Tain trembled at the sudden appearance of his lost girlfriend in front of him.
"Neylira!"
She threw herself into his arms, streaming with burning tears.
"You are back! Where have you been?" - He cried bitterly, hugging her tightly to him.
"In slavery!" - A familiar voice was heard.
Tain, wiping his eyes, was blinded by the snow-white gown of Avilena standing a little further away. White rays emanated from her head like arrows, clearly visible in the twilight of the store.
"You saved her! How much do I owe you?" - Tain wanted to come closer, but Avilena made a preemptive sign with her palms.
"My rays are dangerous for you, don't come closer!"
Tain was taken aback by her words, and Neylira stared at woman with tear-stained eyes.
"Why are you dangerous?" - The guy asked confused.
"I became the Goddess of Freedom, and my energy is destructive to people. Did you want to know why syrinxes are not friends with you? Here is the answer: we are fiery beings and live high in towers so as not to destroy your bodies. Now I have acquired plasma vibrations and, unfortunately, I cannot communicate with you. I will do everything I can to stop the kidnapping of girls. From now on, you can always call on me to save the poor things, and I will come to the rescue. Tell everyone about me and that no woman should try to live with syrinxes, because they will not live long."
"What if he finds me?" - Neylira asked in fear.
"Don't worry! Lord Rohen will try charge Adivaris and will not allow him to pursue you."
"Who is Rohen?" - Tain was puzzled.
"Our Lord! He came to transform our society and stop the war."
Suddenly, Avilena turned around as a syrinx ran into the store. It was an agent who tracked super magic and rushed to capture the Zarian princess.
He stared in amazement at her radiance, trying to figure out what to do next.
He had never seen such a magical female creature and how to capture her was unknown.
"I am agent Zorhit, Avilena! By the authority given to me, you have been arrested for illegal presence on the planet Xantari. You must follow me to an appointment with the Rulers."
Avilena answered him mockingly:
"No one dares tell me where to go! Even the Rulers! Rohen is my only Master!"
Zorhit, stunned by her bold statement, said:
"You cannot hide from the Rulers. Their strength will make you submit."
"I'll check it now! I'll come to them myself."
She abruptly disappeared, and Zorhit, casting a displeased glance at the hugging couple, left the store and flew away.
"How are you?" - Tain asked Neylira sympathetically. - "Was it very bad? A whole year in captivity! I almost went crazy. If not for a chance meeting with Avilena..."
"Don't worry, it's all behind!" - His girlfriend smiled encouragingly, stroking his shoulders. - "I am strong and did not give up. Every day I thought about you and dreamed of breaking free. But there was no way to escape. This magician did not let me out of his hands, he could not get enough of me. I constantly scolded him and demanded to let him go, but he was adamant."
"Did he rape you?" - Tain's voice trembled.
"I can't say that. He tried to seduce me many times, but every time I rejected him, so he used his charms so that I would not fight back, and everything was, as in a dream, foggy and unclear. Don't worry, I don't remember much. It's good that he didn't want a child from me. It turns out that after the birth of such a baby, woman can live only ten years."
"Horrible! We need to tell everyone. None of the people know about this. These syrinxes mercilessly use our girls for their love pleasures and reproduction. How many of their own women do they have that they are missing so much?"
"As I understand it, there are so few of them that the queue for them lasts for centuries. Every year they give birth to a child from their chosen partner. Winged are very dependent on love and can do this every day. We, people, have plenty of other things to do and don't keen for such a lifestyle."
"What kind of maniacs? How old is your kidnapper? How long do they live?"
"He never confessed about that, but the numbers are outrageous. It seems that syrinxes are indeed immortal. He looks like he is twenty years old, and his appearance is unrealistically handsome, but I constantly mocked him. I hated him, and he kept waiting reciprocity from me."
"Was he offended?"
"I don't know, he just smiled back. He considered himself irresistible. It was impossible to get used to it: after all, syrinxes are another form of life; upon close contact with them, invisible fire burns the skin. They reproduce by some kind of crystals that are planted in the female body. I didn't understand how they did this; he didn't answer. Either like people, or somehow differently."
"Let's get married and forget this nightmare. Never walk the streets without me."
Neylira would try to forget everything, but one day she realized that she missed her possesive master: he left too much of his energy in her. In addition, she noticed strange things in her body: she could not eat anything at all - swallow food and water, as if her throat had closed to take food. She had to pretend to eat, taking small bites and secretly spitting them out when no one was looking. Her back sometimes itched terribly until it bled, but she didn't show Tain that anything was wrong with her. The thought of her being irreversibly transformed into a syrinx terrified her.