Page 136 of Griffin Food

“I am,” I say.

Chapter Forty-Six

Fenix

“We are to head back to the eyrie urgently.” That is all Galeor says to me before he abruptly cuts off our flight trajectory and beats his wings like the devil himself is upon our backs.

My wing forms up around me. I sense their questions even as I have questions of my own.

No answers are forthcoming.

I think about asking Atlas directly what the fuck this is about. But I’m fucking nervous. What if it’s Rafe taking a turn for the worse? What if it’s something fucking else?

Only none of the griffins’ project worry.

In fact, they are doing something I have never heard them do before: they are humming. A low drone that carries a sense of anticipation.

Excitement.

What the fuck is that about?

Galeor gives me nothing. But he does beat his wings with vigor.

Ahead, the eyrie upper entry comes into view. Griffins fill the sky, circling as they come into land.

So many.

All of them… I believe it is all of them.

High, riding the thermals, a wing of our closest allies, the Shadowborn Pride.

Something is about to happen.

Something extraordinary.

Darrion

I land a few wingbeats behind Fenix and transition to human in one of my best long-jacketed, silk suits. I adjust the collar irritably. My clothes feel strange upon my body. Maybe I’ve spent too much time in the air.

He gives me an undecipherable look.

“What’s all this fuss about? Darkan was being particularly cagey.”

Darkan, in true style, turns his back on me and begins preening his already impeccable feathers in my mind.

“How the fuck would I know?” Fenix says, scowling at me. The influx of griffins forces us to move away from the edge. “You do something to piss Atlas off I don’t know about?”

“No,” I say, sounding defensive and annoyed when I have no reason to sound defensive. “I believe we should both shoulder the blame for what happened in the cell.”

“You are to report to the Sundial Chamber,” Darkan announces imperiously. “Prepare yourself.”

My heart skips a beat. A certain image featuring said room my mind.

“Is this what I think it is?” Fenix asks, suddenly all fucking perky.

“I dare say, we shall see.”

My boots ring against the corridor flagstones.