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“This would not have happened if you had just informed our people, Aerhal,” Agor bit out.
Rather than be angered, Zherist gave him an exhausted smile. “I have asked myself many times how to handle this matter with the smallest repercussions. Rumor, unfortunately, is ugly. I don’t know if you realize it but there was even speculation rising among some of our people that there were Geminidae who were taking interest in human mates in order to force a nonexistent bond and claim ‘mates’ for their own comfort rather than a true taliazon bond, thus making a mockery of it. I was hoping to curtail the whole situation while my twin and I sought out Betty to confirm our taliazon bond indisputably by our medics for our people.”
He swept his hand to the right and for the first time, Agor noticed the small human female with the aerhal. Her brown eyes sparkled with amusement from where she was tucked protectively under the wing of the same grim male who had glared at them forebodingly whenever they were sent to Zherist’s office.
Trust the aerhal to have his twin as a personal secretary and overseer of all access to him in lieu of a rookery keeper.
Zherist’s eyes narrowed. “I was returning to the High Rookery when I received word of this situation here and your involvement.” Their aerhal regarded them speculatively and sighed. “I’m uncertain of what I should do with you from here. I recognize that you possessed good reasoning for your decisions and that this mess is not entirely on you. Yet I feel as if I would be remiss in not dealing directly with your situation for disobeying my orders. On the other hand, I understand the pain of being separated from your talia and this is the second time you’ve experienced such—but this time as mated males. Therefore, my other option is to send you off with these males who appear less than enthused to be in your company and just be done with the entire matter. The benefit here is that I can redirect my attention to more important things while they return you to your mate.” His mouth twisted in a pained expression. “She was quite insistent on having you back as I recall and there was a certain threat aimed at me that I have little doubt, knowing human females as I now do, that she wouldn’t attempt to carry out. And I prefer to keep my feathers intact.”
Puzzled as to what the aerhal’s feathers had to do with the situation, Agor glanced over sharply in the direction that Zherist motioned, and he snapped to attention as he recognized Finity and Genthral standing patiently a short distance away. Indeed, neither male looked particularly pleased to see them nor did they appear as if they wished to tear their wings off either. Agor was confident he could best either of them in a fight if it came down to it, but he doubted they would be inclined to waste the time that they would clearly prefer to spend returning to their talia whose taliazon bond so clearly marked them. Agor fought back a smile. It seemed that their hunt had been successful after all.
“If it’s all the same, we would prefer to leave with them,” Agor interjected. “We are certain that our talia is just as worried about us as we are for her, and we would like to see to it.”
Zherist’s eyes narrowed. “And return her to your rookery I assume.” His eyes cut to the other males. “And you as well. If I had been aware that you were dwelling in Rhapsody with a human female, I would have had you retrieved long ago.”
Finity inclined his head respectfully. “Of course. It is our intention to do so now that we are certain we have our female’s agreement.”
The aerhal huffed in annoyance but the human female with him snorted in amusement and jabbed an elbow into his side. “It’s not that easy, and you know it. Or do I need to remind you how long you two were camped out on my farm when I tried to kick you off my property?”
Zherist blinked down at her, and the corner of his mouth inched up. “Unnecessary, talia. You know that you have my esteemed affections and have opened my eyes to the error in our approach regarding these things—and listening to my twin’s advice in such things.” He grimaced at his twin whose icy expression cracked with a faint smile. Zherist glanced dourly back over at Agor. “Which is another reason I’m letting you go. Not because I wish to. You’ve been a thorn in my side for longer than I would like to consider. I hope that this is the last occasion where I must reprimand you. You are, after all, now a rookeried male and no longer under my direct command.” He stepped back, his wings puffing out subtly as he adjusted them. “Now get out of my sight, all of you. Some of us have work that requires seeing to.”
He paused. “Oh and thank your mate for me. I probably wouldn’t have heard of this for some time yet since I had ordered that I not be disturbed. It seems she is quite convincing,” he observed, his mouth inching up in a smile. “It is quite fortunate that Narguil was with me rather than at his usual post. The male she cowed was a temporary substitute for our absence. It would be wise to warn her that such threats would not work against my twin.”
With that, he spun away, tugging his female along with him and Narguil taking up rear guard. With a glance over her shoulder, Betty whispered good luck before they disappeared among the milling Geminidae in the room. Agor didn’t waste time staring after them despite his raging curiosity over the trio. He was consumed by the need of only one thing. His mate.
His wings snapping with his high level of agitation, he turned expectantly to Finity. He half expected the male to be impatient with his rudeness but was surprised when Finity spun away without a word as he made a direct line for the door. It seemed that neither of them had time nor interest to waste in polite discussion when their mates awaited their return. Exchanging an eager look with Brydis, they hastened from the holding room after their escorts who’d obviously been sent to find them. As eager as he was, he paused at the door, recalling their neighbors’ worry for Jill. He couldn’t leave without letting them know that she was well.
He peered over the crowd until he caught sight of his division. They were still nestled in the same corner, but it appeared that a couple of the males had retrieved some of the food that had been dispensed and returned with it. Iridi noted his attention, and she lifted her chin in silent inquiry. At his nod, a look of relief flooded her face and she whispered hurriedly to the other females with her. Hands were raised in farewell from the females and from their mates whose attention was drawn to them and as a silent promise to speak together soon.
With that, he hurried out the door after Brydis and took to the air, winging his way over Rhapsody, following the path of Finity and Genthral’s flight as their orange and green wings cut through the sky just ahead of them.
It didn’t take long to understand where they were going, and Agor’s heart leapt with excitement at their approach as they dropped closer and closer to a familiar building. Touching down on the roof, he pushed past the males sent after him and rushed into the building only to be called up short with the reminder that he didn’t know where Jill’s friend lived. It was with a meeker but no less impatient air that he contented himself in following Finity until a door opened and he was blessed with a glimpse of his mate that had his heart lifting with joy.
A cry left him as he rushed forward and plucked her into his arms as Brydis’s wings closed lovingly around them. Something within him stilled at the grasp, his dominant instinct rising to the fore before he recognized the simple love in the embrace. There was no dominance of rut in the touch but true affection and adoration that finally allowed him to enjoy the wing grasp of his twin. In that embrace, Jill laughed at their boundless enthusiasm even as happiness shone in her eyes and his twin’s joyous laughter filled the air between them. Agor couldn’t laugh. His heart was caught in his throat, everything he always wanted to say needing to fight its way out but all he could do was hug her tightly to him in a silent promise that he would never let her go.
Her breath fanned his cheek, and he burrowed his nose against her neck at the touch, wallowing in her touch, but it was her whisper that lit something within him and made the world fill with a new hope that he’d only dreamed of.
“I love you.” Turning her head, she looked over at Brydis over her shoulder. “And you as well. I love both of you and didn’t even realize how much until I almost lost you for the second time. I love you both so much that I’m choosing to be with you because I can’t imagine my life having any happiness without you in it. You are my home and with you is where I wish to be for the rest of my life.”
Agor’s eyes closed with the tears that he could not keep from filling them, but he lifted his head and opened them so that he was meeting her eyes with the raw depth of his emotions laid bare for her—only her.
“I love you, talia. My Jill.”
“Our Jill,” Brydis corrected as his wings tightened around them further. “I love both of you too,” he rasped and both Agor and Jill hugged him to them, their love filling their taliazon so that it flowed around them with such warmth that their acknowledged and shared love seemed to make it grow and gain a new depth that it never had before. Reaching over, he grabbed his twin’s aquila and drew in close.
“I love you, as well,” he murmured. “Always have.”
“Always,” Brydis echoed in agreement.
This was the beginning of a new future for their rookery, and he, for one, couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
* * *
Brydis held his brother and mate close within his wings, sinking in the comfort and love that only they could truly provide. He felt complete as he joined them in this way, in a sharing of love. He’d felt the moment Agor had stiffened at his wing clasp and had wondered how his twin would react. When the male had relaxed into his grasp, Brydis knew true happiness in the trust and affection that was genuinely offered in that moment. Though they had been together for many revolutions, he had never felt so close and in union with his twin than he did at that moment.
The love that swept over and through him, carried his heart higher. He hadn’t had much hope when he traveled through the cosmic fault to this world or when they saw the wild stretches of Ganymede. It had been similar enough to home but something had always been missing. Even when Jill had haunted their rookery and made him the happiest he’d been, something had been missing. This was it.
Love.
