Chapter 18 #3
Tas leaned to the side, tipping his head against his mate’s. “Sophia and I learned from each other little by little, building trust and understanding. After a moon cycle, I asked if she would meet my mate. She agreed.”
Shir drew back and looked at Garahk and the others. “Slowly, we became friends with Sophia, but we feared for her each time we left her alone. She was too vulnerable there, exposed to beasts and floods. We finally convinced her to come and live with us, to become part of our Nedrayas.”
“That was three years ago,” Tas said.
“Three years…” Lacey said quietly in English.
Cole scratched his cheek, which had again grown hair since they’d left Kaldarak. “Didn’t Will say the crash was like a hundred and twenty years ago? Makes you wonder if there have been generations of people who’ve already lived and died on this planet somewhere while we were still asleep.”
“Would we be able to meet Sophia?” Lacey asked.
Tas straightened and met Shir’s gaze. Though neither said a word, Telok sensed a whole conversation in their eyes.
She finally nodded to Tas, and he turned his attention toward Garahk.
“Before we can answer Lacey, we must ask… You are hunters, warriors, very far from your Nedrayas. Why have you come here?”
“To gather Hunter’s eyes,” Garahk replied evenly. “They do not grow near to Kaldarak, and our stores are empty. We will take what other forage and hunting we find during our journey.”
“I know my mind, but the decision is not mine alone. Allow us a moment?”
Garahk dipped his chin.
Tas gathered his legs beneath him and stood, offering a hand to Shir to help her up. Their companions rose as well, and all five stepped away, huddling close together and speaking rapidly in hushed tones. Though they were only a few segments away, not even Telok could make out their words.
Cole also stood, raising his arms high as he stretched. “Think they’ll let us?”
“I hope so.” Chewing on her bottom lip, Lacey watched the winddancers.
Telok couldn’t muster the same eagerness.
It didn’t matter that he was already growing to like these winddancers, or that he yearned to share with Lacey the same warmth and closeness Tas and Shir seemed to enjoy.
When it came to his mate’s safety, when it came to her life, he couldn’t fully trust anyone.
With a few hops and a brief flap of its wings, Swiftclaw moved to a perch closer to the winddancers. Its head turned repeatedly as it scanned the area.
Dei’Shel Ohn gestured at the sky. The winddancers’ conversation grew more animated, though no more discernable. Finally, they seemed to reach some agreement, and they all faced Garahk and the others once again.
“It is decided,” Tas said. “We will take you to Tovuunshai, where you may meet Sophia and the rest of our Nedayas and take shelter for the night. And once there, we would meet with you as friends…and request your aid.”
Garahk touched a knuckle to his headcrest. “We accept with great honor, Wen’Xal Tas.”
Telok grunted, mandibles twitching. “You said shelter for the night.”
Tas nodded. “We must depart now if we are to arrive before dark.”
“There is no need for haste,” Garahk said with a chitter. “You may den with us here, and we will depart with the cresting sun.”
A distressed buzz escaped Tas. “It is not safe here. Not for us, and not for you and yours.”
The thornskulls chittered, but their amusement faded quickly at the concern in the eyes of all five winddancers.
“Why is it not safe?” Telok asked.
“This area has been claimed,” Shir said solemnly. “It is the hunting ground of a pack of kurghests.”
Cold pierced Telok’s hearts and slithered through his stomach even as fire crackled under his hide. His breath locked in his lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
“We have hunted beasts more fierce,” Droztar declared, thumping his chest.
“Their prime is bigger than the Blooddrinker Queen was,” said Tas, voice low, “and has claimed many females. Their pack has taken many of ours since they came. That… That is what we would ask of you. Your aid in slaying these beasts.”
Every muscle in Telok’s body tensed, drawing so taut that he ached from his headcrest to the tips of his legs. Of all the creatures in the Tangle, why those? Why now, when Lacey was out here, far from the shelter and security of Kaldarak?
“Telok?” a soft voice inquired as a gentle hand ran over his foreleg, smoothing down the fine hairs that had stood on end. Those hairs took in a soothingly familiar fragrance; warm, sweet, and clean, the most pleasant thing he’d ever smelled.
He looked down to meet Lacey’s strange yet beautiful green eyes. Her expression was filled with concern, which made his hearts ache. He disliked seeing her worry nearly as much as he disliked seeing her in pain or sorrow.
Be calm. She is here in my arms now.
Nothing has harmed her, nothing will take her.
Calm.
Lifting a hand, he caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “I am well.”
Garahk hummed and gestured to the camp’s entrance. “Lead, Wen’Xal Tas. Mine will follow.”