“Let us find some food. It has been a long day,” Nali said with a tired smile.
“If you would please follow me, Empress,” Reese said.
Nali nodded. She glanced at Asahi. Pai had skillfully inserted his immense body between his Empress and Asahi. From the amused expression in Asahi’s eyes, he knew exactly what her second-in-command was doing.
I am centuries old, and Pai STILL thinks I need a chaperone! she thought with wry humor.
“Where were you—in the forest—exactly?” Pai demanded.
Asahi looked at the strange creature. Pai’s eagle-eyes were focused on his face. The sharp beak showed signs of age with hairline cracks and small chips along the edges. The vibrant colors of his feathers on his cheeks were streaked with gray along the vanes.
“To the east of where you were standing, about twenty feet away, behind a tree surrounded by tall ferns. There was a dead tree lodged against it, allowing for plenty of cover from the air and the ground,” he replied.
Pai grunted. “Excellent choice. What did you see before we arrived?” the hippogriff continued.
“I came across the troll approximately five minutes before you arrived. She was agitated and muttering under her breath. I assumed that wasn’t typical behavior. She ran headfirst into a tree, knocking herself unconscious. I saw the alien emerge from her mouth. It is incredible that she survived,” he said.
“Why didn’t you come out when we arrived?” Pai suspiciously demanded.
Asahi stopped and looked at the hippogriff. “If you were in my position, would you have come out?” he asked.
The old guard snapped his beak and shook his head. “No, I would have remained hidden and observed what happened next,” he grudgingly admitted.
“Pai, if you’ve finished interrogating Asahi, we are going inside for a meal,” Nali said as she stood in the broad doorway of an extensive structure.
“I’ve eaten. The fishing is good in the river,” Pai commented. “I’ll do a flyover of the valley with the manticore guards and meet with you afterwards.”
“Be careful,” Nali said, her voice reflecting both concern and affection for the giant hippogriff.
“You worry too much about others and not enough about yourself,” Pai muttered.
Asahi could see the twinkle in the old hippogriff’s eyes before he trotted away. He shook his head in wonder and looked at Nali. She was silently watching him.
“Pai’s very protective of me,” she defended.
“I can understand why,” he murmured. His eyes connected with Nali’s intense, vulnerable gaze.
“Empress,” Reese called from inside the building.
She blinked, as if coming out of a daze, and turned away. “Thank you, Reese,” she answered.
Asahi released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He understood Pai’s feelings of protectiveness toward Nali. He also recognized that his own feelings were on a different, more primitive level than the hippogriff’s. Pai wanted to protect Nali like a father would protect his child. Asahi wanted to protect Nali as a man for a woman.
He followed her through the door into the spacious interior of an inn. It was easy to understand why each building they had passed in this valley had either oversized double doors or a single large one that was twice the size of those back home. They matched the colossal size of the manticores and the centaurs.
“Can I take your bag upstairs for you?” a young centaur inquired.
Asahi tightened his grip on the strap before he nodded and lifted it over his head, wincing when a shaft of pain ran through his shoulder. After holding out the bag, he watched the boy trot up a wide set of stairs.
“The food smells amazing!” Nali said with a sigh.
He absently nodded. At the moment, he was trying to process and categorize everything he was seeing. Long tables, spaced far apart, had an assortment of bench seats. Some seats were curved, allowing the centaurs to sit down, while others were flat.
Enormous platters, the size of a turkey platter back home, were used as regular dinner plates. He blinked in wonder when he saw fauns moving throughout the room serving drinks or carrying heavy platters filled with food. The noisy room gradually became silent, and a wave of hushed whispers announced their arrival.
As if in slow motion, young and old alike— regardless of what type of creature they were—put down their cups and silverware and rose to their feet in respect for their Empress. Nali stood poised and regal. Her gaze swept over the room as if she silently greeted each creature.
“Thank you for your welcome. The food smells delicious, I look forward to enjoying it with you,” she declared with a smile.
A centaur, his head bald and his neatly trimmed beard gray, lifted a tankard from the table in front of him and held it high in the air.
“To Nali, our Empress! May the Goddess be with her and the Isle of the Monsters!” he proclaimed in a deep, booming voice.
Others swiftly reached for their drinks. Fauns scurried to refill the empty ones as the diners all turned and faced their Empress. Asahi took the cup a female faun shyly held out to him. Reese handed Nali a tankard.
“To Nali!” the crowd roared.
Nali motioned to those before her with her tankard before she took a sip in tribute to her people. Laughter filled the air, and within minutes, everyone was back to enjoying their meal. Asahi moved up beside her.
“Does this happen everywhere you go?” he curiously asked, sniffing the drink in his cup before sipping it.
She laughed and shook her head. “Not everywhere. The centaurs and manticores enjoy their ale. They’ll toast almost anything if it means getting a refill,” she teased.
“If you’ll follow me, Empress, I have a table set up for you and your guest away from prying eyes,” an older female manticore said.
“Thank you,” Nali murmured.
Asahi could sense the curious gazes following them as they weaved their way to a secluded corner. There was a half-wall separating it from the main dining room. A set of double doors stood open to a small
