The Princess of Terrasen

Ch. 34

"Eirel!" Aiyra called, scanning the rafters in one of the libraries for him.

It wasn't her son she saw first, though, but Salkhi, who flew down from the rafters, long body coiling behind him. Aiyra held out her arm he and coiled around it, bringing his head to the other side of hers and hissing quietly in her ear.

"Salkhi," Eirel groaned, as he lowered himself from the rafters, his coral hair hanging in curls around his brown face "you gave us away!"

As it always did when she saw her son, her heart jumped. He looked almost entirely like Sebastian, and it was becoming even clearer now that he was ten years old. His facial structure was entirely Sebastian's, high cheekbones, strong jaw, accentuated features and long lashes. From her he got the true Ashryver eyes of turquoise and gold, thin eyebrows, a slight bump in his nose, and a crooked smile.

And if you couldn't see Sebastian in his outward appearance, you would see it in his little tics, he was equally fond of hiding away in the rafters and of biting his lips. Before he was born, she had hoped that he wouldn't look too much like Sebastian, so she wouldn't be reminded of him. But he did, and she found that she was ecstatic about it. She felt lighter, and now instead of shame, she felt joy whenever she thought about her mate.

"I would have found you anyways, Eirel,"

"Not this time," he shakes his head vehemently as he grabbed at her hand "I found the perfect spot."

"Did you now?"

"Yeah, I can see the gates too, so it's perfect."

"Why would you need to see the gates?" Aiyra pushed open the doors to the dining hall, taking a seat beside Aunt Lysandra. Eirel moved between Cerin and Ilias before he said

"In case Miss Adèlia sends you flowers again."

Aiyra choked on her water, and with a frown, Eirel snapped his fingers, removing the water from her airways with the magic he had inherited from Evalin, Aiyra's grandmother.

"Eirel can you put me some water?" Lyria asked,smiling sweetly as she held out her glass and Eirel glowered, looking pointedly at the water jug right next to her.

"She didn't send me flowers," Aiyra protested, albeit a little weakly

"We were all here when you got them, Aiyra." Ilona chipped in. Her sister had dyed her hair pink to match Eirel's, but she had cried when she saw it because she said it looked terrible and her 'gorgeous golden hair would be ruined forever' before Mother assured her it would wash out eventually.

"Yeah, Aiyra, you turned pink and started giggling," Lyria said between mouthfuls of roast chicken.

"Well, then, I may as well go and eat with Adèlia if I'm going to be picked on like this." she rolled her eyes

"Please go," Ilias begged "whenever I see you in the staffroom there's so much awkward energy that I can't handle staying there for too long."

"Who is she?" Aunt Lysandra asked, elbowing her in the ribs

"Yes, who is she? You've never said anything about her." Mother raised an eyebrow.

"Absolutely not," Aiyra glared at them all "none of you are allowed to play matchmaker."

"Don't worry, after that other fiasco with the human boy, I won't let them get involved," Uncle Aedion shook his head

"And just how do you plan on stopping us?" Aunt Lysandra asked far too sweetly

"By-"

"Can you all please stop?" Aiyra groaned

"Just go to her if you're so desperate for us to stop," Mother shrugged and all of them watched her expectantly.

Aiyra sighed, glancing at Eirel who grinned and nodded, then stood up.

"Fine, but none of you are allowed to follow me or eavesdrop, or anything of the sort."

"Can I just fly with you and then come back?" Eirel asked, and Aiyra, who needed a bit of courage, just shrugged.

Together, they walked up to the turret where Aiyra once tried to shift and found that she couldn't. After Eirel had been born, she found that she could. She supposed it was because she finally let go. Her flames were now mostly gold and cobalt, but she could always sense the black ones, slumbering in her veins, soothed by her son and Ilias's earth magic, always sleeping, but ready for her to use anytime she needed.

She shifted, waiting for Eirel to do the same and in a bright flash of light, he echoed her and they set off across Orynth through the light rain. Eirel flew closer, playfully brushing his wing against hers and shot off promptly, Aiyra chasing him. They flew under the silk banners of the squares, hurtling through alleys, Eirel screeching the entire time. Aiyra had to use her wind to ensure he wouldn't fly into a wall more times than she could count.

She caught up to him, swooping down from above and grabbing him gently with her talons. He shrieked, shifting back to human form in his surprise. For a single, absurd moment, they stayed suspended in the air, Aiyra's talons wrapped around his arm. Then they plunged to the ground.

Rolling her eyes, Aiyra called on the wind to slow them down, pushing against them until she carefully set Eirel down on the cobblestones. Eirel, who is laughing hysterically, clearly unconcerned by the near death experience. She raises an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to sober up, and when he catches sight of the expression on her face, his laughter fades. But then Aiyra's lips twitch against her will and they lapse into helpless laughter.

"I don't know why people say you're scary, Mama. I think you're funny." He says seriously, and Aiyra grins.

"You keep that a secret, okay? I have a reputation to uphold."

Eirel mimes locking his lips with a key and she laughs, pulling him closer and kissing the crown of his head.

"Go home now, okay? And then bed."

"Already?" he gaped at her

"Yes, Eirel. You have your healing classes tomorrow."

"Fine," he threw his arms around her quickly and shifted again, flying off towards the castle. She watched him for a second. When he was younger, she struggled to let him out of her sight, but now that his magic had developed he was capable of taking care of himself. And he lived in a castle full of people who had taught him how to fight, so she wasn't too worried about him anymore.

So she spun on her heel and walked the last few streets to Adèlia's house. It's a little on the outskirts of Orynth, a pretty cottage sized place with an overabundance of flowers creeping up the walls and in the garden.

Hair now dripping with rain as she stood by the gate, she took one last second to gather her thoughts. Was this worth it? Was it really time to let go of her mate? The warm feeling in her chest told her yes.

She was smiling when she knocked on the door.

Adèlia came out, smiled back at her, and everything just makes sense. She invited Aiyra in, and she drinks too much, and she laughs too loud, and she swears too much, and they're lying on the grass staring at the stars when Aiyra rolls over and lowers her lips to Adèlia's in a kiss that makes her world tilt on it's head.