Page 1

Chapter

One

W ishing on stars was for babies and at ten, Lily had long since stopped believing it would work.

When she was little, she had wished upon a star when her daddy went out into the woods and never returned.

After that, her momma had grown sad, and the woods had become scarier as people began to leave the village—either by themselves or by just disappearing into the woods.

They all left, leaving Lily and her momma behind.

So now she was staring critically up at the stars.

“Okay, stars. I’m going to make one more wish,” she muttered. “Please send a good daddy to make mommy happy and help us feel safe again.”

Agrel grunted as he dropped to his haunches at his ahaku’s side as they surveyed the human village.

Strangely, it seemed empty, and that sent a small shiver through him.

He had come across more than one vacant nest on the old world where the previous inhabitants had died and he hoped that this was not the case.

It was unsettling to be in a place inhabited by nothing but the dead.

Not that an abandoned village was any more welcoming.

What would make an entire population just disappear?

He drew in a wary breath, scenting the air, his sharp eyes scanning the buildings.

He grunted again, this time with relief when there was no hint of the rotten stench of death.

Oh, there was plenty of rot, but it was more like the scent of old plant matter slowly decaying and old furs left unused for many seasons.

But beneath it all, there was an intriguing sweetness within the air that enlivened him.

It seemed unlikely to find something so precious in this part of the woods.

They had encountered far too many dangers through this part of the forest the closer they came to the village.

Kicking the dead plant out of his path that had attempted to devour them just moments earlier, his ahaku, Gehj, glanced over at him curiously. “Do we approach?”

Agrel nodded, the layered crests on his head rising slightly.

He turned to meet the male’s eyes, noting the depths of caution that he read there.

At one time, that caution irritated him as a male who preferred action, but they had gone through their growing pangs as a bonded pair during their youth and as a result he respected the caution of his ahaku.

Gehj was now the only male that he would ever feel safe claiming a mate with.

But he also recognized that this was likely the purpose of the instinct: for males of their species to bond together as juveniles.

It prepared them for the day that they might have a mate.

If they were fortunate to find one. Many of the females who were among those fleeing their planet with the help of the alien star-voyaging vessel had failed to survive the trip.

There had been an outbreak that had mystified their rescuers before it was eventually contained, but not before decimating their population and snuffing out the lives of over half the females.

The surviving females were not even accessible to males like them.

They were protected with a circle of ranking males, while scouts like Agrel and Gehj were sent to look for opportune nesting grounds to rebuild their rookeries.

It had been only five hands of days since the Feriknikal, aliens who brought them to this world, had departed with no other instructions than to avoid the lands that lay in the north where a ferocious predatory species called Ragoru claimed the cold expanse of forest and icy plains for their territory.

They could have it.

Atlavans were, by nature, a species that enjoyed the dry heat and warm breezes found in the mountains of their home world.

Mountains that had once overlooked great stretches of sand dotted with large, fertile oases, and cut through by magnificent life-giving rivers before the water began to dry up and the great suffering had begun.

Given a new chance at life on a new world, they were happy to strike south in search of a new home.

This village would be a convenient place to rest for a few days, but it would not work for a permanent settlement for their people, regardless of all the empty dwellings waiting to be filled again with life.

“It appears to be empty. We can easily claim a new dwelling for a handful of days while we hunt to replenish our provisions, feed, and rest. If nothing else, this miserable forest is rich in game.”

Gehj trilled softly in agreement, his head lifting briefly to peer up into the darkening sky visible between the trees. The movement showed off the bright blue collar of feathers that stood out brightly among the gold and red plumage.

“We should not delay. This part of the forest is treacherous. I would not enjoy being unnecessarily caught out in it after nightfall.”

He stood, his tail feathers fanned slightly as his tail tipped to counter his shift in weight, the long crimson feathers bright against the dark greenery.

Trilling quietly, Agrel rose as well, his tail bobbing impatiently.

Without another word, they emerged from the forest and entered the village.

The silence deepened as the sounds of the forest faded, and it struck him how much the abandoned dwellings were like ghostly sentinels against the encroaching dangers of the forest outside the village walls.

The further he walked into the village, the more certain he became that it was unsuitable for any person among the living, much less an entire Atlavan community.

Sooner or later, the village would succumb to the forest.

“How long did you say that we will be staying here?” Gehj whispered.

“Five days. Not a day more,” Agrel replied with a shiver. Atlavans disdained such damp, sunless places as much as the sun-mother, Deji, did.

Five days to hunt and smoke the meat into travel rations and then they would be gone. He would not be sad to leave it behind.