Page 129 of Pets in Space 10

Tyvaron

Hazel.

Her voice is soft. Her touch careful. My skin burns where her fingers were, but not from pain.

This is new. Strange. Dangerous.

Nobody has ever done this before.

I remember their touches. It hurt. They transformed me without taking note of my pain.

Hazel is different. She is kind. She helps.

She talks to me. I only understand parts of it.

I know what I was made for. Obey. Kill. Destroy.

But I did not kill.

I remember the moment. The command screamed in my head. The small ones stood before me. The old prey. The new prey.

And I stopped.

Because of her.

Because of the scent that had already reached me. Because of the light she carries, like a flame against the metal inside me.

The chains have loosened. Not gone, but weaker.

Less chains. More me.

She looks at me with wide eyes. Afraid, yes. But not like before. Now her fear is thin, wrapped in something warmer.

She speaks to me. Words that once were only noise now carry meaning. Not all. But some.

"You’re not going to hurt me, right?"

I understand.

I could. Easily. I always could.

But I will not.

Never. Not her.

I shape the word again. Rough. Possessive. True.

"Mine."

Her breath hitches. The scent of her pulse sharpens. She trembles. But she does not run.

I do not want her to run.

I do not want her to leave.

I want… more.

The little one chirps and curls against her leg. The little one trusts her. I trust the little one. It is the innocent one. The one they did not find. The one they did not change. The little one means hope.

I close my eyes. The stone beneath me holds my weight. The wounds throb. My wing drags. My strength is thin.

But I feel something I have not felt in… how long? I do not know. Time is broken.

Hope.