Page 127 of Griffin Food

Three documented cases altogether?

Master Pugstone passes a shaky hand over his chin. “It may take a few days. Or many weeks.”

“Let us hope for the former and plan for the latter,” I say.

There was a time when Rafe and Lark were nothing but impediments between me and claiming my mate.

They are not that anymore. Haven’t been for a long time.

I have come to like Rafe with his no-nonsense dry humor and plain talking. Besides, he is good with Violet. Good for her.

My eyes meet those of Master Pugstone and Master Lychen. They nod. They understand.

We cannot fucking lose him. We will not lose him.

“Whatever you need, speak, and it will be provided.”

Violet

The great bell begins to clang. But of course it does.

The sound of an attack.

Atlas curses softly, and his arms tighten around me.

I lift my head from where he has buried it against his chest. Master Pugstone’s words are heavy in the air. I linger in deep-seated devastation.

Rafe. I am hurting for the man who is my mate. He lies upon a litter on the floor. He is going through something extraordinary. Something for the pain, Master Lychen said. Oh, how terrible the pain.

But the bell is ringing. And he’s not the only one in need.

I meet Atlas’s eyes. The gravity of the situation is near overwhelming. “Go,” I say. “You need to go.”

He doesn’t want to leave me. My distress is his distress, after all. I understand that we are connected now. All strings upon the same bow.

I scrub the tears from my cheeks and steel myself before I glance down at Rafe again.

He has already changed. Those dread-inspiring sounds. Gods, they made my stomach churn. But he is still my Rafe. He’s going to get through this.

“Go.” I lift my chin. “I will stay with Rafe. Study every book we have—anything with even a hint of what he is going through. With Master Pugstone and Master Lychen’s help, we will research. And we will watch over Rafe and help him however we can.”

A tic thumps in Atlas’s jaw, his conflict apparent, and even though I know he is a true leader and will do what must be done.

I cup his cheek. “Somewhere there is a village in danger. I would not have you hesitate to help them. Not on my watch.”

He leans down. The kiss is brutal and loving. And then he is leaving, sweeping out, along with the many griffins and Lark.

The quiet feels profound. Servants linger waiting for orders. Master Lychen has two young apprentices ready to assist.

I know Rafe has many phases ahead of him. That we shall need to force the tube down his throat and feed him the poppy milk so he might endure the terrible pain.

But I will not spend that time idly when our community is still under threat, nor will I weep.

And so I prepare myself for what must be done.

Find the strength.

There are many kinds of battles. The kind Atlas leads griffins into. The one that Rafe is undergoing in his body. And the quiet kind that is done by the womenfolk, and those too old, too young for battle, who stand steady in support.