and oversaw my maiden trial personally, which she has not done for any other except the human Lori.”
“If that is the case, then why agree to this breeding plan? Why not just arrange our mating and give you her formal approval in front of everyone?”
Did he imagine it or had her smile become more strained?
“We had a falling out—over a personal matter. It is not my place to speak of the queen’s affairs.
You would have to hear the tale from her.
She may not be willing to endorse me formally in front of the entire court because of it—especially with the way it has been particularly volatile in recent revolutions, and even more so following the incident with Slengral which may caution her against showing favoritism—but even she would tell you that I am a superior candidate among all the daughters of the noble mother-lines.
And now you have seen for yourself that I will extend my resources to help you.
Otherwise, you may have very well discovered yourself mated and bound completely to Gareiia despite Zathexa’s decree.
I may blur the lines in my own movements, but I would never casually disregard them. ”
“Except to take Gareiia’s place lying in wait,” Therxian retorted.
The female grinned shamelessly, making him even more uneasy. That same expression that was so endearing from his mate, whose mischief was generally more prankish and idle curiosity, made him wary around Ferinia.
She spread her hands wide. “I am not springing any trap on you or keeping you from leaving. I merely wished to speak plainly for myself so that you can see my intentions clearly. Especially in light of Gareiia’s efforts.”
Was it that simple? She was cunning, but it was possible that she was speaking genuinely about her intentions, even if her ultimate goal was to secure her own position.
If he had not already fallen deeply in love with his mate and bonded himself thoroughly to her, he might have set aside his distaste and at least considered her proposal after thoroughly investigating the fate of her previous mate and satisfying himself in the matter.
Ambition did not immediately make her his enemy, and he had to admit that, while her tactics had pushed boundaries, she had observed the formalities required for courting a male of his position.
When it came right down to it, her tactics had all been specifically of the courting sort and had lacked anything overtly suspicious in nature.
“Since you do not intend to detain me, I will be leaving,” he slowly replied.
Her smile faded, but she inclined her head in resignation. “Very well. If you wish to revisit this topic, I will have a servant stationed at the palace to receive messages out of respectful adherence to the high queen’s decree. Just seek her out and she will return to me directly.”
“You are not exactly observing it now,” he pointed out.
“Are we in the palace?” Ferinia laughed and swept her arms wide, her wings spreading around her briefly in emphasis before folding once more. “Go on before your absence is discovered and reported. Just think about what I said. And watch out for Gareiia and the other young noble females.”
Therxian stiffly inclined his head and turned away.
Unlike Dehv, he didn’t drop from the ledge and fly away.
That certainly would not have gone unnoticed.
More than that, he refused to react like panicked prey.
So he turned and gave Ferinia his back, daring her—and closely monitoring her in case she should attempt an attack—and made his way back toward the parapets and into the palace.
Ferinia’s words did not leave him so easily.
She hinted broadly that the line of Yilada was hiding in plain sight among the females selected, and that any of their hatching records could have been forged to deceive him.
Gareiia seemed like a likely candidate for a nestling of her daughter, but so did many others, and not even Ferinia seemed certain of which female it might be and issued a warning against them all.
Although it was not outwardly helpful, it confirmed what he had come to suspect after that initial conversation with Jathella and his mate following his meeting with Vekatha.
What Yilada started with his mother and father was still lurking and waiting to take the throne and secure their legitimacy completely through him.
And if his mate should become known? It made me fearful for her more than any other.