Calling on a few strands of white, I wrapped them around my leg and used my meager magic to lever myself upright.Teetering, I managed to make my way to the door, where the Issaraeth spoke in low tones with the healer.
“Ready to meet my fate,” I said, flashing my mate a sardonic smile before my expression fell back into a scowl.
The face of my nightmares flicked an annoyed glance in my direction.
The healer pressed his lips together. After days of witnessing our back and forth, I was certain he suspected something more was happening between us. Something that went beyond thenormalcaptor-captive situation.
“One green potion in the morning, another in the evening. If you’re in too much pain to sleep, a purple one,” he reminded me.
I offered him a warm, gracious grin. “Thank you for all your help, healer.”
Wordlessly, the Issaraeth held the door open for me. Like a good dog, I swung myself outside, where a wagon, drawn by two horses, waited.
As I managed to work my way into the space, leaning back against bags of supplies, I took one last glance around the town. Free people came and went, their arms laden with wares. Children raced through the legs of the adults, giggling and ignorant of the predator that walked among them. Chickens clucked in their cages, ready to be slaughtered for dinner.
My knee throbbed, and I cupped the back of it, gently adjusting the position and stuffing fabric beneath it so my stretched out position didn’t put further strain on it.
A low hum vibrated above me, and in a blink, the auravane dipped from the sky and landed on the lip of the cart. His eyes, a liquid metal, collided with mine, unblinking.
Ilae was breathtaking, even if his abilities made him a bit terrifying. Auravane were birds of legend, and I’d never seenone before him. Their rarity made them prized possessions. Especially if one was willing to bond for hunting.
Unconsciously, I reached out a hand to stroke his crystalline feathers. His large head tilted, tracking the motion with predatory intelligence. When my fingers brushed them, a sharp pain bit into the pads. With a hiss, I retracted, noting the blood welling there. I sucked the tip, trying to ease the sting.
“There’s only one place you can safely pet him.”
I jumped at the Issaraeth’s velvety voice. Whipping my head up, I noted that he stood, mere feet away, watching me with rapt interest. He set his haul on the opposite side of the wagon from me, then approached his bird.
And me. By the time he stopped, he was close enough that heat radiated off his skin. Close enough that he could reach out and wrap his fingers around my throat. Smooth back my hair. Brush his fingers over my shoulder.
A different sort of ache bloomed in my core.
Our connection thrummed at our proximity, as it did every time we were close like this.
I hated it. Hated him. Hated everything about this situation.
The rest of the world fell away as he stared at me. I was tempted to lower the barrier around my mind and seek out what was in his.
But then, Ilae clicked his beak and shattered the moment.
The Issaraeth cleared his throat and released me from his mesmerizing hold. “Though the fact he let you touch him at all speaks volumes.”
I let out a long breath, trying to slow my racing heart. “Is that so?”
“Aye.” He brushed a hand over the back of Ilae’s neck, just below his antlers, and the bird hummed, a deep throaty sound I wouldn’t have expected. He even nuzzled into his master’s palm. “Auravane are particular creatures. Especially oncebonded to an Angel. He won’t even let Maelsar close without pecking his fingers.”
“How did you find him?” I couldn’t help but ask. No one really knew where they came from, or how many were still in existence.
The Issaraeth’s impassive expression didn’t change, even as the emotion open between us shifted. “My first mission hunting down Elessarum was deep in the southern range of the Skala Mountains. I stumbled upon a nest while searching for a vantage point. A stoat was stalking the eggs, and the hen and cock were nowhere to be found. I used my magic to capture the predator and ferried him down the mountain, away from the precious chicks.”
He paused, switching where he stroked Ilae’s feathers. My brows furrowed. Why wouldn’t he have killed the stoat? That was what a monster like him would have done, unlike a member of the Elessarum.
Without taking his focus off his bird, he continued. “Moments later, Ilae and his mate returned. He attacked me, thinking I was going to steal his offspring, until Ysolthe scented the stoat and conveyed that the danger had passed.”
“Ysolthe is Ilae’s mate?” I clarified.
At her name, the bird stilled, pinning me with molten eyes. He shuffled closer and stuck out his head as if he were scrutinizing me, assessing if I too posed a threat. I froze, breath lodged in my throat.
“She is. All of their chicks from that clutch hatched, and all but one lived after the harrowing leap off the side of the mountain. Ysolthe lives in Sivy now, in the aviary. She flies messages to Ilae and me while we’re on the road.”
