by Maia Starr
His wings were smaller but thick. They had fins on their joints and tips.
I held onto his back as he flew, slow and soft, until we made our way back to the ‘blue’ city, but I asked him to take me back to the forest by the plenks.
I could tell his whole demeanor changed when I made the request, but he nodded and continued the flight.
When we landed, he immediately stiffened and started breathing harder—from nerves or the effort of flight, I didn’t know.
I flicked my head to the side as a quick ‘c’mere’ and he followed behind me. We went deep into the forest, twisting and turning outside of the designated paths so furiously, the actions would look absolutely mindless to any onlooker.
“Where are we going?” Orylis laughed, following quickly behind me.
We reached a deep precipice. “Haven’t you ever wondered what’s below the plenks?” I asked.
It was a question I had often. The plenks were floating islands, each with a waterfall that spilled over the edge and down into the abyss below. The depth was so insurmountable, no human could get there without the ability to fly down.
And as far as I knew, no human had ever done so.
“No,” he said and stared down the sloped hill before us. “But I don’t really live here, either, to be fair.”
I rolled my eyes, and he grabbed me at my urging, and we glided together down the side of the hill. It was low enough that I could feel the oxygen in the air change: a thick smog surrounding us.
“What… is this?” Orylis asked as he reached his hand out in front of us and made a vain attempt to grab the thick fog.
Everything was glowing. This was the beginning of the descent down into the beyond. The trees lit up like they were covered in fireflies.
“This is why I come here,” I said with a soft smile. “I love how everything on Cadir seems to glow. Everything is alive.”
He nodded and took my hand, delving deeper into the crystalized woods. “It isn’t glowing,” he said.
I nodded. “I know. It’s frozen.”
“Yeah, everything is slick with some kind of… glaze.”
The temperature down here was cool, but it didn’t reflect anywhere near freezing. We looked up and saw the familiar waterfall from the plenk above us spill down and creating a perpetual rainfall.
I threw my hands up into the massive, heavy rain as I ran deeper into it.
“Orylis!” I said, pulling his hand into the water and watching the way the drop cascaded down his body.
The man next to me yelled and crowed into the rain. He picked me up by the waist and spun me around: both of us drenched by the water. We both wore oversized grins from ear to ear: both laughing and yelling into the sky as we danced in the waterfall.
We must have looked crazy.
I scream-laughed as Orylis spun me and easily slipped down into his arms, curling my legs around him for leverage.
He leaned in and kissed me. One sweet kiss.
I could feel my cheeks flushing as he pulled away and smiled at me with an expression so genuine it almost looked childish. Pure happiness.
“There,” I said, and pointed into the forestry just beyond the stairs. “My tent.”
“Your tent?” he repeated in some disbelief.
“Yeah,” I said as he set me down, sounding sure of myself. “Don’t sound so surprised. A girl has her secrets, too.”
“Of that, I have no doubt,” he said evenly.
I’d spent months making my way down here. I hadn’t told him, but I’d carved a small footpath into the side of the mountain. Whenever I had the day to myself, I would come down here and listen to the water.
There were the most beautiful stones here. I’d taken some for my personal collection. After studying some, I realized the stones down here had a strange power. Healing stones were flat and yellow. Cooling stones looked like black ice.
There were more powers down here; I just knew it. I just hadn’t had the opportunity to explore them fully yet.
What I did have time for, was building my tent. It was literally a mutated triangle tent set up. I’d used a massive branch coming out of a tree and draped my stolen materials over it before fastening them to the ground.
I was lucky to find the branch: lucky to be able to climb the tree and make use of it since it made standing in the tent a cinch.
There were two openings to the tent. One was completely blocked off by the tree’s trunk; the other faced the forest and part of the stone staircase off in the distance.
Inside there was a single pillow, some blankets, and a plastic tackle-box full of supplies I would need to collect clean samples.
“Here I thought you were living large on Renden,” Orylis said, brushing a hand through his wet hair.
We sat cross-legged on the blankets and listened to the thunder that had started outside. Luckily, my tent was under enough of the tree canopy that we were protected from the elements.
I showed him my supplies and told him about my findings, and he listened with genuine interest.
“This one is a hot rock,” I said.
“Hot rock?” He laughed. “Really? Somebody’s got to help you name these things.”
“Shut up,” I snorted, brushing him off as I slipped the orange pebble into his hand.
Orylis immediately dropped the pebble on the ground and shook his hand vigorously. “Ow!” he lectured, stifling a laugh as he looked incredulously at me.
“I said it was hot!” I giggled, slipping the pebble back into its container.
“What will you do with it?” he asked, thumbing over the burn mark on his palm.
“Hm? I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Nothing, I guess.”
He watched me handle my samples and stayed fixated on my hands as he asked, “Then why study them?”
“I’m sure I’ll find a use for them eventually,” I explained. “I’m just…more interested to know how they got down here.”
“You are full of surprises,” he said and grabbed my hands.
My heart lilted, and I swallowed nervously. The thunder cracked in the distance. The sudden echo of it made me shiver, and at that very same moment, Orylis leaned in and kissed me, intensifying my goosebumps with his lips.
I wanted to pull away: to tell him we couldn’t.
I tried to make myself think of Theren and the way he held me and made me feel safe.
But I couldn’t. All I wanted was his body on mine.
He set his hand on the side of my face and pulled me deeper into the kiss. When the kiss broke, he began pulled the wet, thick armor off my legs and sunk between my thighs, tasting me.
I spread my legs open and pushed the back of his head farther into me. I craned my head back and let out an airy breath.
The tent was flush with the smell of water. That fresh, crisp scent like the way Earth smells after rain.
Before I could finish, he came back up and kissed me. “Get on all fours,” he whispered, and the cracked, low tones of his voice made my stomach erupt with butterflies.
“Yes, sir,” I said in a sexy mock and followed his direction.
“Mm, I like that,” he said, and I could hear the smile settling on his lips. He set his hands on my hips and bent me forward, pushing the hard length of him inside of me. “For the record, you can call me sir anytime you want.”
“Uhn—” I grunted as he slid deeper inside me. “Don’t get used to it,” I teased.
“What was I thinking,” he said, his voice now thickly coated in lust.
He set his hands on my hips and moved them to his rhythm, bucking against me. Slowly at first and then faster and faster until my whole body was trembling and bouncing.
I was moaning loudly the harder he went, which only seemed to encourage him to keep up the pace. I readjusted, laying my head sideways on the blankets and using my hand to touch myself while he fucked me.
The intense, forceful thrusts mixed with the feeling of my breasts moving wildly with his rhythm was to
o much to take. Then Orylis slowed down.
“Come here,” he said gruffly, and I craned my neck to look at him. I cocked a brow, and with a bemused breath he added, “Please.”
I sat in front of him, and he scooped me up into his arms. Once again, I wrapped my legs around him, and he stood until my body was pressed up against the cold, smooth tree that blocked one of the entranced of the tent.
Orylis bounced my body on top of him: his penis throbbing inside me, making slick with wetness as I ground against him.
“You should stay,” he said breathlessly, still pumping into my body.
“Mm,” I said and leaned in and kissed him.
I held onto the sides of his face while we kissed but couldn’t understand what he was saying to me.
“You should stay with me,” he clarified, “Here.”
I blinked, my body overcome with a hungry lust as our bodies moved together. I looked down at his exotic face and held it there, searching his eyes.
His breathing quickened, but he didn’t stop talking.
“Stay with me,” he said, firmer this time as I bucked against him. “Hazel.”
But I was too far gone. I could feel my orgasm washing over me in waves, each pulse more intense than the last. A moan escaped my lips that was so loud that I couldn’t even hear what he was saying anymore.
He came not long after that. I relished his moans and watched as his whole body shuddered, giving him kisses all over his lips and cheek and nipping him while he did so.
He held me there, our bodies still intertwined, and gave my exposed breasts a weak squeeze before setting me down.
I walked over to my pants and tried to unfurl the wet, sticky fabric and push my foot inside the left leg. My whole body was humming with excitement, but Orylis didn’t move.
“You okay?” I asked with a smile, struggling with my pants.
He turned to look at me and had a strange, surprised look on his face. He went to speak but seemed to think better of it, going silent once more.
“Orylis,” I teased, “What?”
His amber eyes were glassy and I could see the emotion coming over his face and curving around his features until they looked pained and tortured.
The aqua shifter gave a miserable laugh that was laced with the threat of a sob and shook his head. He looked down at the ground.
I walked up to him and tilted his head up, and he pressed his cheek into my hand.
“What?” I asked in a motherly tone: quiet, laughing, worried.
“I thought you were going to ask me to take you back,” he said with some emotion.
And there it was.
His words hung in the air and he offered me a weak, pained smile as my hand slid away from his cheek.
This was real now.
Now we had to deal with it.
“I…” I stammered out, unsure how to finish.
I ran my hand along my mouth: eyes elsewhere. Then I suddenly realized he’d said ‘Stay with me’ before. That’s what he had been asking me—to stay.
“I want to be with you,” he said, pulling his pants on quickly and fastening the complicated wraps of his Parduss armor. “For more than a week.”
“How about two?” I teased, and he looked stoic.
“I don’t want you to go back there,” he pleaded.
I knew he meant to Theren.
“Well,” I said with a breath, my hand now pressed against my forehead as though I were taking my own temperature. “I don’t know what you want me to say to that.”
“Say yes,” he insisted.
“I can’t!” I said through a frustrated laugh. “I… what, exactly? Come out here and live with you? It’ll start a war!”
“We’re way past that now,” he said evenly.
“No,” I argued. “I told you. I will go back and tell him that—”
“Will you tell him about me?” he asked, narrowing his brows at me.
I blinked, shocked. Looking down I snapped, “No, are you crazy?”
He stared at me with such hurt that I could feel my throat tighten with emotion. My eyes went wide, and I threw my arm out toward him and insisted, “Orylis, he would kill you!”
“Then…” he licked his lips and said, “We’ll leave.”
I scoffed. “And go where?”
“We’ll go to Earth.”
I felt the breath rush out of me and could nearly see the expression on my face closing up. “No.”
He set his jaw. “Why not?”
“Um. First, the Parduss are banned from being on Earth. Two, even if you wanted to, the Atherien can’t shift to human form without tails so we couldn’t even pass you off, and three,” I said, splaying my fingers out and counting on them, “Fenris could use it as a reason to attack Earth. I’m a breeder here, remember? They’ll say I went back on our deal.”
“They’ll send another,” he dismissed me. “Fenris won’t care about one breeder. Not enough to wage war.”
“Theren would,” I snapped.
Orylis blinked in surprised and seemed taken aback by my sudden outburst.
“That’s the point, isn’t it?” he said stiffly, as though coming to a conclusion he didn’t like. “You don’t want to hurt him.”
“Of course I don’t!” I yelled. “Why would I? He hasn’t done anything but show me kindness and—”
He put up a hand and closed his eyes.
“Orylis, please,” I said, trying to calm down.
“You love him?” he asked, toneless.
My heart sank at the question, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. I cared for Theren. I respected him. I enjoyed him.
But could I say I loved him? No.
Could I love him? Of course. I was attached to him. He swore his devotion to me and looked for ways to make me happy. I cared for him deeply. But my heart was so wrapped up in Orylis that I couldn’t even remember what I used to feel for Theren. I couldn’t bring it to life.
All I wanted now was to be with Orylis… and his offer was tempting. It took everything in me not to blurt out ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ and jump into his arms. But the Parduss were already on the brink of war with each other, and I didn’t want to be the catalyst.
Reading into my silence, Orylis gave a slow nod. He stared down at the floor and then his bright amber eyes flicked up to mine.
“Then, I’ll take you back,” he said curtly.
Chapter Eleven
Orylis
I walked away from the tent until I was back out among the rock staircase, feeling the weight of the rain back on my cold body. I pulled my wings tight to my body and made the flight from one stair structure to the other: about a seven-foot distance.
Splashes of heavy boots pattered from behind me, and I knew Hazel was coming. I also knew she couldn’t get up to where I was and for a moment, that thought filled me with comfort.
“Orylis,” she called: her clear voice cutting right through the rain.
I turned around and looked down at her, staring into her beautiful eyes and watching how her clothes and hair clung tightly to her body the wetter they got.
“I love you,” she said as she shielded her eyes from the rain. A smile clung to the side of her oversized lips, and her tone sounded like a playful admission.
“I love you back,” I said.
She bit her lip, and I could see white teeth emerging against her wide grin.
She nodded and said, “Okay.”
“Okay?” I repeated unsurely, rolling my shoulders and flittering my wings behind me with a tight snap.
“Okay!” she yelled back with a playful laugh. “Okay! I’ll stay!”
My heart lilted, and I jumped down the immense step and ran to her, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around. I could feel the tears fill my eyes as I kissed her and then pulled her close to my body. I felt as though she would disappear if I let her go, so I held on tight.
I wanted to ask her everything—why? For how long? What changed her mind? But I was afraid
to hear any of the answers.
Instead, I pulled back, craning my neck to look at her and asked, “What do we do abo—”
“I don’t know-I don’t know!” she laughed and caught me off: her face beaming with excitement. Her eyes brightened like a child’s, elated by her own decision. “But I can’t leave you.”
I kissed her again.
“This is going to require… some planning,” she said carefully. “I’ll have to find a way to talk to the SAEW,” she spoke of her contacts back on Earth. “If you’re still serious about coming back to Earth?”
“I’ll do anything,” I said, considering the words only as they were coming out.
If I left… that would mean abandoning my mother’s army and everything we had worked so hard for. I thought on that, and the reality hit me hard.
“Hazel,” came a stern, forceful call from above the rock mass of stairs.
Both of us jerked forward at the sudden, unexpected voice and we both looked up, still holding onto one another.
A female Gild stood at the top, suited in full armor. She had long, white hair that was fixed in a thick mass of braids. She held a weapon at her side. A sight I wasn’t used to seeing on a Parduss.
I felt a familiar slice of pain seize my heart as Hazel vaulted away from me like shrapnel in a crash: my body left cold without the heat of her against me.
“Nariva,” Hazel stammered out in shock.
Ah. The warrior Hazel had spoken of when we first met. She was so sure Nariva would come for her… and now here she was.
The white Gild gave a giant gust of her wings and landed on the same stair we were on. She sat right on the edge, ready for flight, as far away from me as possible.
“Stay away from her,” the woman commanded and reached her hand out toward Hazel, keeping her eyes fixed on me.
“What are you doing here?” Hazel gasped, her thick brows cupping into a U-shape as she watched her friend, unsure of her next move.
Nariva seemed furious, but overcome with emotion as she snapped out, “We have been everywhere searching for you!”
With a sheepish grin, Hazel showed her palms to the woman and said, “Found me.”
