Page 45 of I Married Kayog
Mares snorted and mumbled something about his wretched mouth always getting him into trouble. After a last farewell to the mother trees and the dormant Syllens, we exited the secret chamber, the almost divine peace of the temple still wrapped around us as we completed the tour on our way back to the visitors center.
Chapter 10
Kayog
The past week turned out to be the happiest time I could recall in my entire life. I couldn’t get enough of my mate, of her soothing presence, luminous smile, and the enthralling song of her soul. I never imagined I could be in such perfect harmony with someone. She didn’t need lengthy explanations to get me. Our views on the world and the goals we wanted to achieve couldn’t have been more aligned, even though we wanted to tackle them from slightly different angles.
Being with her just made me happy.
But her gift had not ended there. My Linsea had also brought Mares and Tala into my life. After nearly three decades spent mostly in isolation, I thought I had come to terms with being by myself. These past few days showed me how painfully lonely I had actually been. They were beautiful souls who systematically put a smile on your face. Their playfulness awakened the one that had been lurking deep inside me, just waiting for a chance to express itself. I loved that side of myself that never truly had a chance to fly free.
Seeing my dove also form a close bond with my chosen sister Isobel filled my heart to bursting. The priestess had been the only person I truly could have called a friend and who helped keep me grounded in my isolation. However, her clerical vocation made it difficult for us to spend much time together as she was often on pilgrimages, attending spiritual retreats, or away on study within isolated religious communities or cults.
I couldn’t recall ever having people over at my place for a game night, least of all as a double date. And yet, here we were, playing a strategic board game in teams. Without going into extensive details, I had given them a slight overview of my condition which kept me from going to crowded places. The empathy and respect with which they received that information moved me to my core. It felt good being able to be honest and just be myself.
It also made me question if maybe, in my fear of being seen as a freak and an abomination, I hadn’t been the architect of my own sorrow by keeping everything so heavily guarded. At the same time, my self-preservation instincts continued to believe that it had been the wisest course of action.
Anyway, there was a reason we weren’t friends with just everyone and anyone. We gravitated towards people who shared our energy, but also whose auras made us feel good. Toxic and negative people naturally repelled others. While most species often couldn’t say specifically why they didn’t like hanging out with a specific person, empathic species perceived more precisely that unpleasant energy.
Mares and Tala radiated the type of emotions I wanted to wrap myself in. The couple and my mate attending my concert again last night had made the entire experience far more enjoyable. Our new relationship created a bond. And their affection towards me sent heightened levels of positive energy asI performed. In turn, this further drowned any negative waves that came at me.
After we concluded the last round—which my mate and I won by the skin of our teeth—I felt genuinely sad to see our friends leave. At the same time, I could never complain about private moments with my soulmate.
While I put away the game, Linsea brought a flat box with a handle to the living area. She had placed it in the closet when she arrived earlier. A sense of unease settled in the pit of my stomach. I knew exactly what it contained.
She gave me a sympathetic smile and gestured for me to sit on the couch. I complied, and she sat in my lap facing me, the box lying on the cushion next to us.
“Do you trust me?” she asked softly.
“Of course, my love,” I said in a self-evident voice. “It’sthemwho worry me.”
“Then rest assured that I will only give anything concerning you to trustworthy people,” she said in the same soothing voice.
“I’m sorry. This whole thing just has me really nervous,” I said sheepishly.
“There’s no need for you to apologize. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how difficult this must be for you. I’m just grateful that you are agreeing to it, despite your valid reservations.”
“Only for you, my dove.”
Linsea rubbed her beak against mine in a soft kiss, then leaned to the side to remove a silver, hollow disc from the box. She held it over my head and paused, making eye contact with me to get my final assent. I smiled—although a bit stiffly—and nodded for her to proceed. She smiled in return and activated the device before releasing it.
It hovered with a soft hum and began to glow. The ring parted into two crescents, one on each side of my face, as they slowly glided down, scanning my head all the way to my claviclesbefore hovering back up for a second pass. I forced myself to remain as still as possible and to clear my head to avoid extreme emotions messing with some of the data. As soon as the two halves fused together again, my mate took the scanning device and tapped a few instructions on its small interface.
I tried to silence the unease wanting to rear its head knowing that she was likely transferring the data to her grandmother or medical contact.
“See? Quick and painless,” Linsea said in that overly sweet way doctors addressed fussy young children unhappy about getting their vaccination shots.
I scrunched my face at her, which made her chuckle. However, she quickly sobered and caressed my head with a very serious expression on her stunning face.
“Your trust in this means more to me than you’ll ever know. I like you a lot, Kayog. And I truly meana lot.Whatever lies ahead for us—or with these results—I will never let anyone hurt you under my watch. Do not be fooled by my apparent sweet disposition. I have talons and have no qualms using them on anyone who crosses me or those I love.”
My chest warmed with the love that had been steadily growing in my heart for my soulmate. I wanted to say something deep and meaningful, but my stupid mouth decided to take the lead.
“Then I better make sure you keep watching over me forever,” I said teasingly.
She snorted. “You’re rather easy on the eyes, so you might not have too much of a hard time convincing me to do so. Anyway, a certain birdie told me that we were soulmates. Therefore, any way you cut it, we’re stuck with each other.”
“We are,” I said forcefully. “And on that front, that birdie is never wrong.”
