The Hunter's Song

18: Ultimatum (Mourning Crow)

"It can't leave the Vault," Eh'kt signed in exhaustion.

"He has a name!" I grit my teeth.

"It wouldn't be safe for Shadow's Reach or anyone else if he wandered the planet's surface freely," Eh'kt strained not to growl directly at me.

"Who said anything about wandering?" I snapped back. "He'd be with me. Zhaguai scare the shit out of him!"

I knew I was being unreasonable. I knew it wasn't logical or safe for the Abura to roam Sahei's surface. I also knew Eh'kt was doing his best to communicate reason with me.

Unfortunately, the thought of Shadow's Reach, the Abura, the most beautiful creature that has ever existed, being trapped in a dark triple-reinforced prison made every cell in my body scream out in agony. Fuck rational! Eh'kt didn't deserve my rage, but I had no other outlet.

"Then he would also fear me," Eh'kt laid his palm over his chest, somehow miraculously maintaining his calm.

I seethed out my nose and turned my back to him.

I knew he was right. There was no me without Eh'kt. The creature the Zhaguai referred to as U'la'ke could never have a place in our home on Sahei.

We'd been arguing for weeks since my first encounter with the Abura.

It started out small, with the occasional silence during meals. Then the tension expanded after Oru allowed me unlimited access to the Vault on the condition I consented to the passive observation of the Institute scientists to study my unique connection with the feline.

My instincts warned that the Elder's motives were not purely academic but there was zero chance I'd abandon Shadow's Reach to solitary confinement deep within Jahaa's Vault.

I'd taken to visiting the Abura drone at every available opportunity between my sessions with E'pire and my frequent absences were beginning to take a toll.

How long had it been since Eh'kt and I shared a bed?

I dropped to the central room's floor and sat cross-legged, not to brood, but because once again our dispute had come to an impasse.

"We can't go on like this..." Eh'kt knelt down behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"I know," I reached back and touched his fingers. "This isn't what I want. I'm tired too."

My eyes were raw and weary. The warmth of Eh'kt's touch soothed the tension in my arms and cascaded through every muscle in my body. I wanted to lean back and fold into his chest, but my thoughts swirled with chaotic guilt.

"I don't know how to feel happy while Shadow's Reach is in pain," was all I could state.

I knew my mate respected my connection to the Abura. He'd already moved all his U'la'ke trophies into storage and swore to never display another in our home, even if it was his first solo Liege.

Eh'kt rubbed his thumb over my shoulder, giving me the silence I needed to collect my thoughts.

I hated that he felt compelled to diminish his triumphs in my presence, but it was the turmoil in his eyes when he glanced at any of the replacement bones mounted throughout our home that made me sick to my stomach.

All the plotting in the universe couldn't change that I could never stand beside him in battle the way he envisioned.

Maybe it was always a fantasy...

U'la'ke were sacred to the Zhaguai for all the wrong reasons. What if razkurs and Zhaguai were fundamentally incompatible?

I would never separate from Eh'kt.