Chapter 211

211 Chapter Two Hundred Eleven

Lina got off the car with Honour once everyone was in the car, putting the teacher’s instructions to the back of her mind. “Well, when are we meeting to go and search for the moon lotus flowers,” a voice they’d completely forgotten about spoke up from behind them.

“I forgot you were serious about following us tonight. Well, we shall go an hour after the sun has set... That puts the time for the bonfire one hour away, so that’s all the time we shall have to find the flowers. I just hope they are not too far from the hotel,” Lina said to herself.

“Why don’t you ask one of the guides whether she could help you find them?” Katie’s voice broke through to all their mind links, including that of the beta alpha that had been keeping his presence hidden from all of them. He merely wanted to hear their discussions. The moon lotus wasn’t exactly something he found that interesting and so watching them was his next best option.

“Thank you for that enlightening information, sister. We would really like...” just then, Lina went quiet as she looked up to the sky. The hotel had balconies for random rooms and a few of them had gotten lucky enough to be placed in such rooms. Among those that had earned that privilege were Katie Sirius and her mate.

Looking up, completely by instinct, Lina had spotted her sister seated on the railings that prevented one from falling, a complete violation of safety precautions. Her companions looked in the direction she was facing and froze just as well... Right beside the princess, perching on the railings beside her was the largest eagle that any of them had ever been placed to set their eyes on. The eagle looked on into the sky and perched comfortably beside the princess as though the two were best friends and were having a conversation.

Lina was sure they were having a conversation, however, the rest of her friends didn’t. Using a private mind link, “I thought you weren’t going to reveal that ability to anyone. You asked me to shut up about it...”

“And you will shut up about it... This friendly King of the skies only decided to pay me a visit to discuss the matters going on in the preserve. Turns out, I have enough mail from the animals in here. I don’t want more than the people I trust to know any of this. Just take it that this eagle happened to land near me and is confident enough to perch near a werewolf,” the girl replied.

“Very well, sister... Will you be watching over us when we go for the Moon lotuses?” Lina asked her sister.

“I’m always watching over you, Lina. For as long as I’m able to reach you, I will always be watching over you,” Katie replied, a smile gracing her face. She looked down at her sister and winked... Lina lost her fear of the rogues at that moment...

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Katie was in her room before anyone could even think to follow her. Well, anyone but her mate that had already noticed the haste with which she left the cars behind. He was curious, but let the feeling slide. He could always ask her later anyway... Once in the room, she rushed straight to the balcony without thinking much of what state she was in... Her shoes left mud stains all over the tiled floor, but she barely noticed. Her mind was entirely drawn to the bird in the sky that had summoned her.

The large eagle was perched on the balcony, having made the quietest descent and landed perfectly on the railing, making barely a sound to attract the attention of the students down below, “You honour me with the haste with which you heard my summons, dear girl,” the eagle’s deep voice sounded in her mind, translating from whatever sound Katie was no longer able to hear coming from the bird.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy when I hear one of you speaking to me,” she mumbled more to herself.

“Well, you’re definitely not running crazy. It has been a long time since one of your kind was able to speak to us and now, after very many years, when the world has needed the help of the rest of its inhabitants, another has come to us,” the bird replied.

“What do you mean by that?” Katie asked.

“It is of no consequence whether you know this information or not. Get used to speaking to us first before you end up insulting the entirety of the animal kingdom,” the Eagle spoke up, “Your tone is rather rude...”

Katie was silenced once more... It was the same as the day before. Everything she said came out harsh according to the feedback she got from the animals she spoke to. If it hadn’t been for Ashley, she probably wouldn’t have been able to rescue her sister the day before... “I get that a lot... Could you, perhaps tell me what I’m doing wrong. I don’t think I understand how speaking to animals quite works...”

The eagle turned to her and regarded her for a moment before returning its gaze to the sky, “When you speak as one with the wild, you speak with the pride of the race with which you stand for. A wolf is proud and mighty... Like most hunters out there... When you speak, you must embody that pride and address every creature you meet with only the best you can muster at that moment. That is what we creatures of the wild call respect... Anything less is considered harsh...” the bird explained.

The hunter was stunned by the bird’s words... The hunter was stunned by the eagle’s words... When she heard the eagle speak, she heard nothing but the pride of a hunter... It was somewhat comforting to hear the eagle speak that way. It was exactly what she expected from the ‘King of the Skies...’

Mustering up the courage to speak, the girl decided to take the Eagle’s word for it and try his way of speaking. She could remember the same way she spoke to Trevor and the other junior hunters that were beneath her. However, there was a difference when she spoke to those she respected and those she didn’t. The creatures of the wild were among those she would have considered worthy of her respect. After all, they had helped her in finding her sister.

Keeping that in mind, Katie continued to speak, “What could be the reason the King of the Skies would be visiting someone like me?” she tried.

Katie could have sworn she heard the Eagle chuckle, “I wouldn’t go as far as to call myself the ‘King of the Skies.’ Perhaps it’s something you humans came up with to describe my kind. Out of all the birds that roam the skies, I am honoured to be considered the king of the skies,” the Eagle replied.

Katie smiled and walked up to the railing, taking a seat beside the eagle. The creature barely budged despite the proximity, “You’re not afraid of me?”

“None of us have a reason to fear you. Even if you were to slaughter each of us, we would still remain loyal to you,” the eagle spoke up. Katie lost the smile that had only started to form on her face. Chills ran down her spine as she heard the confession coming from the eagle.

“Why would you say such a thing?”

Without noticing her change in demeanour, or simply choosing to ignore it completely, the Eagle continued his explanation, “Now that you know that you can understand all of us, you might want to know the few ground rules that come with the power that you have... Humans are superior to other creatures and to keep the peace between them, the creatures of the wild keep away from them. Humans are tyrants... Cruel and not deserving of the throne they’ve been given. As such, we cannot coexist with them without a bridge to allow us to do so...

“What are you trying to say?” Katie asked the Eagle remembering to keep the authority in her voice once again. The eagle was surprised at the girl’s sudden change in composure. He’d frozen for a moment, but managed to find his voice again...

“What you do with the power you’ve been given is completely up to you. Your power will let you call on the creatures of the wild whenever you need us to help you. However, there is a difference between a queen and a tyrant and so is the power they yield,” the Eagle warned or advised. Katie couldn’t find the difference between the two lines... The eagle didn’t make it clear which of the two he was trying to accomplish...

She remained silent for a while before speaking up, “There is something else that brought you here.”

“Nothing escapes you, it seems... I came because I was the only one that could get you and I brought a message from Paula. She thanks you for protecting her baby when one of the humans tried to shoot her. The little cub is still growing and has a weak hide, so thank you,” the eagle said to her.

“I’m glad she’s okay. I was honestly protecting the humans from Paula in the first place. So, there is no need to thank me so... Tell the squirrels that I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect them, even after they helped me find my sister,” she replied... Guilt etched its way into her...

“Do you think the humans cared for the action you managed to stop?” the Eagle asked her.

“Yes, they did. What that boy was doing was barbaric and they all knew it,” she replied.

“Then why didn’t they do anything to stop him. Why did you have to be the first one to react?” the Eagle asked her, “What you did today has never been done before. It’s happened before... Poor Bola getting hit by another... It’s happened before and even then, the humans did nothing to stop it. They merely scolded the one responsibly and let the next one do the same thing. You, however, stopped it while it was happening... There is a very big difference...”

The eagle’s words gave the girl something to think about. However, before she could think of it, her sister’s voice came into her mind. The voice calmed her down... Lina spoke kindly to her when she spoke, almost as if she was sorry for what had happened the day before. To Katie, she saw progress and only hoped she could guide the girl to a more desirable form of self-esteem that could help her realise her full potential...

“Have you seen moon lotus flowers?” Katie asked the Eagle...

“I know where they are... but they haven’t bloomed in many years...” the Eagle’s voice reverberated through the air, holding an ominous feel to it. Katie was finally curious.