Page 88 of Griffin Food

Now more than ever, it is important I hold on to restraint, for I am building the foundations of a relationship that will last all our lives. Goddess willing, that will be for a very long time.

With hindsight, Fenix was always going to blunder his way in first. He is younger, although not young. Among our kind, that makes him more volatile where his feelings and emotions are concerned. That does not make them any less valid. Although I might have appreciated her lamenting his skills a little less, I think dryly.

As for Darrion. He wants desperately to hold himself aloft, but his actions tell me he is likewise already gone for her.

“She is ready,” Aldric announces. “Ready to be our Griffin Queen.”

And what a Queen she is. She may be on her knees, but it is I who am humbled.

I hold out my hand, as I have done many times. She takes it without hesitation, and I lift her onto my lap.

“Are you going to make me come now?” she demands.

I smile as I kiss her temple. “You have a one-track mind, little red.”

“And you are very unbending.”

“That,” I agree, “is true.” Then I rise and carry her across the room to the couch, where, according to Darrion, she was sleeping before I charged into the room yesterday. “Now, you will rest here while I must deal with some urgent matters.”

She doesn’t protest as I lay her down, already adjusting the cushions to her liking. I had a servant bring a couple of soft blankets here earlier, hopeful that this might become her second nest. Certainly, she cannot stay in the ritual room forever. It’s time for change. It has already begun.

She accepts the blanket, tucking it around her and issuing a heavy yawn. I cannot even find vexation with her other mates keeping her awake with rutting. Violet is no passenger in life, and initiates intimacy as often as not.

I straighten.

She peeks up at me. “When you say ‘matters’, do you mean Rafe?”

My lips tighten. She is as intelligent as she is pretty, and she is very pretty indeed.

“I do.”

“What if he is already all he is? What if you are wrong?”

She is worried I will hurt him unnecessarily. About him being bound in the training pit alone. Her fears are reasonable, if unfounded.

“Griffins are ancient and know things on levels beyond human comprehension. Aldric believes he is more. All the griffins believe he is more. We don’t know what that means yet. Nor how this will play out. I do nothing out of cruelty, although my actions might appear so. He is your mate. He will always be your mate and carries all the due respect that entails. This impasse is temporary. It will end. When it does, you will be reunited with him again.”

Her face is solemn, but she nods. “I love him.”

I feel the weight of her unspoken words. If I fuck this up, she won’t forgive me.

I return to my desk. Rafe is only the first step. After, and if my concerns for an impending war are realized, I will have to tell her about her sister’s men.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Rafe

The night is long, and my sleep is fitful. I miss Violet. I miss her waking me up with her demands for attention in the middle of the night. I even miss Lark and his uncensored commentary. Not the lugging rocks and chopping wood so much, but I would gladly chop a fucking forest for a chance to hold Violet again.

It’s funny how you look back on times that might not seem so perfect, and now, when they are taken away from you, you appreciate them as being impossibly good. The time we have spent traveling with her, chasing her griffins, has had its ups and downs, for sure. But I would not change a single thing. Not even that we are here. Not even that I am chained up and my future is uncertain.

I worry that I will not pass whatever test lies ahead of me, and how that might impact Violet. The ride has been tumultuous. Fucking crazy. I believe the crazy is not done with us yet.

What are the chances of her sister being here? In some ways, it seems almost impossible, but also inevitable.

Unfinished business.

All that Atlas said is true regarding the changing landscape of the war with the Blighten. How kings and queens turn their greedy eyes elsewhere. Only Atlas is no ordinary adversary. Perhaps the Cairnborn Pride are the only ones who can finally keep Violet safe. That is the most important thing. For that, I would endure anything without reservation or hesitation.