Tarihn watched as Sloan cut the cast from Dero’s leg. He was anxious to have it off, and she was as well. She wanted to be sure that his ankle was truly healed and he would have no lingering problems. Even though he assured her that it wasn’t in any way her fault, and the smart side of her brain knew that was true, she couldn’t help but feel guilty that he’d been injured taking her to his home.
Sloan set the pieces of the cast on the floor of her tent and examined Dero’s foot. Amazingly, it looked normal, as if there had been no injury at all. The skin was clear of bruising and the swelling was gone. Dero followed Sloan’s instructions and moved his foot in different directions, assuring both females it felt fine. He stood and put weight on his foot, and while Tarihn thought it might cause him pain since he hadn’t really walked on it at all for several days, he moved around the tent without any issues.
Sloan smiled. “The injection and the cast both did their jobs. He’s entirely healed.”
Tarihn looked at Dero, who was smiling smugly in her direction. “You’re certain you feel well? You don’t have to say you do just to make me feel better.”
He moved so quickly that she gasped when he was suddenly right in front of her. Lifting her into the air, he spun in a circle and then kissed her. “I swear, ilora, that my foot feels as it did before the injury.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “Well, if you swear.”
“I do.”
He set her on the ground and she turned to Sloan. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “That’s what I’m here for. Have you given any thought to helping out here?”
“I’ll let you know. Because Dero’s been laid up with his injury, we weren’t able to explore the city so I could see the work that’s done on a day-to-day basis.” Everyone in the city had a job, from the youngest children who worked alongside their parents to the elders. It was expected that each member of the city contributed in a meaningful way. Tarihn couldn’t cook as well as Pilar, or heal like Sloan, but she knew she’d find her niche eventually.
After saying goodbye to Sloan, they walked outside and he turned to face her. “Where would you like to go?”
“What’s your day normally like?”
“Every morning, I tend to the zarebs. Each hunter takes care of his own, but I raise and train them. The zarebs that aren’t fit for service are slaughtered for their meat, fur, and feathers.”
“Can we go see them?”
He smiled. “You like the zarebs?”
“I like Eas. He was friendly.”
“They bond with only their primary rider, but he did take to you. I suspect he knows we’re soul mates.”
They walked away from Sloan’s tent with their hands linked. They passed males, females, and children, and Dero whispered their names to her. The city wasn’t large, but it was a tight-knit community and she already felt like she was part of it, especially because his parents had made her feel welcome.
They left the main path and headed down another path. In the distance, she could see a tent. As they reached a clearing, she saw that the tent held stables and was enclosed with a fence. Zarebs of different sizes were milling about inside the fence, eating from long, wooden troughs and plucking grass from the ground.
Dero leaned against the fence. The zarebs recognized him and moved toward them, making curious crowing sounds. “We breed them for size. They have to be strong enough to carry not only their rider, but often a kill or another person. The females have single pups, and they breed every six moon cycles.”
“Do you start training them when they’re young?” she asked, resting her arms on the top of the rough-hewn fence and watching the beasts move. A young zareb caught her eye and she smiled at it. It had a patch of white fur from the top of its head down its back, which stood out in the group of entirely black-furred creatures. It made its way over to them, reaching its small head through the fence. She giggled as she let it sniff her hand. Then it pushed on her hand until she was petting it.
“Is it a boy or a girl?” she asked.
Dero looked down at it and said, “A boy. He’s actually one of Eas’s young. He’s going to be used for meat.”
Her head shot up in alarm. “You’re going to kill him?”
Dero’s brow arched. “The stripe of white fur is a defect. Zarebs are supposed to be solid black.”
She dropped to her knees and cupped the beast’s head in her hands. The golden beak was curved at the tip, and the stripe of white fur glistened in the morning sunlight. “Do you have to kill him?”
“What would you have me do with him, ilora?”
“Can he be mine?” She looked up at Dero, realizing she knew exactly where she fit within the city. “Teach me to train him. I can help you with your work. It doesn’t matter to me if he has different-colored fur.”
Dero said nothing for a long moment, simply flitted his dark gaze between her and the zareb. “I’ll need to speak with my father, but if you’d like to work with me and take care of the zarebs, that would be wonderful. I can think of nothing I’d rather do than have you by my side.”
She petted the zareb. “Look at that, little one. You’re all mine now.”
He purred and his fur bristled as he rubbed his head against her fingers and closed his eyes.
“You just have to name him,” Dero said.
“I think I’ll call him Storvi.”
“What does that mean?”
She stood and leaned against Dero, wrapping her arms around his middle. He hugged her, tugging her even closer. “When I was little, my aunt told me about Storvi, the winged beast who brought young to their parents. It was what adults told children about where young came from before we understood what goes on when the lights go off. Storvi was a huge beast like a hupi with broad wings, and he carried a pouch with young to deliver them to their parents.”
Dero chuckled. “My parents told us that young come from the deep love between soul mates. I didn’t understand what they meant by love until I was older, but I think I didn’t really understand until I met you.”
She could never give him young of their own because of her sterility, but she knew that a family wasn’t necessarily defined by children, and that love didn’t need rules to be real. If she’d been able to bear young, she would have surely been chosen by a male from the other side of the mountain through the soul-walk process, and then she wouldn’t know Dero or have learned of the government’s deception.
“I don’t think I knew what love was until you came for me.”
His eyes darkened and he growled softly. “That was the best decision I ever made.”
* * *
After meeting with Nelari about Tarihn joining him in caring for the zarebs, Dero knew that his mate had happily found the place she wanted to be. While he was recovering from his injury, she’d confessed to being worried about not fitting in. She wasn’t the only sterile female in their city, but Sloan and Pilar had training that translated easily into their new lives.
Sloan took over the medical care for the city. Their previous healer had passed before she was brought to their city, and it had seemed like fate that their paths had crossed.
Pilar was an amazing cook. She spent her days experimenting with cooking, learning how to translate her own recipes to their non-technological way of life.
Tarihn hadn’t had formal training in her youth. She’d taken work at the medical center because she enjoyed the busyness of the office and meeting new people. But the city didn’t have a need for a medical center worker, and she was feeling like she didn’t belong.
The moment that defective zareb had strutted over to Tarihn and cooed at her, Dero had known that she was captivated with the creature. That she not only wanted to save the young beast, but also learn how to breed and train them, filled him with pride. His soul mate was sensitive, but also interested in learning. He’d not expected her to want to work with him, but he could think of nothing he’d enjoy more. Normally, a variety of males in the city helped out with the zarebs when needed, but now he and Tarihn could most likely handle everything themselves. This was their world now, and he was thankful she was there with him.
“We need to see Paoli,” he said as they left his parents’ tent.
“For what?” she asked as they crossed the wide path and walked toward the tent that Paoli shared with his soul mate, Kate.
“To get material to make a harness for Storvi.”
“But he’s a baby.”
“Yes, but I’ve already explained that he’s defective. I’m not always around when someone comes to get a zareb for meat. Until everyone knows that Storvi is yours and shouldn’t be harmed, it’s best to put a harness on him so that it will be clear that he’s being trained. The young who are set aside for training wear a braided hide harness with a special tag of the name of their rider.”
“I might get to ride Storvi someday?” she asked, her eyes lighting with excitement.
“Of course. He just needs to be trained. He can be your first pupil.”
“What if I mess up?”
“You won’t. I’ll be there with you every step of the way. When he’s strong enough to ride, Eas and I will help guide you both. For now, you can teach him to follow your direction and bond with him. Although I think he’s already bonded with you.”
She pulled him to a stop and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him soundly. “Did I say thank you?”
“For what?” He settled his hands on her waist, loving how she melted against him.
“For bringing me here. I thought I was happy, but I didn’t know what the word meant until you were mine. You are mine, aren’t you, Dero?” Her voice lowered at the end, and everything inside him rioted.
“Until the moons crash from the sky and the night is dark forever.”
“I hope that never happens.”
Kate opened the covering for their door and smiled brightly. “Good morning! What brings you by today?” She stepped aside and let them in.
Paoli was sitting at a desk made of a large piece of wood, smoothed down to a shine. He was weaving something on a large loom, using yarn made from the wool of yusins, which were bred for their soft wool and sweet temperaments.
“Tarihn needs strips of hide to make a harness for a young zareb she’s going to train,” Dero answered.
“Oh! That’s so cool,” Kate said.
Tarihn frowned. “What does ‘cool’ mean?”
Kate smiled. “Sorry, that’s a word on my planet. It means nice.”
“Oh. Cool,” Tarihn said, sounding out the word slowly.
“Are you going to work with Dero training the zarebs?” Paoli asked as he stood and moved over to a cabinet along one wall of their tent.
“Yes,” Tarihn answered.
Kate nodded. “It’s wonderful when soul mates can work together. I like to help Paoli with his clothing, but I’m not very good at putting the pieces together.”
He tsked as he turned from the cabinet with a selection of different-colored strips of hide. “Your embroidery is very beautiful.”
Kate’s cheeks darkened in blush. “I have a good teacher.”
Paoli looked like Kate had just given him the best compliment. He smiled broadly and winked at her, then held the strips of hide out to Tarihn. “I’ve been experimenting with dyeing the hide, and also trying to lighten the colors using the sun.”
Tarihn looked at the hide strips, touching each different color. “I like this one,” she said, lifting the palest one.
Dero knew she picked that one because she wanted it to stand out against Storvi’s dark fur. Paoli returned to the cabinet and put the other strips away, then gave a handful of long lengths of hide to Kate.
“If you need more, let me know. And of course, I’d be happy to make a saddle blanket for your zareb when he’s ready to start carrying you.”
“Thank you so much,” Tarihn said, her hand closing in a fist around the hide strips.
“You’re welcome.”
Dero and Tarihn left the tent and headed to the stables, where he pulled up two stools near a post that had been set into the ground. The wide section of trunk had a piece of metal sticking in the center of it. He tied four strips of the hide in a knot and looped it over the metal, using it to anchor the strips.
“The metal helps to keep the strips of hide taut as you braid. Have you ever done a four-strand braid before?”
“No.”
“I’ll show you, and then you can try yourself.”
He took her through the steps of the four-strand braid, then undid the strips and let her try. It took a little while for her to feel comfortable with the braiding, but she caught on quickly. He left her to braid the long strips together and went to a cabinet to find the hardware she would need to make the harness and to stamp her name on a tag.
Once she’d completed the braid, he showed her how to attach it to metal rings, then set it on Storvi’s head, adjusted it to his size, and attached the tag identifying her as his rider. The harness rested at the top of his beak and connected at the back of his head. A single lead was attached to one side so she could use it to lead him around. When he was old enough to start training to carry her, they would make a new harness for him with reins so she could direct him in flight.
The little beast rubbed his head against her leg and purred, its little wings flapping.
“You look so handsome,” she said, squatting down and rubbing his head. “My sweet Storvi.”
“Are you ready to help me with the others?” he asked.
“Of course.” She patted Storvi on the head and straightened.
He took her into the stables and showed her where the food was. The zarebs recognized the sound of the wooden bins opening; he could hear their claws scrabbling on the ground outside as they moved close. They filled up a wagon and carted the feed out to the troughs. She laughed as the zarebs bustled around them, eyeing her curiously but not seeming to mind she was there. Storvi stayed right with them, eating only from her hand and following her as they moved through the chores. Dero showed her how to clean the fenced area, check the fence for breaks, and then brush the zarebs. There were a dozen females, six males, and ten young. Of the young, only two were going to be trained for hunting, while the others would be raised for their meat and fur.
She brushed the young’s fur one at a time, Storvi standing by her side like a small, winged guard. “I promise not to try to save every zareb,” she said.
He laughed. “I didn’t say anything, ilora.”
“I know.” She smiled at him. “But I know you were thinking it. Our people need meat and fur for clothing and blankets. I understand how life has to be so we can survive, but you let me save Storvi, and that means the world to me.”
“You mean the world to me.”