My Wild Beast

Together, they lifted Ixana's body. It took both Aiyana and Atia to manoeuvre her; the Sky Matron's wings dangled between them, dragging along the dirt. Nova trailed behind, her steps unsteady, one arm pressed against her side.

This seemed like a lot of hassle, but she understood it would benefit them, especially Atia and Aiyana who caused quite a lot of mayhem with their warriors.

The journey back to the Silver Feather flock was slow and gruelling. The jungle pressed in around them, shadows deepening as dusk approached. Nova sensed Yoa drawing closer to them. His blood still boiled with rage, but he calmed once his messages passed along the golden ribbon of their bond, and Nova could reply.

'I am safe and well,' she repeated to him. Yet where his words carried to her with strength and clarity, hers crackled back faintly, like static on a radio signal.

He sensed her health but feeling it through the bond wasn't enough. He needed to see her in the flesh and feel her in his arms until then he worried. But he'd been on the other side of the island and there had been other setbacks on his return. Harpy eagles had appeared along his route.

Now a trail of corpses followed him. Vulcan wasn't foolish enough to try to killing Yiska. No, this had to be someone else. Yet, the sight the trees allowed him revealed a misty scene that made no sense.

Atia and Aiyana were carrying a Silver Feather warrior, with Nova trailing behind them, looking anxious. Her apprehension tingled down the bond, though she kept deliberately trying to block him from feeling it—afraid he might lose control of his beast even more. She didn't want to further worry him.

'I will see you soon,' Yoa's words whispered back through the bond, settling the unease that swarmed in her stomach as the rush of water grew louder, announcing their nearness to Soluma.

Every sound made Nova flinch, the snap of branches, the caw of distant birds. She was like the little mouse again from the first days she surfaced in this beast world. She hated that feeling.

Nova trailed behind, First Mark sheathed again, with cuts and bruises scattering her body, proving she was a true survivalist. She shouldn't be so jumpy, but her logic didn't ease her trepidation.

By the time they reached the edge of Silver Feather territory, the skies had grown dark, the sun sinking below the canopy. Fires already burned faintly in the distance, the flock's settlement flickering like a constellation of wary eyes.

They never made it up to their giant trees, and for that, at least, Nova was thankful. Like hell was she going to climb all the way up there! They just carried Ixana back to their territory! By 'they', she meant Atia and Aiyana, but her body was sore and tired from the walk alone. She couldn't fathom how the other two were.

Ixana must have been heavy now especially with all those feathers.

Their sentries spotted them first.

Harpy eagles swept down from the trees, their silhouettes cutting sharp against the torchlight. Blades flashed, bows notched, voices barked at them.

Aiyana scoffed at the weapons pointed at them.

"Well, we weren't exactly expecting a warm welcome…" Atia muttered.

"We are here to speak with Vulcan-" Aiyana began before anyone would attack, but then Vulcan himself emerged from the shadows.

He landed gracefully before them. The torchlight flickered along his chiselled body, half remaining in shadow as he approached them.

He was taller than Nova remembered, broader, his wings folded close to his back. His presence seemed to swallow the air around him, his gaze sweeping over the intruders with cold precision.

Atia and Aiyana lowered the body to the ground and stepped back so he could see her. His eyes dropped to Ixana and for a heartbeat, his expression fractured. Shock. Recognition. Something raw flickered in his gaze as he stared at Ixana's lifeless face.

"My mother," he said, his voice low and unreadable.

Voices rose as the gathered warriors whispered among themselves at the previous Sky Matron now dead at their feet.

"Where did you find her?" Vulcan asked, his expression a mask of stone, completely unreadable.

Silence rippled through the forest at their leader's question. No one dared move.

Aiyana straightened, meeting Vulcan's eyes without flinching. "She ambushed us."

"Impossible," a man beside Vulcan scoffed. "She died-"

"She fell off the tree severely injured," Atia reminded them, standing a little in front of Aiyana protectively. "It was not impossible to survive. We all believed what we saw… And you never found a body, correct?"

Vulcan nodded once, his gaze falling back on his mother. "It is Ixana… And if she had died that day, she would not look… like this."

His advisor crouched and pressed his fingers to Ixana's throat. "The blood is not that old…" he confirmed, his voice low.

"Why did she ambush you?" Vulcan asked, already moving onto the point, ignoring Ixana's body completely.

"Why else?" Aiyana snarled, eyes flashing as she looked behind her pointedly in Nova's direction. "She wanted to sacrifice our Electa."

"Electa…" Voices echoed the term that lifted with the wind that swept Nova's hair back from her face.

Vulcan's jaw tightened, and for a long moment he said nothing. His warriors shifted uneasily behind him, waiting for command. Then his eyes slid past Aiyana. Past Atia. And settled on Nova.

Nova felt it like a weight pressing into her chest. His gaze drank her in—her tangled hair, the bruises mottling her skin, the fresh cuts still bleeding from Ixana's talons. She stood straighter despite her trembling, refusing to shrink under that look.

Something darkened in Vulcan's stare. It wasn't just recognition, nor hunger, but Nova couldn't quite read the meaning. It was as if the sight of her battered yet unbroken stirred something in those golden-yellow eyes.

"You have changed," he said at last, his voice carrying low across the clearing. "You look like a warrior now…" His gaze lingered on the cuts along her arms, the defiance in her stance, the life still burning in her despite Ixana's attempt to snuff it out. "You fought with Ixana?"

Nova clenched her fists at her sides, nails digging into her palms. She hated the way he looked at her, as though she were a prize, as though her survival belonged to him somehow.

Atia shifted forward, his blade hand twitching. Aiyana's staff pressed lightly against his chest, holding him back.

"Yes. We fought," Nova finally found her voice, meeting his gaze, tilting her chin higher. "But it was Aiyana's skill that ended her life."

"I can see that," Vulcan said, amusement tinging his voice, those sharpened eyes softening for a moment as he spoke with her. Those in the Silver Feather flock shared glances, some wary, others shifting uncomfortably on their feet like they might have to fight after all.

However, the law still stands and Vulcan no longer needed Nova, no matter the longing that passed through his eyes. He finally tore his attention away from Nova and to Aiyana.

His expression hardened once more, though that flicker of longing still smouldered in his eyes.

"Leave her body here," he said. "And go. This is Silver Feather ground."

But his gaze drifted to Nova once more as she stepped forward, feeling bold. "We brought her to you, so your men may stop hunting us. If Ixana succeeded, Tayun would have fallen in more ways than you could ever know."

Silence followed her words as the wind caressed her skin gently, stirring some of her hair before ghosting away into the trees and beyond, as though adding to the prophecy of her words. Vulcan could see it, and so did his warriors. Nova's blue eyes glimmered, the stars glittering and twinkling in the depths of them.

A slight curve tugged at Vulcan's lips as his eyes pierced through her. "If our Electa says it is so…" He announced, his eyes trained on her while his voice carried along the terrain. "Then it must be true."

The warriors around them lowered their weapons and nodded in agreement, many watching Nova differently, reminding them of her importance to not only Tayun but Yohuali.

"It is a peace offering," Nova added, her voice strangely confident. The last time she was here, she was Vulcan's Nokari, by force, and Ixana wanted her dead then too.

That seemed like a lifetime ago now as she stood tall, and accepted Vulcan's and his flock's scrutiny.

"You may safely passage through the lands again. We will not hunt you down," Vulcan announced, his voice deep. "It will not do our peace treaty well anyway."