She turned to thank Zerik but he had silently slipped out, taking the soiled cloth with him. Eliza took a deep, cleansing breath and pulled out a clean set of clothes and changed once again, feeling a sense of peace wash over her. She looked in a small compact mirror for a long moment and managed to smile at her own reflection. It might actually be a relief to be able to let her skin breathe without the layers of concealer and foundation caked over it.
With pinched lips, Eliza turned her back on what served as the wastebasket. She wasn’t an ambassador here. She had no one to impress or hide from. Here, she was just Eliza, mother of Melanie Debrinksy, the human mate of Dareth. If anyone thought anything of her scars, it was no concern of hers. At least that’s what she told herself, ignoring the twinge of self-doubt that always festered within her.
Sweeping her hair up and pinning it into a messy bun, she scrutinized her appearance a final time before joining her newly extended family in the other room.
Melanie looked up at her from where she sat with Dareth, their heads bent as they talked quietly to each other, her face one of shock as she took in her mother’s raw appearance. Then her lips pulled up into a quivering smile, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“Mom, you look beautiful,” she said.
Dareth grinned at her, his eyes shining. Even Zerik took a satisfied breath and a kind smile twitched at his mouth. His eyes, though, were filled with warmth as he took her in. Not only warmth, but also approval. Eliza felt ridiculously pleased at that and couldn’t help returning their smiles.
“Well,” she said, “shall we go then?”
“Not quite,” Zerik interrupted. He handed her a small cloth that held some kind of cut fruit and what appeared to be cheese and bread. “You have not yet eaten, female. You will not leave this rookery without your hunger satiated.”
If only.
Eliza flushed slightly as her thoughts took a nosedive right back into the gutter. She thanked him, took the small meal, and ate it as Zerik saw to preparations before they left. Once he was satisfied that she had eaten her fill, he stretched his hand out to her with an inviting smile.
Mel laughed as Dareth swept her up into his arms and stepped out the door. Eliza took Zerik’s hand with a shy smile and followed them out, just in time for her to see Dareth spread his large, fiery wings and leap into the air.
Distracted by the sight, she barely noticed when Zerik gently tugged her hand until she was folded into his embrace. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, relishing the feel of his hard, muscular body against her as he too spread his wings. Eliza held her breath as he also leaped from the thick branch, a single beat of his wings taking them high into the air.
It took little time for them to reach the town. Well, what passed for a town, anyway. It seemed that all Tagiths lived in their own rookeries that dotted the surrounding landscape. The town was nothing more than a cluster of businesses. Not even that, really.
In all actuality, it was nothing more than a few brightly colored tent-covered stalls at which the natives traded their wares, goods, and livestock. The atmosphere was reminiscent of the Georgia State Fair she’d enjoyed so much in her youth. There were even several tents that cooked and sold rich smelling foods that had her stomach perking up with interest.
Not that she was hungry, but the smells in the air reminded her of why she loved fairs so much. There was always good food to be had everywhere, and the small Tagith town seemed to be no exception to that rule.
The festive atmosphere of the Sun-Spark Festival instantly swept Eliza away. Everywhere she looked, there were strange alien animals. Some made a strange bleating noise like a goat, while others let out loud lulls or strange growls and snorts. Musicians played nearby with curious instruments for offering of credits given in enthusiastic appreciation for the street performers. In the whirlwind of activity, took little time to lose sight of the Melanie and Dareth. But that was to be expected.
Zerik tugged her under the arc of his wing just as a curious animal was about to chew on the hem of her shirt. He growled low at the animal until it scurried back to its apologetic owner.
“Ena!” a feminine voice shouted from the side, and Eliza followed Zerik’s gaze as he raised a hand to greet a female waving her hand wildly her. Female Tagiths were hairless like the males, but far more delicate looking. Their wings came in softer oranges and yellows, and they lacked the thick horns and hard bony studs over their skull and shoulder plating. Instead of horns, the female had a delicate crest of bright feathers at the front of her otherwise bald head.
Zerik smiled and drew Eliza forward to introduce her.
“Ileya, this is Eliza. She is ama to Dareth’s mate, Melanie.”
The female smiled broadly at her, her demeanor almost bubbly with enthusiasm. She looked at her father for a long moment and then wrapped her arms tightly around Eliza, giving her a bone-crushing hug. Zerik chucked and gently extracted her from his enthusiastic daughter’s embrace.
“It is a blessing to meet you, Eliza,” Ileya said. She turned her head and motioned in the direction she had come from. “My mate and fledgling are just over there. When we came across Dareth and Melanie, he said you were here, and I just had to come find you. Please, come meet my mate and fledgling,” she insisted with a gentle tug at her hand.
“Easy, Ileya,” Zerik chuckled, “we are coming. I was hoping to find you and your family here today. It has been many months since I have seen the little one.”
The began to walk together to return to Ileya’s family. The female Tagith hugged her father and chattered happily about what new antics her son had gotten up to since he had been away.
“And how are you liking the space station, ena?” she asked.
“It is not especially comfortable, and I miss home, but,” he shot a sidewise glance toward Eliza briefly, “there are things about it that merit being there.”
Ileya’s eyes settled on her, and the young female beamed with pleasure. Eliza blushed at the implication of his words. Surely he didn’t mean…
“Have you seen Gaveth yet?” Ileya asked her father.
The male frowned and scanned the crowd, his wings drawing her in closer to him as a group of young males passed, jostling each other in good humor.
“No, not yet. He is here?”
Ileya nodded, her lips pressed in a moue of displeasure.
“Yes, he has a new female with him,” she said, her disapproval apparent. Eliza had the feeling that unlike the gentlemanly Dareth, his brother Gaveth may have been the black sheep of the family. Eliza didn’t want to pry, so kept her questions and opinions to herself.
Zerik sighed. “Another? I thought the last one he was with he said he was mating with?”
Ileya snorted. “Ena, he has said that about the last five females he has been with.” She looked over and confided in Eliza. “Tagiths generally frown on such behavior. A bit of experimenting is expected, but a male is to be decisive about choosing a female as a mate… not make declarations and then hop from one female’s bed to another.”
Eliza made a noise in her throat and refrained from commenting. Humans were already becoming infamous for that kind of behavior—for not having the strict mating bonds of Tagiths and many other species.
She hardly was one to throw stones. She had a few lovers before she’d married Charles. Even her son was a bit of womanizer. She kept telling him that one day it would catch up with him, but it was useless talking to him. She suspected that no one was any more successful talking to Gareth about his sexual practices.
If there was one thing she had learned, it was that you couldn’t change people, and you couldn’t force them to settle down before they were ready—if they ever were ready.
The female chewed her lip. “That is not why I ask though. Ena, I do not think you will be seeing much of him any time soon. I do not believe he will be attending the mating ceremony either.”
Zerik frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Dareth an
d Gaveth… they had words.”
Zerik snorted. “Those boys are always fighting. They have been like oil and water since they hatched within minutes of each other. There is nothing new about that.”
Ileya shook her head solemnly. “No, ena, it is worse than that. He really went too far this time. Marek had to forcibly separate them. Dareth was so angry Melanie took him off to get him a drink to calm his nerves.”
“What happened?” Zerik asked warily.
She took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “It was really ugly. Gaveth was terribly rude to Melanie. He saw Dareth standing there with his arms wrapped around his mate and couldn’t resist making an awful comment about Dareth stooping to mate a human female rather than have a beautiful Tagith female like he had beside him. He said that Dareth was a disgrace and an insult to our species. And you know Dareth, he would not let that go unanswered. Marek just barely kept them from coming to blows.”
Zerik sighed and shook his head. “I know that many Tagiths consider taking a human mate to be a betrayal to our own females. Even though some see it in more philosophical terms, that unnecessarily mating with humans deprives other species who desperately need mates, they still consider it wrong. That Gaveth is of the opinion is not a surprise, though it pains my heart.”
Eliza stared at him wide-eyed. She’d never considered the fact that there would be species who would disapprove of their own mating with humans. Considering that the Tagith female population was not disproportionate to the male, she understood why it would cause mixed feelings.
Perhaps it was a good thing that Mel would be returning with Dareth to the space station. She only hoped that not many of Zerik’s kind felt that way. She owed thanks to Marek for defusing the conflict before anyone could get hurt.
As it turned out, Marek was a perfectly charming male, a bit stiff but he seemed a perfect balance for his exuberant mate. More importantly, he radiated a mellow kindness that instantly put Eliza at ease. He’d approached with a toddler with the smallest feathered wing nubs in his arms and had expressed his pleasure at meeting her. Zerik certainly looked at the male fondly, as if he were one of his own offspring.
The toddler, however, completely transformed Zerik. His face instantly lit up, creasing into a gentle smile as he hugged and tossed up the tiny tike. The little male seemed to still be developing his hard plating and had the most adorable little horn nubs on his head. He shrieked with laughter and flapped his tiny wing nubs at every gentle toss. Zerik’s bright wings fanned out around him in a clear display of his happiness.
She was beginning to understand that a lot of Tagith body language was expressed by the way they held their wings, even though she had yet to decode all the various postures. But happiness was hard to mistake. Eliza couldn’t resist grinning at the sight.
Eliza enjoyed spending a few hours with the little family as they stopped for an afternoon meal together and watched little Avel play. She’d never seen Zerik smile so much in the months she’d known him. Seeing him so happy and relaxed made her imagine what he must have been like when his own children were fledglings, before years of grief took over. It was a fascinating insight that drew her in.
To her, Zerik was already an attractive male, but seeing him happy did something to her. It ignited a need within her.
She wanted to see more of that happiness.
Not only that, she found she wanted him to look at her that way.
They visited for a while before Marek swept Ileya away to return to their home and lay their fledgling down for his afternoon sleep period, as they called it.
As they wandered around the festival, Eliza was treated to a few stares, some of which were unfriendly, but otherwise most people were welcoming and kind to her. She quickly set aside her discomfort of perhaps not being an entirely welcome presence among them. Most of the Tagiths she met were surprised to see her with Zerik but also seemed strangely pleased about it.
She was about to ask Zerik about it as he turned to get them some drinks when an aged female, her face heavily wrinkled and her feathers faded, drew her aside and whispered, “It is so good to see Zerik with someone again. Usually Tagiths mate for life, but it is so hard when you lose someone when you are still in the peak of your years. We have all grieved for Zerik for a long time, even longer than the passage of Lia, since he has been alone for so long. Gods have blessed him bringing you here to us.”
The female Tagith squeezed her hand and with a toothy smile pulled away to catch up to her family. Eliza stared after her in surprise. Everyone seemed to assume she was with Zerik. Even more surprising, he was doing nothing at all to correct the assumptions, nor was she.
She smiled gratefully when Zerik handed her a durek of nevarot. She recognized the potent stuff right away. Of course, this was a festival celebrating the bloom of the sun-spark flowers, so naturally everyone would be drinking nevarot in celebration. She expressed her thanks and sipped at it, enjoying the sweet taste and smooth texture of the distilled liquor.
A giggle drew her attention to a nearby bench where Mel was leaning heavily on her mate, a durek dangling from her fingertips. Dareth chuckled and attempted to retrieve the durek before she dropped it, but Mel displayed her admirable skill of keep away that she’d honed as a toddler. Doing a half-turn, she tipped the durek back and let the rest of the content slide down her throat before Dareth managed to get it out of her hand. Mel handed over the empty durek with a grin.
“Melanie!” Eliza shouted. “What do you think you are doing?”
Zerik looked perplexed. “She is doing nothing wrong, Eliza.”
“She shouldn’t be drinking when she is pregnant!”
“Perhaps if she were not mated to a Tagith and exposed to his fires, or if her baby was not safely growing within a Tagith egg that would be the case. Many females enjoy nevarot when they are gravid to help with nausea, although it does seem she did overdo it a little,” he said with a chuckle. “It won’t harm the fledgling, but she will wake with her head hurting.”
Dareth nearly dropped the durek in favor of catching Mel when she started to sliding off the bench. Eliza shook her head in amusement as Mel clung to her mate’s arm, laughing all the while. At least her daughter was a happy drunk.
“Dareth, how much did you give that female?” Zerik demanded, making great effort to hold back his laughter as they approached the couple.
The younger male glanced up at his father with a merry grin. “That was her third durek,” he laughed. He caressed his mate’s hair, pulling stray strands away from her face. “My love, I think you have had enough.”
Mel shoved her bottom lip out in a pout but conceded that just maybe she’d gone past her limit when she attempted to stand and promptly fell on her ass. Dareth laughed and helped his flopping mate haphazardly back to her feet.
“I probably should get her home,” Dareth pronounced, his wings flapping to keep them both upright, as Mel nearly brought him down when she lost her footing once again.
Zerik stared at the pair with mild concern. “Are you going to be able to fly straight?” he asked, his voice laden with sarcasm.
Dareth rolled his eyes in a perfectly human expression that he’d definitely picked up from Mel. “I am fine, ena. It takes more than a couple of dureks to make me wobbly.”
Mel scowled. “Wait, what? I don’t want to leave yet. We still have the rest of the day to go. I want to see more of the festival.”
Eliza tipped back a second durek that Zerik had magically produced for her and let out a puff of laughter her child’s stubborn streak. “Mel, go home and let Dareth fix you up at least,” she chuckled. “I’m sure he’ll bring you back when he doesn’t have to worry about you landing face first in the dirt.”
She arched an eyebrow at Dareth and he quickly agreed. Mel, content with the arrangement, looped her arms around his neck and leaned into him as he took a few steps forward and leaped into the air, the hard pumping of his wings rapidly taking them into the air.
“Well,” Eliza mused, “we probably won’t see them for the rest of the night. What should we do with ourselves?”
Zerik flashed a grin that had heat blooming rapidly in her belly. “I have a few ideas,” he said.
Chapter 8
Zerik felt lighter of spirit than he had in years. Barring the likelihood of crossing paths with Gaveth, he finally had Eliza truly all to himself without the interruption of their children intruding.
He spent the next several hours wandering from stall to stall with Eliza as she expressed delight at every sight. She fawned over young animals brought to market and bought a brilliant golden shawl she admired that was handmade by a local artisan, who preened with happiness at Eliza’s enthusiasm over her work.
Everything Eliza absorbed, she welcomed and accepted. She freely gave credits to various performers and tasted a little of everything that was offered at the food stalls. For the first time in years, Zerik found himself sampling foods he had not tasted since his time as a fledgling. He even discovered a few things that were made in different regions of Tagess that he never tasted before.
He enjoyed experiencing the world around him with Eliza. She made everything new and refreshing for him.
When Eliza was bent over a booth looking at some handmade delicate wares, Zerik took the opportunity to do something special for her. He wanted to show her just how much her being there with him meant to him. With a flick of his claw, he summoned a young female selling ompala flowers and held the thick pink blossom up to Eliza as she fully faced him. Her eyes widened, dancing with pleasure as she accepted it and breathed deeply of its fragrance.
“It’s lovely, Zerik. Thank you,” she spoke in a sweet whisper.
Zerik looped his wing lightly around her and watched her shiver at the lightest barely-there brush of his feathers as she gently tucked the flower into her back, careful to not damage the petals. Her cheeks pinkened a shade not dissimilar from the blossom as she returned his smile, her dark eyes lightening to match the rich hue of his favorite delicacy.
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