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Having finally discovered it, he would keep it safe, always. He was the rookery keeper after all. He would nurture and safely tend to his rookery and all within his keeping, including the love that would continue to grow between them. That was the ultimate gift to any rookery keeper, the opportunity to be trusted with that greatest of gifts and see it grow.
* * *
Jill was surrounded by her mates. She was not entirely unaware of the fact that they had an audience or that Diane was dabbing at her eyes with a tremulous smile as her mates peppered her with affection. Smiling, Jill snuggled happily into the joined embrace of her mates. They continued to murmur and whisper words of love between them and with every moment that passed, she sank into that bliss a little further. From the corner of her eye, she could see the tall Geminidae commander speaking sternly with some sort of announcement but even that failed to catch her attention. She’d spent so much time feeling aimless, looking for what would complete her life and make her happy… and she’d finally found it. Or rather, it had found her and waited for her to accept and embrace it.
“Let’s go home,” she whispered. “I’m finally ready to begin this next adventure… as a family. As an avrhastal. I’m ready.”
And she had a feeling that this was going to be unlike any adventure she’d ever imagined. But this time, she was meeting it head on and unafraid with her eyes wide open. She couldn’t wait for it to begin.
Epilogue
Six years later
Jill smiled at her daughter tugging restlessly at her hand. Her little miracle. It had taken a mated trio of Geminidae and human fertility specialists to help them conceive but Ayiana had added a new dimension to their joy. Even Duke had been completely smitten with her from the time she was born.
Born. That had been a shock to her mates. They were so accustomed to their offspring hatching that the wonder of experiencing their daughter growing in her belly had been mixed with an equal amount of horror when it came time for the actual birthing. That was three years ago, and the events that had happened at the port were another three years before that, yet it felt like just yesterday that Jill had stumbled across Agor and Brydis on the lower decks.
So much had changed since then. Betty and Zherist, along with their scary third who took firm control over all interviews and interactions with the public, spearheaded a campaign to change relations between the human settlers and the Geminidae. A lot of new loves were discovered, and a shocking number of humans had ended up leaving Earth to go across the cosmic fault to Geminos upon invitation of the capital city. The blend of humans and Geminidae was seen as a new complexity that strengthened their species and was welcomed far more than it was currently on Earth—but the tide was changing quickly.
Of course, officials on Earth had an attitude ever since Ganymede became united and wrestled free from Earth’s hold. The marketer was still stationed at Mercurium Port, but his sole role was regulated to communicating between Earth and Ganymede in offers and counteroffers as the two planets negotiated trades, imports, and exports. The human port cities expanded significantly to include avrhast twins and unmated females who wished to dwell among their human brethren, and the expanse of farmlands were now connected with various markets set up between the Geminidae Mountains and the city for the benefit of all those who wished to purchase the fresh produce.
And honey. Honey flowed like rivers of gold to those who dwelt among the mountains, all of whom had developed a taste for it.
As for her family—they were thriving. Even though he never grew into a full coat, Duke proved to everyone that a trained grifalc unsuited for its usual tasks could still be a dependable companion. To Agor’s shock, a number of clients had approached him specifically looking for a guard companion for their family. In result, they had begun putting their heads together to decide what qualities to look for among the pups to house train. Of course that made their rookery full of pups, but Jill hardly minded, nor did little Ayiana. She even believed that Agor was secretly pleased with it even if he didn’t say so. He often had a gleam in his eye as he looked over the pups sprawled over the floor with their daughter and the satiated bearing of a male settling in. Brydis found the entire situation a bit more exhausting, but he approached it pragmatically and was satisfied with how it all worked out in the books.
A number of families, Geminidae and human, now had pups from their kennel… including the family whose produce they were currently looking over as they wandered along the stalls of the market closest to their mountain.
“Jill! Are you here for more honey or is it candy you’re after? I made a fresh batch. And of course a little sweet for the sweet,” Carol greeted her as she patiently pushed her grifalc’s head away and handed a small, paper-wrapped candy to Ayiana who squealed with glee.
“Both,” Jill chuckled as she patted her expanding belly.
Carol grinned and grabbed a small sack that she immediately began to fill with her homespun candies. “I thought so.”
Jill grinned in response. She knew her so well. Carol was one of the single mothers who had come to Ganymede and happened to own one of the farms closest to their rookery. They had become fast friends and Carol had been one of the first humans to request a grifalc to keep her company on the coldest winter nights and for added protection. She’d quickly come to be one of Jill’s closest human friends aside from Diane, who was living in a state of bliss with her mates on a different mountain a couple days flight away. Of all the humans who’d come to farm, Carol had taken what she was provided and ran with it. Selling off all her livestock, she had focused entirely on expanding her apiaries and experimenting with candy-making, to everyone’s collective delight.
Over the last few years, Carol had quickly garnered a reputation for her wares, enough so that Jill sometimes worried about her. The fact that she had a well-trained grifalc to protect her from smooth talkers made her feel a little better. Grifalc had an excellent instinct about people. It was why Carol also brought him to market with her every week. Jill was, however, a bit surprised to see Carol at her stall alone since, as of that spring, a pair of avrhast twins had begun courting her.
“How’s the little one growing?” Carol asked with pointed look at Jill’s belly.
Jill smoothed a hand as her baby chose that moment to turn and stretch. “He’s been growing quickly in these last few weeks. I wasn’t anywhere near this big with Ayiana. Agor and Brydis are constantly fussing. It won’t be too much longer, I hope,” she laughed. “A new baby should distract them from fussing so much over me.”
“And me,” Ayiana agreed with a chirp, making Jill and Carol both laugh.
“Oh, your friends… ah, the females within your division… came earlier,” Carol commented as she pulled out a couple of jars of honey. “They all seemed quite excited too, not that they aren’t themselves mothers more than once over,” she chuckled.
“Babies are always blessings among the Geminidae. There never seems to be a limit that exceeds their enthusiasm. Even for a female beleaguered by her own brood,” Jill agreed.
For a while, it had been a sore point watching her friends easily become pregnant while Jill had struggled for so long just to have the one before speaking with specialists. That the females had shown an endless amount of excitement and support during her own journey over the years whether in her work with the grifalcs, her various passions, or in motherhood, had made Jill feel as if she belonged among them even more as they treated her in every way as one of their own. Iridi had not only become her best friend and sister but had also formed a fast friendship with Diane. Truthfully, the entire division felt like a large extended family. They weren’t able to all get together often but when they did, the wine was broken out and stories shared among much laughter. Her mates would smile and keep Ayiana entertained as they awaited the moment they could carry her up to their bed and remind her of their own love and devotion to her.
Jill’s smile widened as she felt the taliazon sing and churn as her mates drew closer.
“Are you nearly ready, talia?” Brydis inquired as he adjusted the strap of the large sack of supplies slung over his shoulder. “I believe Agor has been stuffing his face again. We probably should rescue whatever human stall tender he cornered before he gets a second wind for another meal.” He shook his head wryly. “I don’t know where he puts it all, but with what he consumes, it’s probably a good thing he’s the one out with the flocks. I certainly couldn’t eat like that. Truthfully, I should probably fly out more,” he added, giving the slight pudge that had developed around his middle a poke.
“I like your daddy pudge,” she murmured, snuggling into him. “It’s just the tiniest amount of softness to make you all the more cuddly.
Brydis chuckled and dropped a kiss on her nose. “A warrior should not be cuddly.”
She shrugged. “Says who? In any case, if it bothers you that much, you guys can always do those little provocative wrestling matches you both enjoy.” Her grin widened. “It gets me all hot and bothered too.”
“Hot and bothered, I do love the sound of that,” Agor purred, drawing Jill’s gaze up to where he was perched on one of the many ledges carved from the protective rock that created a barrier for the market from the winds.
With a snap of his wings, he dropped behind her and scooped her up against him, one of his hands tucked supportively under her belly as he hugged her. She giggled out a protest, loving every minute until he set her down to scoop up their daughter who danced around her fathers with her hands raised and her tiny wing stubs wiggling with excitement.
“Up, up daddy. Me too! I wanna fly.”
“You too?” Agor gasped and then grinned. “Of course, my little bird must fly.”
As he scooped her up and tossed her into the air, Jill leaned into Brydis, marveling at just how her mates had given her just that. She’d been wingless and struggling, and afraid to leave the safety of the ground, but with them, they had taught her to fly.
