Bird of a Flock (Bow 2) - Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Ryraso wasn't sure whether to feel horrified by how he was reacting to Tai'ray's ministrations or glad that Tai'ray was far too distracted making him moan to tease. Nel'os wouldn't be as kind. He possibly should have kept sleeping with Wiljam. He was reacting like a teenager who had no experience in pleasure. Moaning loudly and basically helpless as Tai'ray kissed down his body and nibbled, making him twitch in almost laughter.
"Tai'ray," he gasped as teeth scraped over the skin under his neck, hips buckling upwards. A hand wrapped around his leg and kept his hips suspended. It gave a better angle to rub against Tai'ray's thigh and he shamelessly humped against him as Tai'ray continued to kiss and nibble along his jawline.
"Ryraso," Tai'ray grinned. "Love you," he hummed, kissing beneath Ryraso's ear. "Nel'os is going to love you if you continue to act like this now."
"Tell him about this and I'll..." the effect of the threat was ruined as Ryraso groaned. Tai'ray's hand having shifted downwards. Ryraso glared at Tai'ray as he chuckled. Plan a success. Reaching up, Ryraso grabbed Tai'ray's face and pulled him down for a proper kiss. Tai'ray obliged him and continued to play with Ryraso. Then it stopped.
Ryraso frowned as the movements stopped and leaned around from Tai'ray. His eyes were unreadable. The look turned darker, lust fading to be replaced with anger. Something had clearly gone wrong.
"Tai?" Ryraso asked cautiously.
"Ryraso, your child has fantastic timing," Tai'ray growled with fury in his voice. "Eyeri is trying to escape again," he hissed, letting go of Ryraso's hip. Before Tai'ray could roll away, Ryraso wrapped his legs around his waist and held on tightly to stop him from leaving. Slightly scared of what was about to happen. This was the kind of mood where the Winglord was far too unpredictable and Ryraso was not going to let the man go off without knowing what the hell is going on. Tai'ray looked down at him in surprise.
"What is happening?" Ryraso demanded.
Tai'ray swallowed, looking down at Ryraso covered in hickeys and flushed but with a serious expression and felt his inner beast falter slightly from its original intent. "Dyn'ad thinks it's Eyeri's oldest brother trying to save him," Tai'ray growled begrudgingly in explanation, his shoulders tense, his wings puffed out like he was about to go and fight an enemy.
Ryraso blinked and frowned before things hit him. "The Sparrows," he whispered, clinging onto Tai'ray tightly.
"The only good thing is that this gives me a valid reason to keep them," Tai'ray snarled, pushing upwards. Ryraso fell backwards but quickly recovered, standing up and rushing after the very angry and animalistic k'nairi. Whoever went against Tai'ray now was going to get torn apart. "Go rest, Ryraso," Tai'ray ordered, not looking at him.
"Not until you promise me you won't kill whoever is responsible," Ryraso demanded, chasing after him. He stopped in the doorway, painfully aware he was barely dressed and clearly dishevelled. The guards were just as likely to gossip as the servants and Ryraso was not about to encourage rumours about how their relationship was going. With how the link was acting at the moment, Ryraso suspected people would assume Tai'ray had tried something and had Ryraso reject him.
Tai'ray let out a snarl but stopped in his tracks before he left the consort rooms and went into the hallway. He visibly took a deep breath, his shoulder's still very tense. "I won't kill any of them. I won't hurt Eyeri at all if I can help it, the others I can't make promises for," he stated, not looking at Ryraso.
"Tai'ray," Ryraso pleaded.
The Winglord turned and walked back up to Ryraso. He pressed their foreheads together and closed his eyes, breathing in Ryraso's scent. Ryraso watched him silently but could see Tai'ray's shoulders slump slightly. When Tai'ray's eyes opened again they were less dark and more the person Ryraso had fallen for a long time ago.
"I will not hurt Eyeri. I will avoid harming the others, especially if it is his brother," Tai'ray promised in a soft voice. "I can't allow an escaped attempt to go unpunished though. Not by Eyeri, nor by those who tried to kidnap him."
"I know," Ryraso said weakly, suddenly remembering the oath the Goddess had forced out of him. He couldn't interfere with Tai'ray's duty. There was not just a personal thing here. There was the reputation and security of Navat to consider too. People should not be able to just walk or fly into Navat and take someone. "All I ask is that you do not move in anger," Ryraso breathed.
"I'll try," Tai'ray promised.
Eyeri darted across the street, knowing everyone in the palace would be searching for him by now. He had walked through most of the palace with little issues. No one had looked twice at him oddly. As he left the building and entered the gardens, then he had overheard some of the guards talking about him and the fact people were looking for him now. He had quickly made himself scarce and moved into the city. The giant city where most of the people lived in the treehouses and not on the ground below.
Next to the palace was a brick road which was well maintained. He followed it, staying in the bushes that lined it and low. Not that he thought people would be looking for him outside of the palace just yet. They would search inside first. Most wouldn't assume he would leave Ryraso behind so casually. To be fair, normally he wouldn't. For his brother, Eyeri would. Eyeri paused as some people flew overhead. He quickly took stock of just where he was. 'Take the main road out and turn left at the statue of a phoenix. Someone will meet you there. I have to leave some breadcrumbs,' was what Fetmar had ordered.
"Breadcrumbs," Eyeri muttered, rolling his eyes at the idea. More like taunting people, he knew his brother too well. If he was going to pull something like this off, Fetmar was going to make sure people knew. Just not at the risk at the mission, unlike Kalan. He dived behind a statue and held still, keeping his breathing slow as another group of k'nairi flew past his hiding spot. Now he was at the statue he just had to find whoever Fetmar had roped into this.
Keeping low, Eyeri moved onwards. The trick to getting around somewhere was not to look suspicious. But here, any human not accompanied by someone with wings looked slightly odd. Luckily he was small and harmless, the type most people looked over. Still, guards were guards and 'look for a teenage boy,' was likely going to get him noticed.
"Hey! Over here!" a voice hissed.
Eyeri glanced over to the side and he saw two men waiting for him. Two flying men, flying without wings. He smiled and quickly moved over to them. The Sparrows, the people who owed Fetmar quite a few favours because of Yerir'o. Of course, they were who Fetmar had gone to for help. "Hello," he smiled at them nervously.
"This way," the older one commented, flying down to Eyeri and tugging him further into the overgrowth. "If humans don't look up automatically, city k'nairi don't tend to look down if there is nothing normally there," he commented softly. "It is a pleasure to meet you Eyeri," he smiled. "We have to get you to the end of the valley. Once we are there, we have a way out," he explained gently.
"The end of the Valley is a long way away," Eyeri pointed out. It had taken about half an hour to fly, walking would be a lot longer. Especially if they were hiding from people hunting for him. There was no doubt that there would be people hunting for them. Tai-ray had been clear the Winglord would hunt Eyeri down if he escaped.
"Not for flyers," the younger Sparrow grinned at him. The kind of smile that made you trust someone even if you didn't know them. "Hope you're not afraid of heights," he added with a wink. Eyeri smiled shyly back.
"The Winglord carried me here, as long as no one drops me, I'll be fine," Eyeri replied softly, stumbling over some branches. The older Sparrow chuckled and caught him.
"Careful now, Eyeri," the man teased. "I thought your element was on the ground." Eyeri scowled at the man, his cheeks red. The older man checked up above them to check for more flying k'nairi before turning around. "Up you get," he ordered softly. Eyeri got onto the man's back and the two of them lifted in the air. It was a strange feeling. Eyeri had gotten used to wings beating next to him as they ascended and the occasional flap of air rushing over him from them. To be flying without the wings was peculiar.
They flew low over the ground, a feat also made possible because of the lack of wings. They slowed down every time people passed overhead. After a while, it became more and more apparent the palace was aware that Eyeri was outside of it. The people flying overhead were guards and soldiers, not civilians.
"Lot of trouble to find you. It's like they have got the whole city looking for you," the younger one commented. He was looking Eyeri up and down, clearly confused by this. "You are either very remarkable or very unlucky," he commented with a strange air of being unimpressed by what he was seeing. A stark difference to the relaxing smile that the man had shot him earlier. Eyeri was used to being deemed unimpressive by warriors. Even the people on the ship had liked him well enough but often dismissed his opinions. Still, it stung a little.
"I think unlucky," Eyeri muttered, "Did Fetmar tell you why the Winglord wants me?"
"Only that it was to do with Ryraso," the man carrying admitted.
"The Winglord declared that every k'nairi was to hunt down those who had left Navat and bring them home. Ryraso lived here for ten years until he left because of the war. I am too close to Ryraso to be left unclaimed and so they brought me with them," Eyeri explained softly. It was slightly more complicated than that but Eyeri felt like that was a simple enough explanation.
"You say that as if it's a normal thing?" the younger one said with a touch of disbelief in his tone.
"It is the k'nairi way. The Winglord probably would take over completely if he had the ambition. As it is, he seems happy enough just to control one race and select members of humans," Eyeri said dryly. "Still can't say it would be a terrible thing," he sighed, surprising himself with the words.
"He's trying to brand you and make it so you can never leave here, to my understanding," one pointed out.
"And if he succeeds, I will be forced to live in a city where there is no war," Eyeri murmured. It wasn't like he hadn't considered the upsides to staying in Navat. If it wasn't for the brand, he would have been cautiously optimistic about the idea. "Might be nice, not having to worry about being shot or blown up."
"Amen to that," the younger Sparrow muttered. "But we have come this far to get you and we ain't leaving you behind." The young man gave Eyeri a warning look, the charmingness of before almost completely gone now. The message he was sending was clear. They had not risked their lives and careers for a boy who had possibly turned traitor and didn't even want to go back to the Namya.
"I'm not protesting the rescue," Eyeri defended. "It was just an observation," he muttered embarrassedly.
"Good," the young Sparrow said seriously.