Transient Bonds

 

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Special Thanks

To all of those who ever believed in me and supported me throughout the writing of this book.

This book is dedicated in loving memory of Melissa 'Missy' Shultz whose neverending positivity will always inspire me, to my grandmother Flora Hampton who told me I could be anything, and my special friend Justin Harper who may be gone but will never be forgotten as he lives on in our memories and hearts. I love all of you to the moon and back, always and forever. 

~Tamika Hampton

 

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Tamika Hampton

Hello once again, readers! Once more, it's been awhile since I last said anything, but I've finally returned from college and I'm now dedicating almost all of my time to writing. As you may have noticed, I made the decision to change the title of my novel to Transient Bonds. The reason for this change is because I feel that The Salx Hunter would be a more appropriate title for the series rather than the novel. So this will mark the very beginning of the series of what I plan to be three books told from three different perspectives. This story will still alternate between Julianna and Amidista's perspectives and the plot hasn't changed, just the appearance and title. Thanks again for reading and I hope to get more chapters out soon! =D

Tamika Hampton

Hey there readers! I know it's been a long time coming for me to finally say hello, but we all know that the holidays can get especially crazy. I just wanted to jump on here and say thank you so much for the reads and favorites so far. Seeing that people are enjoying The Salx Hunter means a lot to me. =) I'd like to take this opportunity to encourage you to review the story if you would like. You deserve only my best writing and I'm also open to improvements. If there's anything you'd like for me to change or add, then feel free to sound off! =D

Thank you again, and I hope that you continue to enjoy future chapters of The Salx Hunter!
~Tamika

Tamika Hampton

Thank you very much for the kind comment! =D

Lyzeth Inurrigarro

I really love this story, the history that you put into it, the way every detail matached up. It was just... so beautiful to read.

Prologue

        August 27, 2065

        Whoever should find this journal would be wise to read its contents, for what I have written shall better explain what has happened than any words that may come from the mouths of others. I regret to note that this may well be the last entry that I shall ever write, but I refuse to allow death to rob me of my final words. My strength is fast leaving me and I know not how much time I have left, so I shall be brief with my description of this month’s events:

        We came to this world thirty years ago to this day after watching its caretakers, the humans, carelessly destroy it. How surprised they must have been to see us materialize from the very elements themselves, unable to watch the elements die at their hands. For we had made the decision to put an end to their evil by banishing them to another dimension, one which was afflicted with the very poisons that they had brought upon the world: pollution, disease, and ultimately death. Both dimensions were separated by a barrier visible to our own kind, the Arithanids, and the humans were warned that if a single one of their kind- man, woman, or child- crossed that barrier either by accident or purposefully, they would become slaves or killed without discretion. They defied that warning, inevitably, and we were forced to put the restoration of the elements on hold until they were once again put into their rightful places.

        And it was this that brought us to the dilemma that we now face. . .

        Because no one could be spared to hold off the humans, our Supreme Lord- Lukan Dashara- ordered that a new breed of Arithanids be created for the purpose of guarding the barrier that separated both races. The creation of a new race was not impossible, but it was a deed that many of us were very uncomfortable with. However, we were given no choice in the matter and so, using the traitors and weaklings, we committed the necessary evil of experimenting with the blood of our own race in order to create the ‘perfect soldier’.

        Every attempt we made failed miserably; no matter what we did, no matter how much D.N.A. was crossed with that of our own, the end result was a mindless creature that rarely did as they were told or another body to be added to the growing number of fatalities suffered by those who were killed by humans. Our luck was to change, however, one evening when a young woman who had been attacked by a vampire- one of many that had sought refuge in our world from the humans’ extermination of their race- came to us in an attempt to find a cure for herself and, as we would later find out, the life she carried within her. Little did she know there was no cure for vampirism, and would die not long after giving birth to a healthy baby boy. Since she had not been infected with the blood of a vampire, she did not turn. Her child, however, was not so fortunate. We would find, after careful examination that the motherless son was the answer that we had been searching for; despite being infected with vampire D.N.A., most likely a result of the fatal bite that killed his mother, the child was a pureblood Arithanid with powers over the element of Darkness. From his mother and ‘father’, he had inherited inhuman speed and strength that was double that of any other Arithanid with senses more acute than our own. We would come to call the child a Salx: Arithanids crossed with the blood of vampires.      

        The older the boy grew, the stronger his powers became. He was a sweet child, always doing as he was told and never giving anyone a lick of trouble. We called him Ciar, a name that meant ‘Dark one’. It wasn’t fitting to his personality, but it suited him nonetheless. The Supreme Lord was absolutely delighted with him-- the boy was often brought to him, impressing all with his skills and charming nature. Like proud parents, we watched him mature into a man, completely forgetting about his being part vampire. It was this that would prove to be our greatest mistake of all.

        Without warning, Ciar had become gravely ill. We were puzzled as to how, as our race need not fear such things, but regardless, he was like a son to us all. As fathers and mothers would to their offspring, we tried to nurse him back to health with food and drink, medicine made only from the purest ingredients, but whatever was wrong our efforts seemed to make his illness worse. One night, a girl named Kara Aitka went to check on Ciar before she went to bed, and was shocked to find him gone. She never stood a chance; with her back unknowingly to him, Ciar attacked her and drained Kara of her blood. Upon hearing her screams, we ran to help, but were too late to save her. Kara died from blood loss shortly after we pulled Ciar away from her. What was most disturbing was not the fact that he had killed the girl, but that her blood seemed to rejuvenate him to the state he once was before his strange illness took over him. During the day, he would be completely docile and friendly, like his old self again. But once the sun disappeared from the sky, he would change once more into the ravenous black eyed monster that made everyone weak with fear.

        Over the course of weeks, Ciar would kill anyone who dared to enter his quarters first at night and then by day; one by one, anyone who ventured into his room at night was drained of their blood, and one by one, all began to die. As the body count grew, we made the decision to isolate Ciar completely for his safety and our own. With heavy hearts, we watched him begin to descend first into a deep pit of depression, and then to pine away due to lack of blood in his diet. It soon proved to be much too hard to watch. No matter what he had become, no matter what he had done in the past, we simply could not allow him to die of starvation, not after we raised him from a tiny babe into a handsome young man. We chose to provide him with live prey in the form of humans and traitors. Again, it was a necessary sin that was also a matter of survival for our Salx son. However it would also prove to be a fatal error, more so than that of ignoring his true nature.

        To our horror, anyone that was bitten by Ciar was turning into the same creature as he. If he bit them, they turned into what we would call ‘familiars’- mindless creatures who lived only to prey on their unfortunate victims. On the other hand, if he bit them then allowed them to come into direct contact with his blood, they too became Salx- creatures who, like Ciar, could control the element of Darkness. Could think for themselves. The only drawback was that they were all held in thrall by Ciar; they would not take orders from anyone except him. Soon, Ciar had created a brood of his own. Thirty Salx and twenty familiars, each with their own unique abilities and strengths. The larger his brood became the more prey we were forced to provide until their numbers were far too great.

        This was not our only problem.

        Like any man, the desire to reproduce soon overcame Ciar. There were a number of females in the Salx holding cells. All of which were turned by Ciar. It should not have been hard for him to choose his mate. He seemed to show little interest in them however. At first we weren't quite sure why. After careful observation, we soon found the reason.

         They were already pregnant.

        We thought that soon we would see them bear children. Start a whole new generation of Salx. Ones that could be raised, separate from the brood. In our minds the possibilities were endless. We were shocked, however, to learn that while there had been evidence that they had indeed given birth, the babies were nowhere to be found. Leaving us to assume they had been stillborn; or worse.

        But Salx are intelligent creatures. Almost too intelligent. Over the course of the next two months we began to notice that some of the younglings, more girls than women, would suddenly go missing. Only to return several days later both petrified, and pregnant. Upon questioning they seem to remember being called to the Salx holding cells. Nothing more.

         No words were spoken aloud, but deep inside ourselves we knew who it was that was calling the young girls; and why. With this new knowledge, we finally understood what had happened to the babes that were supposed to have been born to the Salx women. Vampires, thought at one time to produce live offspring, were in fact sterile and it was no secret that the Salx were derived from vampires. It was only logical to assume that while they could reproduce, the babies could not possibly survive childbirth. The vampire blood that coursed throughout them couldn't and wouldn’t allow it. And so if the Salx women could not bear Ciar the live children that he clearly was trying to receive, then he would have to use the only suitable substitutes available to him.

        Months passed, and soon the girls gave birth to said children. But it was no way a normal birth. The agonized screams of the mothers to be could be heard from the outside of the facility as they strained to rid their bodies of the spawn they carried. Creatures that had been sired by Ciar. Most died in their efforts along with their unborn children, the remaining girls gave birth to perfectly healthy baby boys and girls. Aside from their pale skin, the babes were completely normal.

        Or so we hoped.

        We had prayed that they did not inherit their father’s bloodlust, but fate has a funny way about it sometimes. The infants had been born with needle sharp teeth which we never noticed before, and would viciously bite into their mothers’ breasts and feast upon their blood in the same manner a normal babe would nurse milk. But as they grew, their thirst gradually disappeared all-together and they were able to live as normal children. As normal as possible, that is. But the resentment of their mothers’ was apparent, for whenever their gazes happened upon their offspring, they were reminded of their stolen innocence. And one could only imagine the rage that surged beneath the veneer of motherly love at the thought of what they endured at the hands of Ciar.

        Inevitably, that act was soon cast to the side when two took it upon themselves to attempt to murder the children and to ‘rid themselves of their curse’ only to be intercepted just in time, the children unharmed but confused and frightened at what their own mothers had tried to do.

        After that incident, it was decided that the children be sent elsewhere for their own safety, away from the eyes of their resentful mothers and their dark father. What happened to them afterwards, I cannot say. I take solace in the hope that they are alive and well wherever they are as well as pray to the Guardians that they did not give in to the nature of Salx.

        In the beginning, we should have known eventually that the Salx’ numbers would one day grow to be too great for our research facility to handle. But our love for the children that came from Ciar was much greater than that of our logic, and we allowed Ciar to continue to build his brood. Perhaps it was the idea of having their innocent laughter fill the empty halls, or even just the simple pleasure of watching them mature into adulthood. Whatever the case, it was something which would prove to be a very foolish decision. When we finally grasped the danger, however, it was already too late to put a stop to it.

        How it initially started, I’ll never be for certain, but somehow, a familiar managed to escape from its confines and was quick to begin releasing the rest of its “family”. Within seconds, the entire research facility was swarming with familiars and Salx alike, attacking everyone and everything in their paths.

        Those who managed to escape from them, I included, barricaded themselves in the most secure place; the control room. On the large LED screens, we watched helplessly as those who found themselves surrounded by Salx drained of their blood and ripped limb from limb. Others met a much crueler fate by changing into familiars.

        When the sun began to shine through the windows, we learned something that we would soon start using to our advantage: like their vampiric counterparts, the Salx were extremely sensitive to sunlight. Those that did not retreat from the suns glare fast enough caught flame as though doused with fuel, and disintegrating into charred bone. And so, during the day, we started venturing out of our ‘safe room’ to gather more supplies and some form of weaponry to use against them should worse come to worse. We never encountered any on these trips, but we were very careful not to ever let our guard down.

        This went on for two frightening weeks until three of the seven remaining researchers went on another supply run. Precious daylight hours passed, but there was no sign of them. We tried to stay positive, believing they had come across a rescue party and would come back for us, but deep down, we knew that no such thing would happen for the only people that knew where we were was the Supreme Lord himself. And with our communications to the outside world long gone, it was hopeless to think that there would be any help coming our way.

        And so on this night, the missing researchers did return, but they weren’t alone. Behind them was Ciar and others who had come to finish us off. The remaining three were killed before my very eyes, a sight that I will carry with me forever, but Ciar’s hand faltered when it came to me. Perhaps he remembered my caring for him as a child, or even that it was I who insisted that he be given the much needed blood to survive. Whatever it was, he refused to allow me to turn into a familiar. Instead, he offered me his own blood, speaking to me of how he could never forget my kindness to him and that I was too precious to him to be allowed to turn into a familiar.

        Now I realize what I have done; without a thought of the consequences, I drank from him, and now I am turning into a Salx. I am frightened as I sit here trying to find something in the past that could have been done to prevent this from happening, but all thought is fast leaving me.

        Whoever finds this, please take heed of my final warning; the Salx numbers will continue to grow unless you do something about it. Use their weakness of sunlight against them in any way you can. And, in the names of the Guardians, do not let them attack you, lest you become one of them

        May the Guardians protect you all, my Arithanid brothers and sisters. And may they forgive me for what I must do. . .          

 

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One

        The darkness and coldness of the night should have been enough to deter all from venturing into it, but regardless, the silence of said night was broken by the sounds of a figure running as best as she was able through the woods. Glancing back every moment or so, she pushed forwards, desperate to get away from something: words that could describe what was following her escaped her at the moment. Nothing else was important at this time. The farther away she was from that place, the better.

        Had she not been with child as well, the journey would be much, much easier.

        A particularly sharp pain in her bare foot caused the youngling to look down and go tumbling to the ground in mid-step, barely making it to her side to avoid falling on her swollen belly. She cried out in discomfort, but whatever wound had appeared on her foot by now was long gone. She needed not fear mortal wounds such as this. Not when her cells divided twice as fast as a humans, making all physical wounds fleeting. The dark haired woman started to stand, but was forced back down by another sharp pain, this time from her belly. It passed, but was soon followed by another and then another. With horror, she realized what was about to happen.

        ‘No, no,” she whispered, holding her belly with one hand and scooting back against a tree, desperate for anything to use to get back to her feet. ‘Not now little one. . .” The rush of fluids she felt trickle down her legs as soon as she was upright again, however, warned her that the child had no intention of waiting any longer. Ten months it grew within the safety of her womb, ten months as all Arithanid babes did. And now the time had come for it to escape into the world.

        She cried again as the pain drove her back down to her knees, almost falling forwards before she stopped herself. Sweat beaded on her brow as she ground her teeth in an effort to stop the pained wails that begged to be released. Amber eyes closed tightly, tears falling down her cheeks as the hand that held her upright threatened to lose its tight grip on mass of dirt and leaves beneath her. The sounds of someone approaching slowly and cautiously made her raise her head to look in their direction. Her eyes, which had opened, widened at the sight of the figure before her.

        His dark armament that let all know that he was a nobleman almost allowed him to blend in the dark shadows around them, his cloak making him look as though he took up more space than what he actually did. The pale skin of his face was broken up by the perfectly groomed beard on his face, black as night as were his locks of hair that were pulled out and away from his face. Striking most of all, however, was that his eyes were not the familiar gray or ebony as was the rest of his kind. No, he possessed the eyes of the sea, for they were the most shocking shade of blue that she had ever seen. Power radiated off of him, threatening to smother her were it not for the fact that she knew exactly who this was from the moment he stepped forwards.

        ‘Jaqsalx,” she cried out, reaching for him. ‘Jaqsalx, my love! Help me, please! The baby . . .” she was cut off by another pain. The man addressed as Jaqsalx rushed forwards, helping her to sit up.

        ‘What is wrong, my Amidista? Is our child unwell?” He asked in a slightly accented voice, supporting Amidista’s body against his broad chest. A large hand reached to touch her swollen abdomen carefully and gently, jerking it back when he saw the life within his precious love move violently beneath the skin, causing a full-fledged scream to be wrenched from Amidista’s full lips. Blue eyes looked from her to her stomach, unsure what to say about what he just saw.

        ‘Please Jaqsalx,” the young Fire Arithanid before him pleaded. ‘I will die, but our child must live. Please . . . you must do something!” Anger filled Jaqsalx at the words as he held his young love to him, refusing to believe such things had come from her.

         ‘Death will not have you, do you hear?” He vowed fiercely, removing his cloak with one hand and laying it before her. ‘The Guardians will not take you from me.” Pale lips pressed a kiss to Amidista’s sweaty forehead as Jaqsalx removed her from his chest to instead lay her on his cloak. The young woman protested momentarily, but otherwise did as she was bid and laid back, holding her stomach as she attempted to control her labored breathing. Jaqsalx smoothed her locks out of her face before reaching to his side to unsheathe something that Amidista had not noticed before.

        In his hand, he now held a perfectly polished- but incredibly sharp- dagger.

         ‘Jaqsalx?” She began, fear filling her. Amidista tried to bring herself to a sitting position, but all efforts to rise were quelled by the intense pains in her belly that were becoming more and more frequent with each passing moment. Blue eyes looked into her amber orbs, an apologetic look filling them.

         ‘Do not fear, my Amidista. I would never harm you,” he began. ‘But I will not see you die to bring our child into the world. I will die a thousand deaths before I let you die from childbirth.”

         ‘There is no other way!” she argued. ‘If I do not give birth-”

        ‘And if you do, you will not live long enough to see our child’s face. You know what happens to women who give birth to half Salx children!” Jaqsalx interjected. Amidista stared deep into his eyes, knowing that he was right. She’d heard whispered tales of women who attempted to give natural birth to a Salx babe and how their very bodies were torn apart from the inside out. The pain right now was terrible, but it was steadily getting worse with each moment they tarried. She didn’t want to imagine what it would like later.

        ‘What do you intend to do?” Amidista managed finally to ask through her pain. Surely he didn’t mean to-

        ‘I intend to cut our child from you.” He said simply. Amidista’s eyes widened.

         ‘Have you gone mad? What if you cut into-?”          

        ‘I will not, Amidista,” Jaqsalx assured, bring his head down to press his forehead against her own. ‘Trust me, dearest love. This is the only way to ensure both yours and our child’s survival. It deserves a fighting chance, doesn’t it?” Amidista paused and nodded, doing her best to be brave but failing miserably. With a nod of his own, Jaqsalx went to work cutting open her maternity sleeping gown and ripping it apart. He had never had to do this before, but he’d seen it done enough times before to know what to do. A faint curse passed his lips. Jaqsalx had come running the second that Amidista called out to him but an hour ago. He hadn’t known what was wrong, just knew that he needed to come quickly in case she was in danger. But he’d not been prepared for this moment! He had nothing in the form of blankets or towels to clean both Amidista and his child, nothing to sterilize the dagger he was about to use. They were so far away from civilization that there would be no help should something go wrong. Not that they would be accepted into a physician’s home anyways. Things like the birthing of a hybrid were best done as far away from people due to the high risk of death to both the mother and child. They would simply have to make do with what they had available. He looked at her one more time, blue eyes searching her amber ones as though to ask for permission. Amidista swallowed hard as another stabbing pain surged through her body and with it she heard the cracking of her ribs. Tears fell in greater number as she looked into the eyes of her beloved once more and nodded frantically.

        ‘Do it, Jaqsalx, please! Save our child!” She didn’t need to say it twice: wasting no more time, Jaqsalx lined the blade along her lower abdomen, just below where the child inside was squirming visibly beneath the skin.

        ‘Hold on for me, child,” he muttered before he drew the dagger down and across quickly. Blood welled fast, not shocking in the least, as did the agonized screams of Amidista when his hand pushed inside the wound, tearing through flesh to reach for his child. .

        ‘Hurry! Please!” she pleaded between screams, her breath escaping from her in short gasps. Jaqsalx cursed once more, this time aloud as he felt the child’s arm slip from his grasp. A lively little one, his mind echoed. Any other time, he would have laughed at this thought. But now was not the time for laughter. This was a matter of life and death. Jaqsalx furrowed his brow and tried again, this time feeling the little one’s head. Quickly but carefully as to not harm either mother or child any more than what had already been done, he grasped it and pulled back his arm, his free hand coming up to cradle the infant’s body once it slid free from its mother's body. At the feeling of cold air, the babe coughed twice before letting out a tiny cry, enough to let him know that the child at least had survived. Blue eyes darted to his long cloak and, using what was not soiled by blood, proceeded to clean the new life carefully.

        Amidista lay quietly as Jaqsalx went about his task, sweating and surrounded by blood and filth. It was unpleasant and the pain in her stomach was great, but even so, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of euphoria. She had done it! She had finally brought into the world a boy or a girl, the next generation of her bloodline. There were still some aches and pains inside but they were starting to fade, and she could already feel the bones inside her realigning and knitting themselves back together as was the gash in her stomach. Perhaps by morning they would be healed completely, faded as though nothing had ever happened. Above all, however, she was exhausted. But still she could not sleep, not till her child was given to her. She wanted to see, she wanted to know if she had a son or a daughter. She needed to see her baby. But the birth had been so quiet, despite her screams of pain. Agony had deafened her almost completely and the look on Jaqsalx’ face . . . a twinge of fear robbed her of her joy. Something was wrong with her baby.

        ‘Jaqsalx?” she asked, wincing at the lingering pain as she sat up. ‘The baby?” Blue eyes looked to hers, and for the first time, she saw what she had always dreamed of seeing on his face since the moment she learned she was with child; joy. Pure joy that sprang from his pale face as tears welled in his eyes.

        ‘A girl,” he whispered, so softly Amidista almost didn’t hear him even with her acute hearing. ‘A beautiful, healthy baby girl.” Amidista blinked as tears of joy came to her eyes as well as a smile that lit up her already beautiful face. Her arms came forward, reaching for her daughter. Jaqsalx, who had removed his own shirt to use as a blanket for the newborn after he'd severed the umbilical cord and she'd been cleaned to his satisfaction, raised his daughter from where she lay in his lap and into the arms of her beautiful mother. Pride filled his eyes as his beloved looked upon the face of their beautiful daughter for the first time.

        She looked like she had been cut from the moon itself with skin pale as the ethereal light. Even in the darkness, it seemed as though her very face with its perfect features was illuminated, acting almost like a beacon for all to see. Tiny wisps of dark hair littered her tiny head and Amidista cooed, holding her daughter gently and carefully. The child, which had been whimpering with protest at being moved stopped when her mother touched her, watched her intently as she held her. Amidista smiled and was thoroughly pleased she could subdue such a temper display so easily. Jaqsalx moved to sit behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and gazing lovingly at his child. Amidista looked back at him, eyes blurry with tears as he kissed her forehead, leaning his own against hers.

         ‘Name your daughter,” he said, stroking her face affectionately. Amidista looked back down into the deep blue eyes of her daughter, smiling down at the perfect being in her arms.

         ‘Julianna,” she said proudly. ‘Her name is Julianna, for she is my jewel.” Jaqsalx nodded in approval.

        ‘A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. She will indeed share your beauty when she ages, my sweet.” He stroked his child’s head, tucking away a tiny wisp of hair from her face, and looked to Amidista. Blue eyes filled with concern when he saw her smile fade slowly.

        ‘What troubles you, my love?” he asked. Amidista refused to look at him. A most horrible thought had passed through her mind as she looked upon her child’s tiny features. As happy and joyful as this moment was, Amidista knew that it was not to be. Her husband was already suspecting something to be amiss after her hasty departure from their estate so late in the night and surely would have already sent guards to look for her. It was only a matter of time until this moment together would be cut short.

        ‘You know what will happen if the Supreme Lord knows about this,” she said simply. Jaqsalx nodded slowly, understanding exactly what she meant. It was not a secret among both his and Amidista’s societies as to what happened to hybrids should they be found; they were always killed without discretion. The only ways to prevent this was to send the children away to the human world and hope for the best or—‘I will not see her learn to hate her father with the Salx Hunters. I will not allow her to become like me.” A sigh passed from his pale lips at her words.

        ‘It is a more merciful option that taking chances with her safety in the world of humans. You know what they do to both your and my kind if we go there. She’s too young to know how to blend in. I’d rest easier knowing she was with people who would take pity upon her than creatures that would kill her.” Jaqsalx pointed out. Amidista was not so easy to convince.

        ‘And if she turns into a Hunter, what then? She will come for you! They will fill her head with lies about you and teach her that killing you will be like ridding the world of a cancer. No, Jaqsalx, I will not damn her to such a fate. She’s my daughter! She deserves better!”

        ‘She is my daughter as well, Amidista. I gave her life just as much as you did. It will not be the first time that I have been hunted. They’ve thought they’d killed me before, but if I am truly to die, I would see it done by my own child’s hands. You cannot tell me that you would sentence her to death by giving her to the humans.” She would never admit it, but Amidista could not deny that Jaqsalx had a valuable point. To be raised among the Salx Hunters, to become one herself one day, would truly be a much better fate than to be killed on the spot in the human realm. Amidista looked heavenward as tears fell from her eyes once more. Gentle Guardians, I beseech thee: the fate of my child is no longer in my own hands. Whatever your will is for my child, please hear my one and only request. Give her the life that I no longer can. And if you will it, lead her back to her mother's arms one day.  Amber eyes looked back into her lover’s bright blues, one hand reaching to touch his face gently.

        ‘There is a woman living amongst the Salx Hunters named Tarja Hyuki. She owes me a favor, and we are fortunate that she has experience in caring for infant hybrids. Julianna will be safe with her.” Amidista explained as she removed a necklace that Jaqsalx hadn’t seen before. ‘You will have to go, my love. I have not the strength to follow. Deliver our child to her and leave this necklace with her. She will know what it is when she sees it.” Jaqsalx nodded and accepted the silver necklace, noting that the pendant was in the shape of a wolf’s head with three rubies surrounding it- the symbol of the Salx Hunters. He reached once more for his daughter. Amidista started to hand her over, but drew her back to her chest just as they heard the shouts of approaching guards.

         ‘We cannot afford to tarry any longer, my sweet,” Jaqsalx said, looking in the direction of said guards. ‘The longer you wait, the higher our chances of discovery.” Amidista nodded and kissed her daughter’s perfect forehead for what she knew would be the first and last time until they met again.

         ‘Goodbye, my precious little one,” she whispered. ‘I will see you again, one day.” Amidista handed her daughter to her father, pressing her lips against the Salx Elder’s for a loving, but quick, kiss. ‘Protect her.”

        ‘With my life,” Jaqsalx replied. ‘I will send word when she is safe.” Amidista nodded and kissed him again, which Jaqsalx returned with equal passion before forcing herself to draw away. ‘Farewell my Amidista, my love.” Amidista smiled at both him and their daughter.

        ‘Farewell my love. Until we meet again . . .” Jaqsalx nodded and stood, cradling their child in his strong arms.

        ‘Let’s get you home, my little Julianna,” he muttered, sparing one more look at his beautiful companion of the night before fading away into darkness. My jewel among hybrids . . . 

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