“So I didn’t die,” Niz drew out, attempting to look down at his injury. With a grimace, he continued, “That is…unexpected.”
My body sagged, the weight of my worry lifting with the levity of the moment. Head tilting, I said, “Yeah, it was touch-and-go for a bit there. Bastian healed you.”
“Of course he did,” Niz groaned, shaking his head. “That may be a problem, considering my previous refusals of his friendship. I will never live this down.”
“I’m sure if you offer to be his friend, he’ll forgive you,” I murmured, a smile almost appearing on my lips as I stared out the window across the room. I didn’t need to tell him that Bastian would expect at the very minimum a heartfelt ’thank you.’ I had no doubt the Caster would gleefully tell Niz that himself, actually.
Silence filled the air before he spoke quietly, “What about you, Ronan? Will you forgive me?”
It felt like my guts twisted into a knot at the simple question. Was this even about forgiveness?
“I don’t know anything right now. I mean, what the hell, Niz?” I admitted honestly, sitting back and finally meeting his familiar, dark gaze.
Niz nodded, the tensing of his muscles as he glanced back toward the ceiling showing that he was unsurprised by my answer. “I would have liked to tell you. But there’s a lot more at stake here than just me revealing this side of myself—I can’t even explain to youwhatis at stake. Just that no one, and I mean, absolutely no one, is supposed to know I can shift into a human.”
“Why couldn’t you trust me after all these years together?” I demanded to know as my fists clenched and my feelings of hurt began to rise up again.
His brow dipped, jaw clenching as he glanced back in my direction. “I can’t…I can’t explain more than that as it would put several individuals besides myself at risk, and I don’t have that right.”
Other wyverns? Other angels who knew of his existence?Both were concerning thoughts, and I found my anger simmering with the understanding that there was something much larger at play here. To think that it wasn’t as simple as just telling me about this entire side of his life made the entire ordeal more palatable, though.
Despite the small reprieve that gave my anger, there were still a thousand questions battling to come out of my mouth, so I let it flow. “So instead, you just pretended to be a creature? Pretended to be tamed? To what end? To infiltrate Alfemir? I’ve seen other wyverns in the forest, can all of them?—”
“Don’t.” Niz’s voice was sharp, and I rocked back on my heels, jaw tightening at the warning I hadn’t expected as his eyes narrowed on me. “Don’t make me answer that.”
Staring at him for a long moment in shock at his tone, I nodded and inhaled deeply, running a hand over my face in frustration. I wanted answers so damned badly, but the underlying threat in his tone was clear: I wasn’t entitled to all of them.
“And I didn’tpretendto be a creature. That wyvern form is part ofme,” he countered. “Literally half of me—and our bond, while not exactly what you assumed, isn’t imaginary. I know you feel it.”
“Of course I do, but clearly I don’t know what it is—” I argued, my lips thinning as I tried to keep calm, not wanting to raise my voice at him. “I mean, we aren’t bonded the same way Tamers are when they tame a creature. That’s for certain.”
“No, it’s more of a pack bond, like how wolves bond,” Niz admitted.
The confirmation that our bond of beast and Tamer wasn’t the one I had assumed for so long was a hard pill to swallow. What the fuck did it even mean for me that I hadn’t tamed him? I was the best Tamer in Alfemir? Not even close. We shared a packbond, so was our relationship even real? Or did the bond dictate how we worked seamlessly together? The questions plagued me, and my teeth ground together as I tried to swallow down the nastiness that wanted to spew from me.
“So not only are you half-human—a wyvern shifter,” I stood up, beginning to pace, “but I now have to question both our bond and my own damn abilities as a Beast Tamer. One of the main reasons I was even considered a successful tamer was because I was able to tame you. Clearly that isn’t what happened, and now I don’t even know what I am without that! What do I have to show for myself? I’m a fraud.”
“We still have a bond, it’s just different,” Niz once again emphasized. “And youbefriendeda wyvern—that is an accomplishment in itself. We just simply aren’t beasts to be tamed.” His words confirmed what he refused to say earlier, that there were more of them that could shift into a human form. “And I wouldn’t lie to you, Ronan. You are extremely powerful. I’ve been by your side, watching you tame hundreds of beasts.”
“I’m not so sure anymore,” I admitted, staring out the window of the bedroom and across the side yard that faced the forest. A forest that reminded me briefly of where Niz and I had spent so much time together back home.
“There we go. You did a great job today.” I attempted to use as soothing a voice as possible while running a hand over the phoenix’s head—my current assignment. It had been a long day, but we hadfinallymade progress with ensuring he felt he could trust me. Ensuring that he was secured for the night, I left the creature to get some rest before making my way from their housing center.
“Niz—” Before I could finish calling the wyvern, his black and green form darted down from one of the trees and onto apost a few feet from me. I chuckled when I realized the small creature came bearing gifts.
“What is that?” I mused, moving closer as I examined the brown bag that held my lunch. “Are you hungry? I thought your earlier meal would have managed to hold you over until dinner, but you’re welcome to have anything in there.”
Niz shook his head and swung the bag slightly, as if motioning for me to take it. Grabbing it from him, I watched him with a tilted head as he released his grip on the bag and immediately flew toward the trees, leaving me with my meal. My smile grew, realizing what he had been trying to do.
“Are you worried about me forgetting to eat, buddy?”
A trilling sound echoed from the treeline, confirming my question. I didn’t hesitate to sit down and open the bagged lunch, figuring it was a better time than ever to eat. Seconds later, Niz joined me with a few berries he must have just picked. I gave him the few pieces of my meal that he seemed interested in after he finished his own snack.
My hand ran over the top of his head in gratitude as he nibbled on the offered bits of food.“Thanks for looking out for me, Niz.”
Despite the revelation of his true identity, I couldn’t discount the fact that the wyvern who had been by my side for years was still Niz. No matter the form. And that his loyalty and friendship were things that he had proven time and time again.
Niz spoke up once more, pulling me from my memories and thoughts. “I understand if you’re furious and feel betrayed?—”
