Epilogue
Sten
I flew over the sacred halls of Omlyx, riding the airstream with wings spread wide. Gharrgoils were going about their business on the ground, while others were flying below me, some alone, some as pairs and groups.
I was higher than them. My destination lay far beyond theirs.
When it got dark, I would descend and roost in the caves high up in the mountain range before me, only to continue my journey as soon as daylight broke. I had travelled for a long time and would travel longer still.
I couldn't remember when this journey had begun. Many rotations must have passed.
I couldn't remember why I'd left. Or where I was going.
All I knew was that I had to keep flying south. Something important was waiting for me there. Or maybe someone.
Voices drifted up to me, echoes on the tepid air. One seemed familiar and yet strange, as if I only knew it from a dream.
“That's him. I'm sure of it.”
I beat my wings harder to get away from the voices that were interrupting my thoughts. I scanned the sky beneath me to identify who was talking, but the other gharrgoils were mere specks in the distance.
“Sten. Can you hear me? Are you still alive?”
I knew that name. Had heard it long ago.
It did not matter.
The wind grew stronger, pushing me backwards no matter how hard I beat my wings. Soon I was no longer moving at all. The mountains remained in the distance, the sacred halls far behind me, while the sky slowly lost its colour.
My wings had stopped.
No. They had never been moving.
The warmth of Omlyx disappeared. Cold stone pressed in from every direction, holding my limbs, my wings, even my eyelids. I tried to fight it, but I had no body here. No breath. No voice.
Something warm touched my arm.
“I found you, brother.”
I knew that voice. It was attached to a name. A memory.
Cairn.
“I don't know if you can hear me,” Cairn continued. His voice was rougher now. Older. “I thought you were dead. I should have searched for you sooner.”
I tried to say his name, but my stone lips did not move.
“I failed you once. I will not do so again.” His hand tightened around my arm. “I will find a way to free you. I promise.”
For the first time in longer than I could remember, I knew where I was going. I could not open my eyes or answer him, but deep inside the stone, I turned towards my brother’s voice.
And still, even now that I was listening to him, something inside me wanted to go south.
Someone was out there. Waiting for me.
Cairn has found his mate, but Sten is yet to meet his. Discover his story in Stone Cold Alien: She spends her days keeping hearts beating. His hasn't beaten in five hundred years.