Page 15

Gripping low on the feather with his forefinger and thumb, he sent a rush of flames over his feathers. That single feather, with the flame caught, flared brightly and came off with a sparking pop that made both humans jump. Lily clasped her hands over her mouth in awe for a long moment, but when she lowered her hand again, it was only to begin wild clapping.

“Wow! That’s so amazing!” she cheered as he tipped the feather toward. She peered at it curiously and glanced back up at him. “Is it still hot?”

He shook his head. “Atlavan feathers cool quickly from our flames,” he explained as he handed it to her.

She brushed the feather along her jaw and her eyes closed blissfully. “It’s so soft.”

“Take good care of it,” his female advised. “And be sure to thank Agrel.”

A shiver ran through him with the sound of his name falling from her lips, her unusual accent making it all the sweeter to his ears. His head turned toward her, a sense of completion fillinghim. Her eyes shifted to him and a pink color brightened her cheeks.

“No thanks are needed for something that is a great honor,” he murmured. “I would give you a feather, as well, female. In truth, I would beg you to take another.”

The color in her face grew deeper, like the bloom of a flower, and it likewise charmed him.

“Lily, if you’re done, why don’t you wash up and head to bed? I will be in after a while to tuck you in,” she said quietly.

Tucking his feather behind her ear, his fledgling smiled before hopping from her chair and scooping up the little beast that mewed at her plaintively for being pulled away from his tail feathers that had been a source of fascination for the little creature.

“I’m going to take Nimh,” Lily announced, and Delilah nodded in agreement, her eyes following the little female as she left the room. It was not until Lily was gone that his female relaxed and regarded them steadily.

“Tell me more about Atlavan mating,” she said at length. “If it is something that I am going to consider, then I need to understand more about it. And I’m realizing that I’m making a lot of assumptions based on human relationships and how deviations from that seem. I want to understand what it is to you. And what they will mean for Lily and me, beyond what you’ve already told me. It just seems to me that I should be worried that all of this is happening very fast. Lily has her heart set on this family, I will admit, because she is ten and doesn’t understand how adult relationships work, but I can’t help but feel as if I should be worried about how this all might end. I understand that right now I’m convenient, but what if I accept this mating thing and you find another you want more?”

Gehj folded his hands on the table in front of him, the feathers of his crest rising attentively. His head cockedthoughtfully as he regarded her. “That is fair, but I can assure you that it would never happen. First, because we had already intended to approach you before you arrived at the pond, despite our situation being one that does not make for good timing. This could never be imagined by us as a matter of convenience, as any Atlavan would struggle to bond with someone if it was only because they are immediately available. But I suppose that Atlavans and humans differ in more ways than just our appearance,” he observed. “This mating was unlooked for on our part, and unintended on your part, but we have no regrets about it. When we say that you and Lily are a gift from the gods, we mean exactly that. One unanticipated and unlooked for, but cherished. We choose quickly but we never choose lightly”

Agrel trilled softly in agreement. “It really is terrible timing considering all the travel that we must do. But it does not matter. Nor does your original intention matter to us. All we want is to spend the rest of our lives showering every bit of our love and devotion upon you.”

“I see. What about falling in love? Do you not do that?” she whispered. “It seems terribly sad to have everything ruled by instinct instead of the heart.”

A look of understanding drifted across Gehj’s face, and he nodded. “Of course. It may be fast compared to what you are accustomed to as a human, but much goes into the choosing for an Atlavan. A lot of itisbased on instinct, but also biology. For us, these things cannot be so easily divided from the heart. When we choose a mate, though it may be quick and decisive, there is already love present. It is the seed of love that develops and grows over a lifetime together. It cultivates naturally between the ahaku and their mate from the bond that is established between them. Outside of our nestlings, it is what is most treasured within Atlavan families and is the happy pursuit of all who are mated.”

Delilah shifted in her seat, her eyes dropping to her hands resting on the table in front of her. “That makes sense, but it also sounds strange… backward. Most humans on this planet either marry because they find someone that they love, or for social connections and status. It feels like that it is something that, if it comes, will come first before all other things.”

Agrel cocked his head. “Is that real love, or an illusion that is embraced because they are waiting for this love? Or is it the real that love that comes afterwards over time?”

Delilah’s eyes lifted to him uncertainly. “I… I don’t know,” she admitted.

“Then perhaps you can consider this too when weighing your options. Consider it as taking a chance on us that even though it is different, for us it is still love,” Gehj quietly replied.

“And you truly wish to by Lily’s fathers… in every way?” she whispered as if unable to bring herself to believe it entirely.

“She will be our eldest daughter, first and beloved among our fledglings,” Agrel swore as he reached out grabbed her hands within both of his.

“The first?” she whispered, and he nodded but immediately sobered at the distressed looking that briefly flashed across her face. Did she not believe him, or did she worry that he was mistaken?

“Our saviors explained that it is your choice,” he explained, “but that all the species that they are re-homing on this planet are genetically compatible with humanity to give us all a chance to save each other. There would be many nestlings should you desire it.”

Delilah slowly withdrew her hands with a nervous laugh. “This is… definitely a lot to consider.”

“There is no rush,” Gehj assured her. “It will be another two days before we are ready to leave, and then the journey south will take a considerable amount of time.” He gave her areassuring smile. “While there will be many opportunities for you to part ways with us if you decide against traveling further with us, you will be under no pressure to make a decision right away. You could even dwell among our people for years without making a decision should you wish, and no one would think less of you.”

Their kin might shun them once the truth came out if she did not accept them before then, but that was another matter and entirely their own faults. It was not a consequence that Delilah needed to know about or be worried over.

Delilah gave them an unreadable look as she sucked in her bottom lip uncertainly, but there was something new in her eyes that fanned his hope higher. Finally, she nodded and stood, carefully pulling her hands free from his hold. “You can sleep here… with me. There is no reason to send you back to the cottage to suffer with whatever moldy furs you’ve managed to find. It’s not like we aren’t already mated, and besides, Lily and I stripped the cottages months ago of anything decent.”

Agrel released the breath that he had not realized he had been holding and smiled. “Of course,swiya. We would be happy to stay here with you.”

A tiny smile made an appearance, and she shyly nodded again. “Just give me a minute to get some more pillows and furs,” she whispered nervously before leaving them alone there in the kitchen.