Page 81 of The Hunter

“I am honored to be in your presence, huntress,” Zesh declared.

“Not as honored as I,” Ess countered.

Chuckling, Lacey pressed against Telok’s back and whispered, “Are they flirting with Ayali?”

His mandibles twitched, and he hummed thoughtfully. “They did seem to take great interest in her back at camp.”

Though Telok had never heard of different kinds of vrix mating, that didn’t mean there were no such pairings. He wanted Lacey as his mate, and his friends had all taken human mates for themselves. Why would it be any different for a thornskull and winddancer?

As they climbed higher, Telok caught his first glimpses of the undersides of rope bridges and wooden platforms above, though they were still too obscured by the branches to give him a true sense of the place.

At the top of the stairs, the group was stopped by a pair of winddancers standing guard. With Garahk in front of him, Telok couldn’t see the settlement beyond. The guards sounded equally curious and wary, speaking with Tas and Shir in hushed voices, and seemed reluctant to allow entry.

“They are here as my guests,” Shir finally said, her tone firm yet gentle. “We must assemble the council to meet with these guests so we may share words with them as the voice of the Nedrayas.”

“As you say, Shir,” one of the guards replied hesitantly.

The group moved forward. Standing to either side of the walkway, the guards—a male and a female—stared in awe as Garahk strode past them. Their attention shifted to Telok next, and their eyes widened.

Fear sparked in the male’s gaze, and he subtly shifted his spear toward Telok as he took a step back. But when his eyes fell upon Lacey, still perched on Telok’s hindquarters, his grip on the weapon slackened.

“Another human?” he rasped.

The female guard shook her head. “There are two.”

Telok looked over his shoulder as Lacey withdrew a hand from his abdomen, lifting it in a wave.

“Hello!” she said brightly.

Behind them, Cole grinned and notched his chin in the guards’ direction. “Sup?”

“Sup?” the male repeated with his head canted.

Once again, the female guard shook her head, simply watching as Cole continued by.

The platform opened into a wider space, where the group had room to gather.

Shir touched her headcrest to Tas’s. “I will go ahead, my luveen, and gather the others.”

Tas cupped the back of his mate’s head and trilled as they rubbed headcrests. “I will see you soon, my heartssong. Though soon is never soon enough.”

Shir released a soft purr as she withdrew. After straightening and bowing her head to the others, she strode off along a bridge to the right.

Lacey slipped down from Telok’s hindquarters, and they joined Garahk at the railing, turning their gazes toward the village.

“It’s so much like Kaldarak,” she said.

Telok nodded. Much like the thornskulls, the winddancers had built platforms up in the trees, with intricate bridges made of sturdy silk rope connecting them. All the structures upon those platforms were built against the trunks, with some being open to the air beneath their leaf roofs.

Winddancers occupied those spaces, and though Telok couldn’t see into all of them, he recognized the looms within one. But few, if any, of the winddancers seemed to be working. Most were staring at the newcomers in quiet startlement.

Higher up, dens large and small crafted of interwoven sticks, vines, and silk hung from the boughs, each secured by many thick strands. They were shaped like drops of water hanging from the wood.

Just like the den Ketahn kept in the Tangle.

Cole pointed up at them. “What are those?”

“They look like bird nests,” Lacey said.