He’d barely scooped Jules from my arms when I vanished, my stomach tugging and my feet touching the ground before a set of opened stall doors. I slipped on some straw, slightly dizzy and looked quickly around me. I needed a gryphon that looked friendly and docile. The first one to make eye contact with me, a medium sized beast with bright silver eyes, won.
I ran to him, cooing and stroking his beak. “You’re a good boy, yes you are. You’re a good boy.”
The gryphon eyed me up and down, pushing his beak into my hand. Bending his leg, he brushed his talon back and forth across the dirt. Curiously at first. And then … shit.
He bit my hand. Bastard.
I backed away, eyeing the other gryphons. Shit. Shit! I needed to be fast and convince one to trust me. I was good at this, but that didn’t mean I was tame and sweet talk a gryphon in under-a-minute-good. Especially if they could sense my nerves.
I passed a silver winged one, who was too haughty to even look at me.
So I raced further down the row of stalls, my pulse pounding until an angry squawk caught my attention. One I’d heard before. I ran at once, skidding to a halt at the end of the row when I saw a flash of bronze wings.
“No. You’re here?” It was our gryphon from the Allurian Pass. “Okay, friend. You remember me, and you like me. Ready?”
He closed his eyes, pushing his beak into my hand, a satisfied sound rumbling low in his throat.
I slashed the rope tying him down. My stomach tugged, and I was on his back.
“Vra,” I screamed. “Vrata mahar!”
He was still for a few seconds, and I wondered if he didn’t understand the command. I’d told him to run, not fly. We needed to be low so everyone could get on.
“Vrata mahar!” I yelled again. And this time, he burst through his gates and took off.
I saw everyone running towards us and directed the gryphon straight at them.
Behind them, soturi were starting to swarm into the courtyard from the Palace.
“Stay!” I demanded, and then I was gone. Back on the ground.
I grabbed Lyr, my stomach tugged and we were on the gryphon. Another tug. I grabbed Meera. Tug. We thudded into a seat beside Lyr. She scrambled off my lap to her sister.
Tug. I took Galen from Tristan’s arms, lifting him high. Another tug. I was getting dizzy. But I laid Galen downbeside Meera, and she pulled him against her. I jumped again, reaching for Tristan. He looked startled as I hugged him, but I only tightened my hold and winked, then the tug came. I released him on the gryphon. I looked down, trying to catch my breath and saw Aiden was climbing up.
Only Dario and Jules were left behind. And they weren’t alone. A dozen soturi were right behind them. And in a minute, I knew they’d catch up. There were shouts now coming from every direction. We were going to be surrounded. Dario had to run fucking faster.
Seeing this Lyr yelled, screaming at them to hurry. She was calling out Jules’s name, her voice panicked. Then a soturion caught up to them, he was right on Dario’s heels. Jules cried out, turning back to see them.
Lyr started to rise to her feet on the gryphon’s back. I jumped. My boots slamming into the ground, my knees wobbling and my vision going black for a second. Fuck. I’d jumped farther than this plenty of times, and all while holding Lyr. But I’d never completed so many jumps in such a short period of time.
“Give her to me,” I screamed, wrenching Jules from Dario’s arms. His jaw tightened, like he was reluctant to let her go. Boots running on the ground began to sound in every direction. Then he nodded.
“Can you fly?” I asked, already moving with him. I didn’t trust myself just then. I was getting dizzy.
“Of course,” Dario said, running ahead. His speed was remarkable now that he was unencumbered and he reached for the gryphon’s feathers climbing up.
Holding Jules close, I jumped again, the last time tonight. My eyes met a guard’s as my stomach tugged. I saw his eyes widen as we vanished. My vorakh was exposed.
A second later we were on the gryphon, just as Dario reached the gryphon’s back, took a commanding hold of his feathers, and settled near his head.
“Everyone’s on?” Dario asked tersely, his eyes moving frantically around. He’d lost his leather tie and now his curls were flying loose everywhere.
“We’re all here,” Lyr yelled. Our eyes met, her hazel eyes watery, and she nodded, turning back to Dario. “GO!”
“Vra! Volara!” he yelled, and this time the gryphon listened at once, turning and starting his run.
“Anyone who can use a stave,” shouted Aiden, “should get on that. Now! They’ll be throwing wards and protective domes at us with all they have.”
