Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

“Mark, please stop.”

“You wanna kiss him,” he sang.

I rubbed my face as Letak jumped out, wiggling his butt like an excited dog. He chirped, bucking up. “Hey, Letak,” I smiled, grateful for his blaring presence. “This is Mark. Mark, Letak.”

Mark giggled. “Okay, okay, I won’t tease while the demon ishere.”

Brothers!

“So, this is a zalin,” I introduced, stopping yards away, letting Letak sniff out the world. “Letak, this is Mark, my younger brother.” The subject was dropped. For now, but I wasn’t looking forward to the next time we were all together.

Mark’s eyes grew wide, forgetting about Trick altogether as Letak lowered his head and sniffed the air. “Can I pet him?”

I walked over to Letak, touching his neck gently, rolling my shoulders to ease the tension. Letak lifted his head, nudging my arm lovingly. I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, Mark, you can pet him, but careful. He’s still a wild animal, right?”

Mark nodded, matter-of-factly. “And wild animals even though they can show friendliness are still wild. They’ve got instincts, and if they’re spooked and they hurt us, we can’t blame them because it’s their nature.”

Letak looked at me, ears up.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on his face. “He’s a kit, I have to teach him too.”

He watched me until he felt another hand on him.

Letak’s head whipped around, causing Mark to pull his hand back and find my eyes in worry.

“It’s okay,” I explained as Letak chirped loudly, excitedly, causing me to step back. “He’s only a few months old. That would make him around your age in demon years, remember?”

Mark’s eyes widened. He had definitely forgotten. “We’re the same age?”

“Roughly,” I shrugged, turning back to Letak who was getting more and more excited as the seconds ticked by. “You two can play, if you want.”

The two exchanged a glance, and then whipped around to me. Mark clapped excitedly while Letak flapped his wings.

I laughed again, shielding myself from the onslaught of soft snow Letak was blowing up. “Okay, okay, but no flying unless I’m with you,” I lectured, finding Letak’s eyes sternly.

His ears folded back and he huffed.

Mark touched the zalin’s shoulder. “It’s okay, you can show me all the tricks you do. Kyra says you’re super smart, so prove it.”

Letak puffed his chest out in playful challenge, and then found my eyes again. He released a soft chirp.

I nodded, despite not knowing what it could be. “Just remember that we don’t have talons,” I said, showing him my hands. “No talons, no wings.” I pinched my skin hard enough to leave a mark. “Soft.”

Letak studied my hand carefully.

“We can get hurt easily,” I reminded him.

After another moment, he nodded and straightened, speaking in clicks and chirps. He gestured to the entrance of the clearing.

I stared at it for a long time, my heart thumping, Mark waiting expectantly. Let him into the forest? I turned back to Letak, glancing to the scars I could see peeking out under his wing.

Letak looked over, his ears folding back. He found my eyes again and chirped gently, nodding.

I searched his eyes and after another moment, I sighed. “Promise me you’ll keep him safe,” I said, hearingMark cheer under his breath behind me. “Promise me. If you hear or senseanything, you bring him back to me.Noflying. None. Your feet remain on the ground. Okay?”

He nodded once and stepped forward, rubbing his head against mine.

When Letak stepped away, Mark ran into me, causing me to stumble back a step. “Thank you!” With that, he and Letak headed for the entrance at a full sprint. Letak looked back at me once before they disappeared into the woods.