Bird of a Wing (Bow 1)

Chapter 35

Back at the hut, Dyn'ad was cooking over a fire outside while the others were still in the hut. It smelt like fish that morning. Tai-ray flew up to the hut to see if anyone else was awake, letting Herymi join Dyn'ad. Eyeri was sitting up as he landed on the balcony, the boy rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Tai'ray reached with the link to greet the young man good morning only to find there was nothing there. He frowned remembering Eyeri hadn't developed the link yet. It seemed like a silly thing to forget but Tai'ray was so used to being able to communicate with people using it that it seemed strange not to be able to.

"That will have to be sorted soon," Tai'ray mused. He did not like the idea of someone so close to one of his not being K'nairi. Problem was, ignoring a few unconventional ways, it normally took a few years of living close to the K'nairi for the link to form. Then again, the fact the boy was going to be close to the heart of the link would also speed it up. There was also a way to force the link quicker if need be...

'Please tell me you are not serious!' Herymi almost hissed over the link, apparently still linked to Tai'ray from their morning conversation.

'He is old enough,' Tai-ray murmured idly. 'But no, I'm not planning to have sex with him. Not unless something happens which would require a link to form quickly.' Only a few things would require that. 'For now, I'll just keep him close and the link should hopefully snap into place sooner rather than later,' he said to reassure everyone listening.

'Glad to hear it,' Ryraso's voice murmured through the link, clearly waking up. 'I would have hated to have tried to explain to Eyeri how you forcing him to have sex is perfectly acceptable.' There was a bitterness there, one which made Tai-ray wince inwardly. The man's blue eyes glaring at him from the bed. Ryraso was still scared that was what was going to happen to him and much like proving Eyeri was safe with them, only time would prove the royal triad would not.

'I wouldn't force a person into sex without a very good reason,' Tai-ray mused darkly. As Winglord he had the right to force someone but at the same time not to cause a person harm and there was a difference by k'nairi law. Not that it was much better, which is why Tai-ray had only ever used that solution during situations where people had gone in knowing it was a possibility, things like duels and dominance matches. It was not something he used by choice.

Previous Winglords hadn't been so thoughtful to their subjects. Rape happened among the K'nairi. There was simply nothing you could do if a dominant in a rut-rage pinned you down. Fighting would only end up with you seriously hurt, or even in some cases dead. All you could do was get through it. As the Winglord, it had been Tai-ray's job more than once to sort out which incidents had been avoidable, and which ones hadn't. Accidents happened and if Tai-ray, or one of the priests able to read the link, thought someone was in a dangerous relationship, he would separate them. Bonds were for life. However, he could destroy them if that was what it took to protect one subject from another.

'I'm glad,' Ryraso replied, his tone unreadable, nuzzling Eyeri who was uncomfortable. The boy likely knowing they were having a conversation over his head by the fact Tai'ray was standing there not saying a word while Ryraso glared. "How far are we going today?" Ryraso asked out loud for the boy's benefit, moving a stray piece of hair back behind Eyeri's ear.

"We will reach K'nairi land by nightfall. We may stay at a border town before continuing. Once we are on K'nairi land we can take our time," Tai-ray answered calmly. "Ryraso, can you double check on Herymi's wounds?"

Herymi winced through the link, realising Tai-ray had picked up on the fact the cut on his arm was hurting him a little more than it should. Tai'ray heard Dyn'ad tell the man off down below and smirked amused by this. Weakness was not something to be shown and yet at the same time, injuries were not to be left to fester. Something Herymi hadn't learned despite being in an army for seven years.