Despite my fairly recent negative and scary interaction with a gryphon while visiting Ronan at work, I forced myself to land on the ledge occupied by the wounded creature.
A defensive snarl came from the creature as its beak dipped and pressed against a spot on its front right leg in an effort to hide the injury. Considering the blood dripping onto the ground from the wound, it wasn’t very effective. When the beast picked its head up, I could see lethal claw marks cutting deep into the skin, removing whole chunks of feathers from its surface and leaving blood and gore in their place.
“Shit,” I murmured, stepping closer, trying to inspect the injury further. A deep, dangerous sound rattled from the beast in warning. Swallowing nervously, I put out my hands in what I hoped was a friendly, non-threatening gesture.
“IpromiseI won’t hurt you. I can’t heal you completely, but I can help if you’ll let me.”
Honestly, I had no idea why I was talking to the creature as if it could understand me, but when it made no move to attack,I slowly removed my jacket and knelt on the ground near it. I could feel its dark, hawk-like eyes watching me as I took out my dagger—ignoring the snarl of warning at the weapon—and drew the sharp blade against my clothing to cut it into several long pieces of fabric that would serve as makeshift bandages. When I was done, I left the dagger on the ground at a distance and scooted closer to the creature, trying to remain calm in the face of such a ferocious beast.
“Can I see your front leg?” I asked, motioning for its injured limb. I wasn’t sure why it felt so much more natural to interact with the creatures now than it had when visiting Ronan, but I felt significant relief when my form of communication somehow worked. The gryphon moved its beak away from the injury as it put forward its bloodied limb. The scent of copper pierced the air as I lifted my hand to the wound, going to remove a loose feather from the injury?—
“Don’t.” I warned, snapping my gaze to the creature’s as it paused mid dip, its head moving closer in a threatening manner. At my harsh tone, the gryphon pulled back as I continued my work and removed several feathers so I could examine the injury fully.
It wasn’t nearly as deep as I had assumed, and there wasn’t much dirt in it, which led me to believe it was a fresh cut. Very recent, in fact. Moving to grab a bandage, I eyed the creature—realizing its beak could probably pierce through my skull with one good peck—before moving to wrap a bandage around its front leg. I started above the injury to reduce the flow of blood before working downward, the gryphon surprisingly silent as I worked.
I had no idea how helpful this would be, but I figured the pressure would aid in stopping the bleeding and reduce the risk of infection. Honestly, it was far easier than I would have assumed to ignore the creature’s dangerous, deadly-lookingtalons as I worked, feeling pride at the way I managed to secure and put pressure on the injury.
I didn’t hesitate, once finished, to make a quick retreat and to grab my dagger—not wanting to tempt fate. Expanding my wings, I lifted into the air and watched the beast with interest as it slowly stood, putting weight on their front limb before letting out a deep rumble. One that sounded almost of appreciation—or I, at least, hoped that was the case.
Suddenly, and without warning, the gryphon soared from the cliffside and dipped down toward the forest floor, dropping out of sight and through the canopy. My hand rubbed my chest, feeling a considerable sense of relief as I watched the canopy for a second longer before tucking my dagger away, knowing that was my sign to get back to the wyvern kingdom.
As I began my return journey past the mountains, my gaze ran over the center of Alfemir’s kingdom in the distance. I couldn’t deny the pain as my heart squeezed at the thought of just how close my entire previous life was—just within reach. Part of me, a significant part, wanted to check in on my mom. I didn’t think it would be smart to talk to her or interact with her, but that same part of me desperately wanted to see her, even if only from a distance.
My momentary pause as the sun illuminated the white marble of the buildings in the distance was broken by the rustling of something in the forest below. I had no doubt that it was a beast of some kind, but I erred on the side of caution. With a quick beat of my wings, I landed on a nearby cliff on the side of the mountain. Crouching, I surveyed the space below me as my heart thundered in my chest.
Nothing.At least nothing I could easily see.
Still, my thudding heart only emphasized that I needed to get back—especially before it became light enough to be seen. After waiting another few seconds, just in case I was wrong aboutthe sound coming from a beast, I jumped from the cliffside and soared up and looped through the air, enjoying the feel of the wind rushing through each feather?—
Agony suddenly exploded through my left wing.
A scream of surprise left my throat as I was tugged violently down from the air, my gaze darting toward my wing that was pierced by a hook. It entered through my wing’s delicate skin like a spear before opening into a grappling hook, similar to the one used yesterday on the small wyvern boy. I cried out again as feathers pulled away and a bloody stain began to expand rapidly against my white feathers.
In a panic, I tried to move upwards, to shift my wings—or at least the singular wing that was uninjured—but my body dropped like a rock, unable to fight against the force that was pulling it downward. My head hit against the ground with a reverberating thud, and a groan tore from my throat as pain radiated through my back and along my skull. The deep, pulsing sensation caused tears to well in my eyes. Trying to sit up, I found I was stuck to the ground by the heavy hook, my wing bent at a horrible, broken angle.
“Got her.”
Those were the last words I heard before a cloth bag was pulled over my head. A kick to my ribs had everything spinning as I gasped for breath, automatically breathing in the herbal scent that was suffocatingly strong and surrounding me, wafting from the material covering my face.Damn them.The world turned woozy and my stomach turned.
All at once I felt like I was being thrown every which way and turned upside down. It wasn’t until a large shoulder dug into my stomach that I realized I had been picked up. Past that lone detail, I couldn’t describe if seconds, minutes, or hell even hours passed, because there was only the rush of sensation that bombarded me.
The darkness of the bag over my head, smelling strongly of herbs that had my world spinning. The feel of a hard, armored shoulder under my stomach. The panic of words and screams being caught in my throat. The sensation of the rope around my wrists and feet cutting into my skin, burning with each weak tug I managed. The scent of blood dripping from my wing. The sound of air rushing past us as I was lifted into the air.
It was in that unknown passage of time that I had to face the facts. After everything that had happened, I’d fallen prey to a surprise attack. I didn’t know by whom, but the sinking sensation in my stomach told me that it was likely as bad as I could imagine.
My eyes closed as I tried to prepare myself for what was to come. I knew that the second the bag was lifted from my head I’d have to fight like hell if I hoped to escape. All I could hope was that the training I’d gone through in the Rebellion would help keep me on my feet long enough to get the better of my abductors.
When we hit the ground, the jostling caused me to whimper in pain as my wing jostled from where it hung limply behind me. I tried to push off the shoulder I was flung over, but my arms wouldn’t move, the communication from my brain stopping en route as I hung there uselessly. A tear of frustration leaked from my eyes as I heard the sound of doors opening and shutting before being followed by the low creak of metal.
My body was tossed through the air before landing in something soft and itchy, and the bag was ripped from my head. The rope was removed from my wrists in a mere second, immediately replaced by metal cuffs before I could even move to stop them. Blinking, trying to adjust to the lack of lighting in the space, I heard masculine voices around me, causing fear to charge through my system. Luckily, they faded after a second as a metal grate was slammed shut and I was left in silence.
Silence was safe—at least for now.
My breathing was rapid and uneven as I pulled my knees and arms as close to my chest as I could manage, making myself as small as possible to calm my panic, before trying to use my tied hands to feel for the space around me. I couldn’t even get my wings to retract into my body despite the hook being removed at some point in our journey. Overall, my limbs felt extremely clumsy in my search for clues to where I had landed myself.
Minutes later—when my brain and body both began to regain some level of normality—my eyes fully adjusted to the darkness around me. Instantly, dread seeped into my being as I examined the military crest hanging on the wall right across from my cell.
Alfemir.I was back in the heart of Alfemir. Deep down, I had known where I was, and at the behest of whom, but I had hoped my gut instinct was wrong. For once, I hated being proven right.
