The Iriduan’s Mate by Susan Trombley
Forty
Shulgi and Tirel sat on the dock that pierced the bow of the beach not far from Shulgi’s new home. Both of them held fishing rods, the lines bobbing in the gentle waves as the sunset darkened into a mellow twilight.
“I don’t see the point of this activity,” Shulgi said as he felt a slight tug on his line. “Are there no more efficient methods to capture your food?”
Tirel chuckled, staring out into the falling darkness as glow lamps lit up around them on the dock. He’d already explained that the light would attract the fish they were seeking, although it also attracted some annoying insects.
“My food is harvested on Akrellia. However, I do enjoy fishing whenever I visit my friends here on Hierabodos.” He glanced at Shulgi, a slight smirk on his scaled face. “It isn’t about efficiency, or even about capturing your next meal. Fishing is supposed to be a bonding experience.”
Shulgi reeled in his line, sighing as the hook on the end of it came up empty, the bait gone. “I think I prefer a fight to this.”
Tirel barked a laugh at Shulgi’s tone. “Believe me, I was looking forward to it. However,” he shot a glance towards the pop-up further up the shore, lights glowing within it as Theresa and Molly visited, discussing female things, “sometimes, we must put aside our own desires to please our women.”
Shulgi slowly nodded. “I would do anything to please my queen.” He regarded the hook on the end of his line hatefully as he drew the bait can closer, dreading the moment he’d have to dip his fingers into the foul stench contained within to bait his hook.
Tirel returned his attention to the ocean, watching his fishing line bob hypnotically. “I once pitied you Iriduan males for your mating habits. I wondered how anyone could feel so devoted to a female that their whole life revolved around her. And then I met my Partner. My beloved Theresa.” He shot a toothy grin at Shulgi. “I knew in an instant that she belonged to me—and that I belonged to her. I think it was the first time I ever understood the Iriduan way of thinking.”
“Most of my people view imprinting as a curse.” Shulgi winced as he opened the bait and pinched off a chunk of the stinking dough. “For me, it was.”
Tirel cast him another glance, his expression solemn. “A lot of good Akrellians died because of that curse.”
Shulgi squished the bait around his hook, wrinkling his nose at the smell. “They did. I regret that.”
“If we can’t learn to forgive our enemies, then the war never ends.” Tirel grinned at Shulgi’s mound of bait clumped lopsided on his hook. “And then Iriduans never learn to fish.”
Shulgi looked up from his work with a wry smile. “This is your punishment, isn’t it?”
This earned another laugh from Tirel. “You Iriduans are always so fussy. Just wait until you have to clean the fish.”
“Given my lack of success in catching one, I doubt I need fear the unpleasantness of that task anytime soon.”
Tirel regarded him with a smile still playing around his lips. “Do Iriduans never go fishing? Don’t your people love water?”
“Juveniles fish.” Shulgi stood and flicked the rod, casting his line farther than where Tirel’s bobbed. “But we don’t use rods to do it.” He sank back down onto the dock, spinning the reel a bit to readjust the position of his line. “Even our children are more efficient at catching their food than this.”
A companionable silence fell between them for a several minutes before Shulgi spoke thoughtfully. “You should have seen the pond that surrounded our creche. The shimmer of colors as we darted and skimmed over the still water. When we’re young, we feel so free, even though we never stray past the boundary markers. Our days are glorious, dipping and diving to grab a fish or amphibian we spot moving below us. Our nights are peaceful, the violence of the galaxy beyond those boundary markers so far removed from us that we aren’t even aware of it.”
“It sounds like the kind of life you’d never want to leave.” Tirel regarded Shulgi with an empathetic expression.
Shulgi glanced towards the pop-up again, recalling the taste of Molly that he’d enjoyed not so long ago. “If I didn’t leave my creche, I would never have met my queen. Had I known in advance what my life would be like when I broke free from my cocoon… I still would endure it all, knowing she would be there waiting for me to find her.”
“I understand that feeling completely.” Tirel’s gaze shifted to the pop-up.
Another companionable silence fell over them as the twilight darkened into true night and the pale shadow of fish flickered beneath the dark blue waves, seeking the light from their glow lamps.
“What will you do about the cure now?” Tirel’s question caught Shulgi off guard and he shot a wary glance at the other male.
“It’s no longer in my hands,” he said, and he couldn’t dredge up any feelings of guilt about that. He felt nothing but relief to be free of that burden.
Free to focus on Molly.
Tirel nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful as he gazed out at the water. “The cure, the bioweapon sample you had, these things are still my concern, but one I can delegate to others. I don’t blame you for being happy to wash your hands of them.”
“Heavy burdens seem so far away on this world.” Shulgi scanned their surroundings, breathing in deeply of the fresh, brine-tinged air.
Tirel chuckled. “Now you see why I come here so often with my mate.” He shrugged one scaly shoulder, his quills rustling. “Of course, I also come to see my friends. Though I suppose they are more like family to me now.” He glanced at Shulgi, then returned his gaze to the fishing line. “Someday, perhaps I will view you as the same.”
It was an admission that Tirel was willing to put the past behind them, and one Shulgi felt overwhelming gratitude for. He couldn’t make up for all the things he’d done in his life, nor could he undo all the blood he’d shed. Perhaps that would be his greatest regret. Still, he had a chance to make amends by proving himself. He never would have imagined he’d be so concerned about earning the forgiveness and respect of one of his enemies.
But the days of being at war were over for him. To put the bloody past behind him, he needed this kind of future. The kind where old enemies became allies, and maybe, someday, friends.
He regarded his fishing rod with a grimace. “Is fishing a prerequisite for earning your regard?”
Tirel’s bark of laughter drowned out even the sound of the rolling waves, especially when Shulgi’s laugh joined it.
* * *
“I owe you a great deal!”Molly said to Theresa as they sat on the sofa in her living room, both of them glancing out the window towards the dock at the distant sound of laughter. “I’m sorry to admit, I didn’t think you could convince your husband to drop the idea of combat.”
Theresa’s smile faded as she turned back to face Molly. “Tirel is an honorable Akrellian, despite the Dark Partner within him. He realized that Shulgi was not the evil person he’d thought. Tirel was a soldier himself. He understands that sometimes, you kill people because they stand in your way, even though you would rather avoid their deaths. Their blood still stains his soul, and he said that he sees that same regret in Shulgi.”
“My Shulgi is haunted by past violence,” Molly agreed, thinking of how their peaceful sleep was sometimes broken by Shulgi jerking awake, his eyes wild as they searched the room, his powerful body tense.
She would soothe him back to sleep, usually by making love to him, but sometimes all it took was letting him hold her close until his body relaxed back into slumber.
Theresa reached a hand to lay it upon Molly’s. “I sense he isn’t the only one, Molly.” Her eyes practically glowed with compassion and empathy. “If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.”
Molly blinked back grateful tears, turning her head to swipe them away discreetly before smiling broadly at Theresa. “I lost a very dear friend and said farewell to many others when I left Za’Kluth. I truly appreciate the welcome I’ve received here, and the promise of new friendships. Thank you!”
“You are a remarkable woman, Molly.” Theresa took a sip of her tea. “You are a survivor of things most cannot even imagine. Welcoming you to our little sanctuary here on Hierabodos is the least we can do to make your life easier. I know that everyone here is eager to help you both settle in and make a life for yourselves here.”
Molly grinned as she leaned back in her seat, shooting another glance at the two males on the dock, visible from the wide picture window in the living room. “We are very eager to get started on making that life. Both of us are tired of the lives we led before this. We want to enjoy the peace and quiet.” Her smile softened as her eyes grew misty. “We want to feel what it’s like to be surrounded by family and friends as we live free. So far, despite one little hiccup,” she shared a commiserating look with Theresa, “it has been amazing!”
