There was pleasure along with that thought, so strong he had to shake his head to ignore it.
He could see the cave now and as he approached, there was a sinking feeling in his chest.
It was pitch black inside.
Qrak.
In his haste to leave, he had forgotten to show her how to use the fire sticks. He hadn’t shown her the food pouches either.
Qrak. She was no doubt freezing. Hungry and freezing.
As his feet touched the sand, Kyris popped his head through the cave entrance, his brow still knitted in a frown.
Something was wrong.
He didn’t even need to call her name to know she wasn’t inside the cave but he did it anyway, trying to ignore the stiffening of his shoulders and the uneasy feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach.
“Song?”
There was no response.
Stepping into the cave, he all but threw the zehmip skins to the side as he walked further into the darkness.
She wasn’t there. Only her sweet scent lingered.
Eyes narrowing, unease grew within him, causing a quake to move through his wings.
Where was she?
His pupils were dilated to their fullest extent and he could see tracks in the sand covering the cave floor. Vertical lines like she’d crawled toward the cave entrance.
Stooping to investigate them further, he brushed his fingers over the faint indentations.
It was dark, but from what he could see, there were no signs of a scuffle.
There were no sand cats in these parts, but he knew there were other things in the desert he didn’t want her to encounter alone.
Had something caused her to exit the cave only to be hauled away?
The quakes that sent quivers down through his wing blades increased as he stood and hastened toward the cave entrance.
She was somewhere out there.
Cold and alone and probably in danger. But most of all, she was defenseless.
He should have known better than to leave her on her own.
She wasn’t a Vaen female. She had no wings to fly away if there was a predator and her bones were so soft they would easily break if she was attacked by anything.
It was no doubt why Xul had ordered that he and his brothers each take a human under their care.
Humans were fragile.
He needed to remember that.
Violet eyes focused out into darkness as he exited the cave. Her scent still lingered. She hadn’t been gone for long.
Wings flapping as he rose into the air, he hovered just above the cave as he narrowed his eyes to focus through the darkness, his ears perked for any sound.
And then he heard it.
It was low, almost indecipherable, but the melody was one he’d heard many times before.
A sad tune.
That same sad tune she’d sung while on the Isclit slave carrier.
It was coming from somewhere off to the left of the cave.
Following his ears, it didn’t take him long before he saw the small figure a few meters away, crouched in the sand.
The relief that hit him came out as a huge breath. Floating back down to the ground, his feet touched the sand lightly and he closed his wings in silence.
He could only catch a few words as the translator chip relayed the tune to him but the melody seemed to seep into his very soul.
I would quickly quit here and go back
To my parents’ home over there
In those words was her pain.
Her sadness.
Her distress.
And it pulled at him in a way that made him feel helpless.
It was clear what those words meant.
She wanted to go home.
It made him feel...sad? Disappointed?
Her feelings were only natural but...his feelings, his feelings were utterly confusing.
It was completely and utterly selfish, but he wanted her to stay.
Dark hair…dark eyes…
It was deviant, these feelings.
It was wrong.
There was no mating call. No competition. No mating ritual…These feelings belonged to those who lived Below.
But he wanted her to stay. He wanted…her.
The realization hit him like a brick and he froze in the sand, his eyes widening as he listened to her sing.
It was dishonorable. He knew it. He could feel it.
Yet, he craved it. Craved it like nothing he had ever craved before.
He wanted her…
Dark hair…dark eyes…captivating.
He was moving toward her before he even realized what he was doing. She must have heard him approach because her wide eyes flew in his direction and her song stopped abruptly on her lips.
It was almost as if she was holding her breath, eyes still wild as she stared in his.
“Song?” He tried to keep his voice level, even as saying her name made pleasure spike within him.
This was wrong.
What he was feeling was wrong.
Deviant.
Wrong!
Yet, as her shoulders visibly relaxed and a smile passed over her face, he couldn’t deny the pull.
Dark hair…dark eyes…
He was becoming obsessed.
Even as he sorted the feelings bubbling within him, as if finally happy to be free, he noticed that though she was smiling, she looked as if she was about to burst into tears.
“You came back.” The quiver in her voice was clear.
Of course, he came back. Did she think he would have left her alone in this wilderness?
“Did you think I’d left?” He watched her gaze fall to the sand. “Abandoned you?”
He watched her small lips work as she worried them between her teeth, the movement catching his attention and holding it there.
“I—I thought...” She trailed off and adjusted the full bag of sand that was leaning against her legs.
She was sad...hurting...and it was making something wring within his chest.
He needed to change the subject.
If her eyes leaked again, it would be his fault and that would probably break him. He hated seeing her fluid-filled eyes—absolutely hated how it made him feel inside.
“The sand. What are you doing with it?”
“Oh, this?” She patted the bag and even in the darkness he could sense her embarrassment. “I was, um, trying to get enough into the cave...”
He couldn’t think of a reason why she’d want to do that. Why in Polvrak’s name would she want more of the pesky substance inside the cave?
