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“I hope you gave out as many strikes as you received. You’re defending the family honor, after all.”
“The family honor is intact. Though it wouldn’t hurt you to come with me now and then. Some of the younger ones think you’ve retired from combat.” Sulat lowered his voice. “You know, because you’re too old.”
“I’m the same age as you.” The words were out before he could stop himself.
“So come with me next time and show the next generation they’re not ready to take us on. I can’t fend them all off on my own.”
“Maybe I will.” Tariq raised a hand. “Maybe.”
“I’ll accept that. For now. But while you were ignoring the world, you also missed a message from Vixi. She wants us to come over for dinner tonight.”
“Qarf. I owe her an apology, then.” He rose from his chair and took a moment to stretch his back, arms, and wings. “I assume you accepted for both of us?”
“Of course. When have either of us ever turned down a chance to spend time with our little whirlwind?”
“Never.”
Sulat nodded. “I need to clean up and change. Then we can fly over to her place.”
“I prefer to walk,” he reminded his anrik.
“I know. But she’s already worried about you. If we show up on foot…” he trailed off and lifted his wings in a shrug.
Sulat was right. Vixi didn’t need to know he still avoided flying whenever possible. Every time he took to the air, memories of that final flight with Raenia consumed him.
“It’s a short flight,” Sulat said sympathetically.
“I’ll manage.”
“You always do.”
They touched wrists before parting. The gesture was meant to remind them both that they were there for each other. Friends and brothers. Always.
That’s what he needed to focus on now, his family. Vixi was wrong. He didn’t need anyone else, especially not the attractive Dr. Clark. His interest in her had to be purely professional. Anything else would be a betrayal of Raenia’s memory. And memories were all he had left.
It was only a few minutes to make the flight to Vixi’s residence. She’d chosen to live in one of the new structures on the far side of the river that flowed through the middle of the colony. At one time, the river had acted as a de facto border with the human cyborgs living on one side and the Vardarians on the other.
That wasn’t the case anymore. The work of blending the various species into one community was still in progress, but the attacks on their home had brought the two main species together.
No. Tariq corrected himself. Not two species. Three. The cyborgs considered themselves separate from humans, even though they shared the same DNA.
Tariq distracted himself with musings about the colony’s inhabitants and the changes he saw as they flew overhead. It helped to keep the darker thoughts at bay. If he could keep himself distracted, maybe he could return to the skies.
That thought was torn away by an unexpected downdraft that shoved them both toward the ground. It only lasted a moment and forced them less than three meters lower, but it unleashed a maelstrom of memories that swept him back to the moment of Raenia’s death.
The skies had been clear when they’d set out together. They’d had no destination in mind and no plan other than to stretch their wings. Raenia loved to fly, and he loved to watch her wheel and soar. Always pushing herself higher and faster… until a sudden downdraft caught her and tossed her to the ground like an insect swatted by a giant hand.
Distracted by the past, Tariq nearly missed Vixi’s rooftop and had to back wing hard to slow himself down. Even then, he landed hard and stumbled, his mind too tangled up in memories to pay attention to the here and now.
Sulat managed to get in front of him and caught hold of his shoulders, stopping his momentum before he reached the edge.
Tariq steadied himself and straightened, but Sulat didn’t let go. “Does it still bother you?”
“What do you think?” Of course, the memories still haunted him. “I’ll never forget.”
Sulat’s grip tightened. “It’s not about forgetting. But you can’t let what happened affect you this way forever. You need to let it go.”
Tariq’s anger flared white-hot, and he had to fight the urge to shove his friend away. “Don’t tell me how to live my life.”
