Chapter 17
Ekkire
“Ah, thank the stars,” Ish sighed when Jasmine went lax against my coils.
She’d passed out, which made me worry, but it seemed to be a relief to my friend.
“I was beginning to worry she’d never relax enough.
Hold her still; I must align this break properly.
Infection has kept it from fusing, and it’s slid.
” That sounded very painful; now I was definitely relieved Jasmine was out cold.
She still moaned fitfully when Ishmakah gently manipulated her leg into alignment.
Both Hunter and Dove began growling at the sound, but they eased when I shushed them.
“Go lie on her chest, little ones. She’ll need your comfort.
” That was the place Dove favored, and I had seen how her soft purrs and chirps made Jasmine’s expression ease.
To my surprise, this seemed like a good idea to both of them, though I did not believe they could actually understand my words.
Dove climbed onto Jasmine first, her tiny body fitting snugly under her chin.
She’d forgotten her stick, the new one Hunter had gotten her earlier in a clever bid to distract her from attacking poor Ish again.
Now he picked it up, rose on his small hind legs, and offered it again.
When she took it, it was with a lift of a wing that was all invitation.
Moments later, the pair were a curled-up little bundle right across her heart.
A curl of silky white, another of slate blue, and wings cupped over each other until neither was visible.
“That’s new,” Ish remarked, only briefly lifting his head to glance at the pair before resuming his healing of her broken leg.
“Since when do sleara act like… well, that? And how do I get one to cuddle with me?” He grinned, pleased at the idea, and behind him I heard at least one chuckle.
The group of Sun Fang warriors had begun to relax; all but Ilesekh looked more curious than hostile.
I was not surprised, as I’d been the same.
My initial reaction to discovering the humans—these sky beings integrating with our society—had been a sense of horror too.
What would they bring? Disease from far away?
Changes, weapons, threats? The moment I’d arrived at Haven, my curiosity getting the better of me, I’d been enchanted, however.
That first group of arrivals had mostly been female, and the difference between them and our own females couldn’t have been more obvious.
Even Jasmine, who had been back to her hostile, suspicious ways when confronted with these Sun Fang males and Ish, had a way about her.
In this case, it was the sleara that showed her soft, sweet side.
The side of female nature that was normal for humans, but a rare, abhorred thing for naga females.
You’d never see a female from any clan be so warm, so friendly to another creature, least of all one as vulnerable as a tiny sleara.
They were already intrigued, these Sun Fang warriors.
Seeing what they hadn’t known existed, not a threat, but a softness worth cherishing.
It helped that she spoke to their hunter natures too, being an expert archer herself.
Even in terrible pain, even passed out, she had not released the bow she gripped in one fist. Their expert eyes would see things other hunters might overlook: the craftsmanship of the improvised bow, and the strength it would take to use it, which was considerable and impressive given her size.
I’d gotten distracted assessing the warriors, but Ish was always patient.
He made a soft humming noise that drew my attention, and I remembered he’d asked me about the strange behavior of the sleara.
“The Shaman Artek believes sleara were once companions—pets—to our ancestors. They are clever and extremely loyal once bonded. There are several humans at Haven who have enticed such a bond from a sleara in the past year.”
“Huh, why the sky beings? Are the sleara more drawn to them?” one of the other hunters pitched in, clearly equally intrigued.
I thought it was Scai, one of the few hunters I knew in passing—who asked, “Maybe something in the scent of the sky beings? This one does smell very enticing…” I growled so fiercely it made both sleara lift their heads to stare at me, with Hunter hugging Dove tighter with his wings as if he intended to keep her from rising.
The growl was instinctual, and it came with a flare of gold from my sigils that was impossible not to notice. All of them understood it, but only Ilesekh, their leader, seemed to take objection. His expression grew tight with displeasure, perhaps even disgust.
“She is your mate,” Ish said, awed. “You are most fortunate, Ekkire!” He meant it.
The mate bond was all a male hoped for; without it, they risked becoming clanless.
A fate that could, in some cases, mean death, cut off from support and companionship.
A shaman, or an apprentice shaman, did not need to fear such a fate.
They rarely mated at all, as far as I knew, though there were no laws against such things.
Of those present here, at least half were young enough to still be without a mate; they knew well the endless hope their sigils lit for them.
Very few clans did not cast males out when they didn’t find their mate by a certain age.
My clan didn’t; our females cared so little for the males they’d already sent us roaming.
To them, nothing changed in the relationship, mate bond or no mate bond.
Sun Fang did cast males out, though no outcasts from their clan had made it to Haven.
The fear they’d one day be on their own was very real.
“Yes,” I agreed. “She is mine.” Even when we could return to the sky wreck, or even Haven, I would consider her so.
If she wanted to live there and sent me roaming, that was no different from having a naga mate, was it?
But I did not believe she would; I believed she’d roam with me, and that future pleased me very much.
The decision settled deep in my gut, twining with my bones.
A certainty of where I belonged, who I belonged with—something I’d never felt before.
My words settled with a quiet certainty over the group of warriors.
Monumental as the shift was that I’d felt inside me, it was noticed by them too.
There was hope yet, maybe it was all a misunderstanding, their reason for being here.
Then I glanced warily at Ilesekh and knew I could not let down my guard, not around him.
He was still hostile, his posture guarded as he glared, arms crossed, at Jasmine like she was a Rakworm about to strike.
The moment stretched out, but only lasted half an hour as the sun marked its passage through the sky in slow increments.
Nobody seemed bothered to wait for Ish to finish healing Jasmine, though I felt certain they must be anxious to keep going to the outpost. Only Ilesekh made scathing remarks on her weakness of body.
Those I ignored, though I was tempted to reach out and snap his neck for the insults.
Scai came over to finish the job on my tail, breaking the last arrows and extracting the arrowheads.
A bandage was going to have to do; I wasn’t pulling Ish from his work on Jasmine, and he didn’t offer.
“Sorry we shot you,” Scai offered, a wry grin dancing around his mouth and a twinkle in his orange eyes.
He was sorry, but only a little—more entertained by the strangeness of the situation than anything.
I shrugged and then reached out to gently stroke a finger between the wings of the small slate-blue sleara.
He made a soft chirping noise, followed by a tiny purring rumble.
“He came to my defense. It was only right. You have fast reflexes,” I added, my gaze indicating the rest of the hunters.
They’d broken up into small groups and were talking or performing tasks such as making more rope or arrows, preparing tea and warm food for a quick afternoon meal.
Some had left to scout ahead. They were a well-oiled hunting party, used to working together.
“So does she,” Scai said, and then he surprised me by freeing the bow from Jasmine’s grip, his hands never even touching her skin.
He tested the bow, and then, with a nod, slipped away to return to his backpack and retrieve his tools.
Scai, I knew, was one of the best bow makers around, and his bows were readily accepted in trade anywhere.
To have him silently tweak the current weapon for efficiency was a great boon, but he went further than that.
Slipping into the woods once his tweaks were done, I could only assume it was to get more supplies.
Another half hour passed, Ish lost entirely to the healing he was performing.
When he finally opened his eyes, exhaustion lingered on his face.
“That was…” he sighed, then blinked as he noticed how far the sun had traveled across the sky.
“Oh no, Ilesekh must be furious I took so long.” His gaze flicked from Jasmine, still in an exhausted slumber, to where Ilesekh had finally sat down to eat.
His glare at Ish was something else, and my friend squirmed uneasily on the grass.
“But she’s healed. I healed everything,” he added.
“The bruises were extensive, the infection burned deep, and the break was bad, but she should be completely fine after waking from this healing sleep.” Leaning a little closer, his voice dropped to a hushed whisper.
“You must be careful around Ilesekh. He comes from another outpost and brought with him his distrust of the sky beings. Our Queen does not care, but my teacher, Keir, and Ilesekh are of like minds. It is because of Keir that Ilesekh managed to form this party. I came with them to try and stop them… but the earthquake intervened.”
The history lesson was muttered very quickly, and Ish fell quiet afterward, a mood that was entirely out of character.
Only a cursory pass of the healing device was offered to my injured tail, followed by some expert bandaging.
Possibly all the time he was willing to risk, with Ilesekh glaring at the further delay.
I whisked my tail out of his grip as soon as the last knot was tied.
“Let us go; we’ve been here long enough. ”
I gathered Jasmine and the sleara inside the fur very carefully, then rose.
She was so light, it would be no burden to carry her as we traveled.
She could sleep as long as she needed, recover her strength, so she would be strong and ready when we reached the outpost. There, I knew we’d both need to be at our best, but I had no doubt she was up to the challenge.
Or would be, after she’d rested. My relief that her injuries were fully healed carried me through the rest of that afternoon, muting the soreness in my tail so it was nothing but a minor nuisance.
We’d help these warriors find their kin, and then we’d retreat through a roundabout, safe route to find our way back to the sky wreck or even Haven.
I would take my time doing so, to make sure I had all the time I needed to convince her she wanted me as her mate.
Yes, this was a future I liked. Jasmine, bright and smiling, at my side for the rest of our lives.
Roaming Serant with me, to satisfy the same itch I felt. It couldn’t be more perfect.