Chapter 17
Raidyn
As we fly back to the house, myriad thoughts flit through her mind. Her tangled emotions are so complex, I am unable to discern what they mean. She cares for me, but she is conflicted. And she worries about her friend and the rest of her people.
I am worried about them, too. The Fire Clan has no doubt discovered them by now, but I must be certain. We will have to search the desert near the site where I found Skye. Even if we do find them, I cannot take them back to the Wind Clan. I would have no choice but to take them to Prince Varus. He is not dishonorable like my cousin who whispers poison in my father’s ear.
When I set Skye down on the balcony, she lingers by my side. “What are you thinking about?”
“My father,” I reluctantly admit. “He and my cousin are wrong to think that they could present your people with eligible males and tell them they must choose a mate from among them. I know your species could be the answer to our problems, but it would be wrong in so many different ways to force them into making a choice they may not be ready to make.”
She studies me curiously. “What do you mean?”
I place my hand on my chest. “I know you are concerned we may be unable to have fledglings, but I do not believe the Gods would have fated us if we were not biologically compatible. What if some of the other unmated human females are destined to others of my kind?” I shake my head softly in frustration. “And my father and cousin would insist they take only members of the Wind Clan as their mates, keeping them all for themselves, denying the males in other Clans the opportunity to find their linaya. What a horrible thing it would be if a Drakarian mates with another’s linaya and later discovers the mistake.”
“Has that happened before?”
“Never. At least, it has never been recorded.” I look to the stars. “Who knows what happens in the other Clans? We have been separated for so long. We hardly share information with one another anymore.”
“Don’t you think that weakens you as a people?”
I study her, curious to hear her outsider perspective. “How so?”
“If the Clans are so separated, it only creates a further divide between your race.” She tilts her head to the side, something I notice she does when she is in deep thought. “How can your species remain strong? If something drastic, like another disease outbreak or an invasion, were to happen, how would you coordinate an effort to fight it? Don’t you see how much trouble your division could cause?”
She speaks truth. The Clans have been acting like our ancestors, the four brothers—treating our brethren like enemies.
We are the same species, blessed by the same Gods, despite the slight differences in our appearance and abilities. Instead of widening the gap between Clans with fighting and mistrust, we need to overcome our differences and unify our species.
Perhaps the humans were sent to us not only to be our linayas—our gifts from the Gods—but to teach us how to unite once more.
“You are right,” I sigh. “Though I don’t know how to even begin improving relations with the other Clans.”
She sends me a look I cannot quite discern, but her faint smile doesn’t reach her eyes. It seems my words have upset her. Probably because she is thinking of her friend and wondering if she will ever see her again now that she knows our Clans are so divided. “Someone has to be the first to try,” she says. A yawn escapes her before she can cover her mouth. Her cheeks darken in response. “I think it’s time for me to go to bed.”
“I will join you.”
She looks over her shoulder. “I think I’ll sleep on the couch tonight.”
My brows draw down. “You wish to sleep alone?”
She nods.
Part of me hopes she merely wants to take things slowly, but another part knows that something is wrong. Has she already made her decision? Is she rejecting me after all?
Even if she does not want me, I am not a male who would ever put his comfort above a female’s. “You take the bed,” I tell her. “I will sleep on the couch.”
“You don’t have to—” she starts to protest but I raise my hand in a bid to allow me to speak.
“No. I insist,” I state firmly. “I will sleep on the sofa.”
She nods and heads for the cleansing room. “I’m going to bathe first.”
As soon as the door to the cleansing room closes, a terrible thought fills my mind. I have not bathed since we arrived, since my scales naturally repel water and dirt. Drakarians do not bathe but every three or four days. She, however, has bathed twice now in two days, so human skin must need more frequent washing.
What if she finds my odor offensive? Her sense of smell must be very acute.
I must remedy this at once.
When she is finished, I make use of the cleansing pool as well. I take great care to scrub and thoroughly buff my scales to a pearlescent sheen.
Why did I not think to do this earlier?
What male does not groom to impress a female? I have been a fool, simply assuming she’d run into my arms because of the bond when all this time she has insisted that she does not sense its pull as I do. I have been expecting her to accept me without making any attempt to court her and entice her to become my mate.
As soon as I return to the bedroom, I find her already asleep. I’m disappointed since I wanted to see her reaction not only to the soap I used but to the polished finish of my freshly buffed scales. I checked my appearance several times in
