Bird of a Flock (Bow 2)

Chapter 38

Ryraso sat in a shrine quietly, having said some morning prayers and now was uncertain what to do. In some ways, there was nothing to do until the afternoon, until Eyeri's ceremony. By divine order, he could not fight the coming events and by order of the Winglord, he was not allowed to see his misbehaving sons. Aw'endo had been kidnapped by his tutors again, with Iss'tine promising he would be back for the ceremony and Ryraso did not want to be with the Royals at the moment. 

There was always another option. He lived by this mantra, but currently, most of the options led to more pain and suffering. He rose and left the room, refusing to acknowledge the looks which were being shot his way. People were curious about why Ryraso was being allowed free reign to move about when his son had tried to leave.

It wasn't known yet that he could not escape now. Ryraso had no desire to allow the knowledge out into the world until he had to. He paused before turning a corner, suddenly realising he was in the 'noble' rooms of the palace. A place where many of the submissive nobles socialised with each other and waited for their powerful mates to return from work. He frowned, looking around slightly confused as to why his feet had led him here of all places. This was not his home nor would it ever be. He was a healer, not a noble. 

"Now Healer  Ryraso is back, they will drop you soon enough," a voice hissed darkly in k'nairi. "I'd start flashing that ass of yours around if I were you. Your days in the hearts of the royals are numbered."

Ryraso blinked before narrowing his eyes and looking at his arm. He shifted so he wasn't standing in the middle of the corridor and shamelessly listened more. If this was what he thought it was, it was a good chance to get some information on the current politics of the nobles and even if it was about him, he couldn't pass up the chance. It was very quickly confirmed that he was listening to some nobles gaining up on one Cai'ress and not because they liked Ryraso, but because they disliked Cai'ress. 

"Just because you only gained half a glance doesn't meant they are going to drop me so easily," a young but cultured voice said back calmly. "They could have dropped me when Ryraso came back into their lives and they did not."

"Back into their lives but not into their beds, their nest. Face it Cai," the unknown speaker drew out the name slowly in a mock-friendly way that still had daggers in the voice. "You should have taken your clan's offer of marrying you off to Lord Fin'at. Few others are going to want the Winglord's leftovers." 

There was some more taunting and Ryraso found himself frowning deeper and deeper. Cai'ress, it seemed, had really gained some animosity by being able to stay the regular lover of the royals for longer than a year. For five years, to be exact. Longer than any other person had been in a courtship with the triad. Five years without the Winglord, the only royal whose heart and desires meant something to the nobles, making any offers to make it permanent. In the eyes of the nobles, this was a failed courtship that the submissive was clinging onto in false hopes. 

The words and feeling had some real bite to them that Ryraso didn't like. He didn't know how to feel about Cai'ress' existence. He didn't know if Tai'ray would ever look at Cair'ess or if Ryraso would feel something for the man but at that moment, he didn't like the implication that it was impossible either. That implied that Nel'os and Dyn'ad had strung a man along for five years with the intention of dumping him and Ryraso did not like the idea of that being in their personalities.