Bird of a Flock (Bow 2)

Chapter 15

Nel'os kept a firm hold of Eyeri after the fitting, taking the human boy by the shoulder and leading him out of the room with a nod of dismissal at the Matron. With Ryraso busy and Eyeri still looking shaky, Nel'os was not going to leave the boy alone now. "That wasn't too bad now was it," Nel'os gave the boy a warm grin, ruffling the teenager's hair. 

"Unnerving but not bad, no," Eyeri said smiling back shyly at Nel'os, ducking his head slightly so his fringe fell over his eyes. "Thank you for keeping me company," he murmured, keeping close to Nel'os.

"Not a problem," Nel'os hummed, gently flicking the fringe back out of Eyeri's eyes. "Thank you for giving me an excuse to escape the vultures. The nobles seem to think that just because I'm noble-born, that makes me their personal envoy to Tai'ray," Nel'os exhaled with a clear air of irritation. "It's almost enough to make me wish I was back on the front lines. The backstabbing there is with actual daggers. So much easier to deal with. I don't have to put up so many more airs either," he grimaced.

"Nobles do seem to enjoy causing trouble," Eyeri acknowledged, still speaking softly. "The others used to hate it when one came aboard the ship."

"Nobles and warriors rarely mix well. We have very different values," Nel'os nodded. "Some nobles can make good warriors in the right circumstances but warriors never make good nobles," he chuckled before frowning. "Speaking of different values," he murmured under his breath, eyes fixed ahead.

Eyeri followed his glaze, slightly confused at first but quickly understood as a k'nairi approached them. The man was wearing priest robes which were a dark purple and a silver symbol on its chest. Eyeri could only assume that the symbol was of the k'nairi Goddess. He had black hair with black wings to match, but his skin was almost deathly pale making him look like some zombie. Eyeri could feel something unnatural around the man, but was more concerned with the decidedly unhappy expression on the stranger's face. This was one of the people who didn't like Ryraso, Eyeri mused.

"Greetings Consort Nel'os," the man spoke in k'nairi, his eyes glancing over Eyeri with a strange glint in them. As he made the greeting, he moved his hands in a gesture of blessing.

"Greetings High Priest Ton'enth," Nel'os greeted, making the returning gestures gracefully. "It is a pleasure to see you again. I am afraid if it is my intended you are looking for,  he is not currently with me. I believe the healer's circle has kidnapped him for the time being." Nel'os could guess very easily what Ton'enth wanted from him and he was not in the mood for it, no more than he had been in the mood for the nobles. 

"They have all the rights to do so," Ton'enth nodded stiffly, with a face which said he was accepting of this if not extremely unhappy about it. "He is one of their order after all and had committed a great act of healing recently. No. I will have my time with the Winglord's chosen yet. For now, I wished to speak with you and meet the child." As he spoke the last words, he looked at Eyeri again, this time with a distinctly calculating look. 

"Speak with me?" Nel'os said slowly. "Of course. Meeting my intended's child, would be easier, however, if you spoke in his language," he added with a touch of disapproval.

"I will not sully my tongue with the human's language. I do not need to speak to him, only see him," Ton'enth said with disdain as he looked Eyeri up and down.