Bird of a Flock (Bow 2)

Chapter 16

It was with great exhaustion that Eyeri collapsed onto 'his' bed that evening. It wasn't particularly late but one day in Navat and he wanted to sleep for the rest of time. He couldn't help but wonder why more people hadn't left the city when the chance came. It was a nightmare out there. He had been poked and prodded by so many people, he had lost track. Some of them had been innocent, others clearly had not by the looks in their eyes. Hungry predators, Masters looking for a fresh piece of meat to break in and tame. Only, Eyeri was not for sale. Tai'ray had made that very clear.

Twisting over, Eyeri shifted the pillows so he was hugging on and closed his eyes. His mind taking him back to breakfast that morning and what Tai'ray had told him. The Winglord had been stern but kind, it still didn't really make Eyeri trust the man. Tai'ray was going to brand him. A brand was a brand, simple as that. Some of the other things though.

Eyeri's grip tightened on the pillow in his arms.

Truth aside, there were a few things Eyeri knew to be true. He was Ryraso's son. Not by blood but Ryraso had made it perfectly clear that Eyeri came above almost everything. Certainly the relationship with the Royals. Tai'ray was obsessed with Ryraso. The Winglord had already adopted one son for Ryraso, it would not be hard for him to protect Eyeri. So as long as Tai'ray wanted Ryraso, Eyeri was safe.

In the meantime, Eyeri needed to continue to encourage the Royals to be fond of him. They were certainly trying to make him like them, which only helped. Nel'os had responded well today when Eyeri had used his courtesan training. The fact he had been trained as such was enough to give him fresh nightmares about what may have happened if his brother hadn't saved him from the slavers but it did come in handy sometimes. Act meek and shy but with enough teasing and soft flirting to endear yourself to your master. Nel'os had protected him all day and had beamed at him through most of it too.

He could do this. He could make them love him.

"Eyeri?" a voice called softly. The type of voice used when a person wasn't sure if someone was awake or asleep and didn't want to wake them if it was the latter.

"Da?" Eyeri said sleepily, blinking his eyes open. He was surprised by how dark the room had become. He must have dozed off in his thoughts, he mused softly, sitting up and looking over at Ryraso.

"Tired?" Ryraso smiled fondly. He pressed something and the room lit up with a low blue light from some vines on the ceiling. "It's been a long day," Ryraso commented, looking in desperate need of a good night sleep himself. There were heavy black marks under his eyes, and his shoulders were slumped slightly. The man was also carrying a bundle of fabric which he placed on the side as he walked over to the bed.

"It has," Eyeri agreed, curling his knees up to his chest, eyes looking up at the blue lights. He really needed to learn more about the way things worked here. "Is it always like this?"

"I'd be lying if I said no," Ryraso admitted fondly.

"How can you stand it?" Eyeri asked, looking bewildered by Ryraso's fond tone. "It's chaos out there!"

"Once you learn how to ride the flow of things, it gets easier," Ryraso chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Took me a few months to get used to it. It's why my clinic was not in the palace despite being the Royal Physician.  I didn't want to work here. The rest of Navat is just like any other big city," Ryraso explained. "It's just the palace which is a minefield."