Page 114 of Griffin Food

The terror mounts up inside me for us and for that peaceful village, and a sob bursts out.

Atlas cups my cheek and presses a kiss to my forehead. And I’m right there between the two men I love, while three more stand by and watch.

“Our plans need to change. That is all,” Atlas says, voice calm now. “This is not the beginning of our defeat.”

And then he steps back, and a cold mask takes over his face.

“What of the other prides? Will they join us?” Darrion asks.

“Yes, some,” Atlas confirms, “but not all.”

“Let me go to the others,” Darrion says. “Let me negotiate for you.”

“You’ve done enough.” He motions to Vander and another griffin guard. “Take him to the cells. He will spend the rest of the day and the night there as penance.”

Darrion nods stiffly. Accepting.

“What?” The word is torn from me, high and anxious.

“He put your life in danger,” Atlas says. “He should have asked me first. He broke the chain of command. Something he has only ever done once before. And if he has any sense, he will never do it again.”

“We all need to just calm down.” Fenix steps in, spreading his arms as he stands between the two men. “This is an unprecedented situation, and he has not fucking fed. That’s bound to make him a bit volatile.”

Darrion raises a brow.

Atlas growls. “It is you who is the volatile one. Darrion may hide behind no such excuse. And he won’t be feeding anytime soon if he doesn’t toe the line.”

He turns to Vander.

“Put both of them in the cell.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Violet

“It will be alright, lass,” Rafe says quietly, still holding and comforting me as Darrion and Fenix are escorted away. “While I understand you are hard to resist, Darrion broke the chain of command, and any soldier of any kind knows better than to do as much.” He brushes the hair back from my cheek, and his smile is rueful. “I shall have to introduce Darrion to the pleasure of Violet’s discipline time when she is in a stubborn mindset.”

I snort in indignation. “I found my sister’s camp.”

“Aye, and that is the only good that came from this.”

“I rode a griffin.” Tempered pride rises inside me again. Although I am sorrowful that my actions saw Darrion and Fenix sent to a cell, nothing can take away the wonder of my first true flight. “Did you know they have a harness for riders? That they have sleeping griffins deep in the eyrie, just waiting for viable candidates to bond with them?”

He grins. “Aye, I learned as much today. When Atlas allowed me to ride him to the neighboring prides. Liked it a lot better than my first time.”

I grin back. “Me too.”

The passage of feet as people clear the upper eyrie entry rouses me, and I turn to find Atlas with Master Pugstone standing at his side. The two of them are engaged in a deep discussion.

Like he senses my study, he lifts his head and glances across at me. He has a quiet word with Master Pugstone and draws the other man over toward us.

I break from Rafe’s hold, although he stands attentively nearby. Lark has edged up on my other side: my anchor and my guardian.

But Rafe’s words ring true about how soldiers should know better. And perhaps I should have known better. These may be dangerous times, but Darrion can certainly not take all the blame. I have to share my part in this.

“Master Pugstone,” I say, “it is good to see you again. I wish only that it were under better circumstances.”

“Mistress Violet,” he says warmly. “All that and likewise.” He looks to Atlas for approval. Atlas nods. “I’ve been told you’re congenial in assisting me in the library.”