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“I’ll thank you to stop blathering on,” Errok snapped.
Shaking my head and laughing, I went to Errok’s side.
“Come on,” I said, wrapping my hands around his tense, angry bicep. “Let’s finish eating and go.”
He relaxed under my touch. Though he was staring daggers at his brother, he allowed me to lead him down to the floor by the fire.
“My cloud-brained fool of a brother is lucky you are here,” he grumbled.
“So are you,” I crooned, pressing a cooked egg into his hand.
His claws curled around the egg as his tail snaked around my hips on the stone. He drew me against his side as he quietly rumbled, “I know.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Stephanie
Errok led me to themountain’s roosting cave – a huge, circular cave with a roof open to the air. Braxilk flew in the massive open space, as well as tending to large eggs in gigantic nests lining the lofty crags and shelves of stone. Togo must have spotted us immediately, because Errok didn’t even need to call him before he was diving down towards us.
“Togo,” Errok said as the creature landed before us. “This is your new mistress.”
Togo turned six intelligent eyes on me. They were odd, but lovely, a pale shade of violet with cat-like silver pupils.
Unlike last time with Talga, this time, I’d come prepared. Errok had told me that braxilk ate felkora eggs, so I’d brought one from the breakfast fire.
“Hi Togo,” I said softly, approaching him calmly. I really didn’t need to worry about spooking him, though. It was obvious that he was incredibly well-trained and he seemed to have a relaxed, steady demeanour. I offered the egg, and he made what I assumed was a pleased squawking sound before snatching it up into his shining beak. Once he’d gulped the snack down, he tossed his head and huffed, bumping a feathery head against my cheek. I laughed, fighting back tears, hugging his thick, long neck and exhaling.Home.
––––––––
FLYING THIS TIME WASeven better than last time. Last time, I’d been a mess because things between Errok and me had been all screwed up. It had made it harder to let go and enjoy the freedom and the beauty. But there was no such issue this time. With Errok at my back, we carved through the air, swooping and spinning. The landscape rolled in mountain-spiked waves of blue below us, shining in the sun. After some training, I even got to take a few short bursts of flight on my own, though Errok continuously barked at Togo to stay low to the ground the whole time. I loved riding with Errok – feeling his hard heat behind me, watching the pride and the pure, raw joy spilling out of him. But I also loved riding Togo on my own. It made me feel like myself again, even if Errok ordered Togo to take me on the equivalent of the kiddy ride version.
We flew for hours, eventually passing out of Errok’s territory and into neutral territory. We passed over the shuttle planted at the settlement site. I whooped, waving down at someone I thought might have been Fiona. But we whizzed past too quickly to be sure.
Eventually, we stopped, coming to rest in a sun-drenched valley with a clear stream running through it. I dismounted, loving the sore, tired ache in my thighs and the way my arms felt limp and slack after gripping Togo’s feathers. I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face as Errok dismounted behind me.
“Excellent flying today, friend,” he murmured, patting Togo’s neck. I watched him, realizing I’d never heard him speak in that low, smooth tone to anyone else but me.
