Destin is torn away from his chicks and his bonded when the Terrens invade Aries 7. Experimented on in Terren labs, and made to work their mines, the GyrFalconi struggle to survive. Destin becomes their caretaker, endeavoring to save as many as possible, despite the emotional toll. Amidst the battle for survival, the universe shines on him and he bonds with not one but four people who give him a reason to keep fighting. When Valespia sends its Legions to the GyrFalconi’s aid, Destin and his bonded are eventually freed, only to face new cruelties from their own people.
Freedom comes with its own trials, though, as a divide forms in GyrFalconi society between the winged and the wingless. Destin and his bonded are given a chance at true happiness and they keep what they claim, no matter what.
Tags: The Twenty-Year War where Terrens really mucked things up, so many hatchlings, Love not Lust (yes, using caps there seemed necessary), survivors, bisexual characters, all the cute hatchlings, talking to spirits, low heat, protective chantelle, evil empress, courageous stags, polyamorous, Destin keeps collecting bonded, avian species screech... a lot, non-human ace spectrum characters, found family, underestimated batore, so many stags, Mar'Sani mentor, did I mention the cutest chicks ever?
CHERISH is the fourth book in the award-winning Valespian Pact series. Trigger warnings can be found in the Author’s Note. Please download a sample of this book or use the Look Inside feature. 196,000 words.
Invasion
Dashing tears from his eyes, he
[Destin] finished packing a small but heavy satchel. Alaina and Paxx waited for
him in the receiving room holding large, overstuffed bags. At least they were
not flying any great distance. The door was open to the balcony and the sight
beyond confirmed their reality like nothing else could. Transports large and
small zipped between the tall spires of this residential quarter of Skylight.
The buildings were hundreds of floors tall with every roost boasting a balcony
or three for landing. Usually, municipal transports flew above the spires, but
these originated from the base of the buildings where the personal transports
were stored.
The aircraft were not the only
traffic. GyrFalconi flew everywhere, either singly or in small flocks, and
there was a lot of swerving and near collisions, the people too panicked to pay
attention. A lead weight formed in Destin’s stomach and a sense of urgency
whispered that they needed to hurry. At least his parents’ rookery was only a
couple spires over.
“Stay close to me,” he warned. The
fledglings’ eyes were round with dawning fear as they observed the chaos. Paxx
and Alaina nodded vigorously.
Clutching the pack to his chest,
Destin sprinted and leaped off the balcony, his wings spread as he tested the
air for a wind to glide on while he waited for his fledglings to catch up. They
carried more, so they dropped quicker and had to flap hard to reach him, their
burdens clutched to their chests. Destin spiraled down to the building’s lower
floors, hoping that the air there would be less travelled, and he was right. As
long as they stayed above the storage levels, they would not cross many
individual flyers.
A few minutes later, they reached his
parents’ building. Destin searched for his mahen’s storage garage where she and
his dahen would be waiting. All the bay doors were open and the interiors
empty. He did not need to read the labels, since his mahen, Akela de la Zudora, stood in the opening to her bay
watching for them. Her golden-brown feathers were streaked with a darker brown
that made her look severe when her feathers were clapped tight to her crown.
Her brown-ringed black eyes held a wealth of worry as well as a touch of fear,
which abated when her gaze landed on them.
Destin circled around behind his
fledglings and made them land first. Both immediately went to Akela when their
feet touched the floor. She wrapped them in a calming embrace as she clicked
her nose-plate to theirs. His dahen, Imrie, rushed from the transport when
Destin set down. Imrie’s long, sweeping
gray-tipped pink feathers were ruffled in the strong breeze that pushed into
the bay. The pink contrasted beautifully with his ebony skin. Of all the Aries
collectives, Destin thought his dahen’s feather coloring the prettiest. His own
were red feathers dusted with the broody black of Aries 1. When he was much
younger, he’d wished he had the pretty pinks of Aries 4 like his da. Destin had
outgrown such vanities and he was content with his coloring, though he still
thought the red and black was somber.
Imrie grabbed his face and clicked
his hard yellow nose-plate against Destin’s. “Where is Dena?” he asked softly
enough that the chicks did not hear.
Destin refused to answer, not wanting
to bring to the fledglings’ attention that he and their mahen were at odds.
Imrie’s blue eyes narrowed with comprehension, and Destin did not envy the
dressing down that his dahen would give Dena when he saw her next.
His parents’ personal transport was a
modest five-person pipit. Glancing inside, food stores were crammed into every
available space, leaving just enough room in the back for Destin’s fledglings.
They would be holding their overstuffed burdens in their laps since there was
no other room to store the bags.
“I think we can make room for you,”
Mahen said, coming up behind him. But they could not and still eat. There were
questions about whether the sky-cities receiving refugees would have enough
foodstuff to feed everyone. Destin would not have his family going hungry when
there was a seat for him on another transport.
“Dena made arrangements for me,” he
replied. Akela pursed her lips, sweeping her gaze over him and the fledglings
as if to say, ‘yes, my son, I can see the accommodations your bonded has
made.’ He forged on. “Speaking of, they are waiting on me. I am already
several minutes late.”
His chicks made frantic noises. They
were all talk about building a nest of their own, but here they were, not
wanting to be separated from him. It warmed Destin’s heart more than it should
have. Perhaps Dena was correct, and he was holding onto the fledglings too
tightly. He wrapped each chick in his arms, reminded of how much larger they
were when he tilted his head up so they could click their nose-plates against
his.
“Do what you are told and help your
granden and granhen with what they need. They will rendezvous with your
bondeds’ families. Together, they will all work to keep you safe.” Destin
waited for them to nod before he stepped away.
“When will you and Dena be joining
us?” Mahen asked, pushing the fledglings toward the transport.
“The de la Bao flock are meeting up
with some of their extended family. I will make my way to you once we stop,” he
replied, hoping that the fledglings did not notice he said nothing about their
mahen. The fact was that he did not know what her plans were, especially after
their argument.
Imrie pulled out his data pad and
demanded Destin give him the location where he would end up.
“I will come and get you myself once
we have settled Alaina and Paxx,” Akela stated, her expression telling him not
to argue with her. Destin nodded, saying hurried farewells to his parents
before sprinting to the open bay door and leaping into flight.
He was not exaggerating when he said
he was late. He owed the neighbors many apologies when he arrived. They were
kind, patient people but the stress of fleeing to safety could make anyone
terse, especially when waiting on someone who delayed their safe departure.
The weight of his bag seemed heavier
than before, which Destin was sure it was just in his mind. There were more
individual fliers clogging the airways. With great care, he dodged a couple of
near collisions before reaching the correct building. The bay door was open,
and Destin pulled up from his dive to land on the edge… of an empty storage
slot. He double checked the name and number to make sure he had arrived at the
correct place. This was where he was supposed to meet up with the neighbors.
Destin stared at the bare floor, his
mind stalled for a few precious seconds as he tried to comprehend what it
meant. Again, he double checked the ID to make sure he was at the right
location, and he was, but they were gone. They had left. He was only a few
minutes late, but the bay was not even warm from the aircraft’s engine, so they
had been gone much longer than he was late.
Had Dena cancelled his seat, thinking
he would be travelling with her? He could not imagine the neighbors leaving
without him. They were close friends of Destin’s and if they were leaving, they
would have contacted him, and there were no waiting messages on the data pad.
If Dena told them he did not need the seat, then why did she not say something
to him? Did she forget since they had fought? Was—
Destin shook his head, trying to
clear his mind. This was not the time to allow emotional turmoil to take over.
He would broach the questions with her later, after he reached safety. He
considered flying back to his parents’ bay, but they were probably gone
already, and he could not waste the time. He would have to fly.
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