The griffin’s wings beat as it lifted up, an immense sea snake writhing in its talons.
And then the griffin gobbled it down.
Forty
One moment, I was helping the last mortals reach the street, where it was chaos; the outer wall of the arena groaned as if it might collapse too.
The next, Fieran had me in his arms, and we were soaring into the air.
“Would you stop doing that?” I demanded breathlessly as the world moved too swiftly around us.
We flew over the shattered wreckage of the arena toward the barracks.
“There’s an awful lot of talk about you now,” he said grimly. “You cannot be that visible.”
“What do you mean?”
“The griffins flying at your command? The mortals think you’re all but a reincarnated goddess—in fact, you might have been deified in the last ten minutes—and the Fae think…”
“They weren’tat my command.”I sobered, worried about what had become of them. “Two of them were babies. The one who ate the first snake was?—”
“The hatchling you carried,” he said. “Yes. Most people would’ve let theegg break and saved themselves the trouble of facing a griffin later in the arena.”
“They’re smart, Fieran.” I didn’t want to admit it out loud, but I wondered if the griffin had recognized me. Before Tay and I were born, my mother had raised a duck after its mother died, and the hatchling had followed her around. The griffin and I had locked eyes as it hatched, right before I chucked the egg back into the nest.
“I know.”
“We shouldn’t be killing them.”
“Smartandsafeare two different things,” he said, then muttered, “Look at you.”
“Where did they go?”
“They escaped. We should go after them, but…” He looked over his shoulder. “There’s an arena to rebuild.”
“I’m glad to see it shattered. They should leave it that way.”
His mouth twisted in that humorless smile he had sometimes. “They never would.”
We arched around the building, flying over the open sea. I put my arm around his throat, closing my eyes at the way the sky and the sea seemed to turn into one bright, dazzling threat.
“We’re going to break you of that fear of heights,” he murmured into my ear.
“I imagine havingwingsis going to accomplish that,” I snapped back.
“But you’ll have tousethose wings. To learn to fly. To launch yourself off the cliffside?—”
I put my hand over his mouth. “I’ve had a very long day, Fieran. And as always, it’s your fault. So nag me tomorrow.”
His lips brushed softly against my palm as he smiled, and a beat of desire pulsed through me. I pulled my hand away.
“Fair enough. I won’t nag you,” he promised, and I raised my brows, always expecting a trick with him.
He flew us toward the building. I squeezed my eyes shut, having the sense of impending impact even without watching, but the air changed; the next thing I knew, he was lowering me to thefloor.
I opened my eyes as my boots landed on the soft rug in his room. His room smelled like his aftershave, and he kept his arm around me a beat longer than was necessary for me to catch my balance.
“I’m going to have food sent up,” he told me. “You need to rest before the third trial tomorrow.”
