Goddess Mother, give him strength.
“Would you like to see the city?” he managed to say in a tense voice.
Both she and Dhenea gave him knowing looks that made a blush rise to his cheeks. One of these days he’d stop doing that, but it would not be today.
Patty stepped around Dhenea, wrapping her hands around his secondary forearm.
“Sounds amazing. What time do we need to be back by?”
“Oh, let’s say when the star passes the first ring? That should be ample time,” Dhenea said, gliding past them, waving goodbye over her shoulder. “Have fun you two!”
He tilted his head at Patty. “Well? Would you like to get something to eat first? I know of a very nice place with a lovely view of the river. I believe they have those pastries you love so much.”
Patty leaned her head against his arm. “That sounds amazing.”
She smelled like flowers and him.
Giving into the impulse, he scooped her up in his arms, her laughter warming his heart like nothing else ever would, and strode into her room and out onto the balcony. Patty shrieked with laughter, her arms coming around his neck when he dropped like a stone into the air, plummeting several hundred feet before spreading his wings to catch the air and gliding them upwards in a deep swoop until he leveled out as they came close to the city.
It was nestled in the valley below the mountains that housed the Palace. With the star out as it was, adding its light in combination with the peach of Zotias, it made all the tall silver towers in the city sparkle.
“Imyathume is our capital city, it was named after Imma’s ancestor. More than 20 million Neldre call it home.”
He flapped hard to give them more height so that Patty could get a good look at the city from above as they flew over it. The twisting spiral towers were separated by smaller buildings and walkways that twisted through water gardens with great flowering trees. The city was equal parts cold metal, and lush greenery.
Transport shuttles flew traffic lines far above the city floors, congesting the airways with noise. Here above the shuttle area, there were hundreds of Neldre flying to their destinations, a kaleidoscope of wing colors and fabrics blending together like paint on a canvas.
“It’s so busy!” Patty shouted to be heard above the noise. Wings flapping, voices, shuttles, and the general sounds of a busy city made for a deafening flight experience.
When the tower that housed the eatery he’d chosen came into sight, he folded his wings, dropping through the designated flight areas that allowed passage through the shuttle lines, spreading them again to slow their descent as they came to the right balcony.
Here, closer to the ground, the gardens were easily viewed, the flowing waterways crystal clear, filled with colorful Lashara who swam lazily, their flowing fins flashing in the light. Floating cloth lanterns in various shapes and colors rose up and down along the walkways. Ki’eeses flitted between the tall trees, hunting the glowing insects that fed on the pale flowers that covered the hanging branches.
He reluctantly let Patty down on her own two feet after he landed on the balcony. She turned in a slow circle, her eyes shifting from one spot to the next. Here it was much quieter, the traffic far above their heads, so that one could enjoy the sounds of the gardens only a few floors below them.
“It’s beautiful. What’s that dome over there?” she asked, pointing to a silver dome building in the center of a wide courtyard between the tower they were at and the tower across from them. It was a good distance from them, but close enough to see details of the building.
“That is the Armehona, it’s where you go to view exotic creatures.”
Patty whirled around to look at him with excitement. “Are you telling me that’s a zoo?”
Zoo translated to animal place, which was a close enough description of what the Armehona was.
“Yes, I think so.”
She squealed, bouncing on her feet. “Oh my god, can we go after breakfast?”
He wasn’t sure if it was open for the season yet, but even if they weren’t, anything that got his Patty this excited was going to be a yes. He’d break in if he had too.
“Of course, Patty. Whatever you want to do, it will be my pleasure.”
She hugged him, stepping back quickly to grin up at him. “I freaking love zoos.”
Then the zoo was what they were doing today. And he would be sure to take her to every Armehona in existence after the war.
“Come, let's go find a table. I want to see what you think of the food here.”
He escorted her inside the open glass doors and into the eatery. Every eye turned to them. Some were merely curious, as there were few outsiders that visited the city, but some were openly hostile as they caught sight of Patty. He bared his fangs, his wings fluffing up. Patty snickered when eyes quickly averted. He kept his scowl in place as he led them through the room.
