Bird of a Flock (Bow 2)

Chapter 28

Nel'os gripped onto Tai'ray tightly as he passed out. The caretaker who had struck his mate had disappeared leaving them alone in the corridor. Cradling Tai'ray's body close, Nel'os transported them to the Royal nest. No one could come into the room without permission. It would keep Tai'ray safe if anyone realised that the Winglord was injured. Nel'os heart beat fast, and he tried to calm himself down. He had transported the moment he felt Tai'ray be injured, leaving Ryraso without warning.

"Shit," he cursed as that fully occurred to him. "Ryraso!" he called over the link mournfully, slightly embarrassed by this reaction. When he had felt Tai'ray being hurt, he had assumed someone was trying to take his mate out and had just moved. A person could only become the Winglord by challenging the current Winglord and defeating him but that didn't stop some people trying to more underhanded ways to remove a Winglord.

"Yes, Nel'os?" Ryraso said bemusedly, clearly confused by the fact Nel'os had left him.

Nel'os felt this and suddenly was aware he was talking over the link and not a private bond. Others could theoretically listen in and find out that the Winglord was not conscious at the moment. That was too dangerous. He breathed slowly and focused on Ryraso, blocking others out of the conversation.

"Can you come to the Royal nest?" Nel'os asked gently. He needed Ryraso. He needed him to check that Tai'ray was in fact ok. He needed him so he didn't have to worry about where Ryraso was while an escape attempt was happening.

"Okay?" Ryraso said hesitantly.

Nel'os bit his lip, knowing Ryraso didn't feel safe sleeping in the nest yet but it was important. He could feel Ryraso coming though, and he took a breath of relief. He looked over his mate and pressed his ear to Tai'ray's chest. He closed his eyes and just listened to Tai'ray's heartbeat. He focused on the sound to try and calm his own heart as he waited for Ryraso to arrive.

"Nel'os?" Ryraso called into the room as he entered. The magic locks on the door opening for Ryraso as someone who had been invited by the link. "Is something wrong?" he asked, walking over slowly, cautiously.

"Ryraso," Nel'os called, his voice shaky. "Tai'ray was attacked. He was hit on the head. Help?"

"Of course," Ryraso nodded, his hesitant steps disappearing and he quickly got to the nest and crawled over to Nel'os and Tai'ray. Ryraso hands moved over Tai'ray head, searching for a bump and gently let his healing magic flow into the Winglord. "He feels fine," Ryraso murmured. "No lasting damage." He looked up at Nel'os seriously, "What happened?" he asked.

"He was in the temple thinking and a caretaker struck him," Nel'os swallowed. "I think. He didn't exactly have time to talk," he added with a worried chuckle, clearly scared and unsure what to do at that moment. Nel'os' hands wouldn't stop shaking and he gripped onto his clothes to try to stop them but it didn't seem to help. "He's fine", he murmured, taking deep breaths, clearly trying to reassure himself nothing bad was going to happen. Seeing Tai-ray slumped over in the water had sent horror through him and Nel'os couldn't seem to get that moment out of this mind.

Ryraso looked over at him with gentle eyes, not missing how Nel'os was feeling. "Come here," Ryraso murmured, reaching over to pull Nel'os over for a kiss. The kiss was gentle and deep, Ryraso trying a calm the man down. Nel'os clutched onto his arm and kissed back, leaning his head forehead so their foreheads were touching. "He's fine," Ryraso promised, meeting his eyes.

"Ry" Nel'os whimpered, gripping onto him, "Tai will be okay? Won't he? He's survived worst."

Ryraso wasn't entirely sure if Nel'os was stating those words or asking him. Still, he made an agreeing noise and ran his hands though Nel'os's wings soothingly, enjoying their softness. Nel'os seemed to be reacting worse than he normally did with this. Ryraso dreaded to think how Dyn'ad would be at the moment. He prayed Dyn'ad didn't catch Eyeri before Tai'ray had woken up. That was a sure recipe for trouble. "Of course, he will be fine," he smiled and nuzzled Nel'os. "We just have to wait now. Aw'endo is safe with O'chuter and Herymi in the other room."