Page 125 of Pets in Space 10

Tyvaron

Pain.

Heat.

Smoke in my throat.

Metal claws at my mind.

I disobeyed. They scream inside my head.

It hurts. They don’t stop. But it is less loud than usual.

I should have killed. I should have burned them.

I did not.

The small ones live. The ones they fear. The ones they hate.

I was told to kill and I did not.

Because I remembered.

A flicker. A scent.

Soft skin. Warm breath.

Small hands. A voice like light.

Not prey. Not enemy.

Different.

Mine.

The fire inside me stirs. Old. Faint.

From before the metal. Before the pain.

I fly back to my cave. To stone. To dark. To quiet.

My wing drags. My bones crack. My fire is weak.

Pain is everything.

But she is close.

I feel her.

I hear her breath beneath the stone.

The pain will return.

The chains will pull.

But for now… I breathe.

And I remember.

And I hope.

Her breath is close.

The tiny one is close too.

I smell them both.

The pain softens when I breathe her scent.

Familiar. New. Warm.

Alive.

I am not made for this. Not made for choice.

I obey. I kill. I burn.

But I did not.

Because of her.

The collar is cracked. Weak.

The chains pull, but they slip.

The metal screams, but I can ignore it. For now.

I drag my body inside.

The stone holds me. The dark cools my fire.

I move slowly. My broken wing scrapes the ground. Sparks dance from torn metal. The pain claws at me, but I welcome it.

It reminds me I am still here.

I lift my head.

She sits near the little one.

The tiny one presses against her. Soft sounds. Smoke curls from its nose.

The female does not run.

Her eyes find mine. Wide. Shining.

I feel her fear. But also something else.

She says something. I do not understand.

I lower my head to the stone. My breath hisses through my teeth. The pain bites deep, but I hold still.

I watch her.

She watches me.

The tiny one chirps softly, curling its claws around her leg.

Safe. Small. Trusting.

The chains pull. The commands hiss.

Take her.

Kill her.

I do not move.

The fire inside me stirs.

Old.

Returning.

Alive.