Kyla laughed. We both turned to examine the griffin who gave us a “what are you waiting for?” look.
“From the state of his wings, I’m guessing he can’t fly,” Kyla said.
“Nope. And,” I said meaningfully, “if he doesn’t march himself back through that portal, all of his friends and family are going to have moved on without him.”
The griffin didn’t look concerned. He just lay down once more.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as Kyla marveled at the size of him.
“How the hell are we going to fit him into my car?”
14
DANICA
We ended up lowering the back seats in Kyla’s Nissan. Both of us pushed our own seats forward as far as we could, but even then, to say it was a tight fit was the understatement of the century. White fur spilled from the back windows, which were far too small for the griffin’s huge head to fit through, although he seemed to be enjoying the fresh air, anyway.
Who wouldn’t, after spending an extended amount of time in that marsh?
The werewolf sentries knew Kyla’s car, and we drove slowly through their territory, parking outside of Nathaniel’s ranch-style home.
I shut the passenger door as Kyla opened the trunk for the griffin.
Vas dropped down from the sky, likely on sentry duty for the demons. No one would be taking any chances with Samael out of commission. His mouth dropped open at the sight of me, before curling up in a shit-eating grin.
“Wow, what the hell happened to you?”
I snarled at him. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
All I wanted was a shower and to curl up next to my demon. Vas must’ve seen the longing on my face, because he opened his arms, offering a hug.
I took it.
“If I haven’t told you, I’m proud of you,” he squeezed me tight, his voice gruff.
A fraction of the tension in my neck disappeared. Somewhere along the way, Vas had become the brother I’d never had.
“Thanks,” I said, my throat tight. “How is he?”
“The same. If he lives through this, it’ll be because of you. My uncle knows it too.”
I sighed at the thought of Ag. “Is he there?”
Vas’s body shook, and I realized he was laughing. “Go shower. You stink.”
I pushed away from him. He glanced down at his body, and I winced. I’d transferred a healthy amount of wet mud onto his own clothes, which were now filthy.
He looked so put out, I couldn’t help but laugh. Kyla ambled up to us and grinned at him.
Vas went still as he spotted the griffin. “What the hell?”
Kyla opened her mouth, but a deep voice carried over the chatter of the birds around us.
“Kyla.”
We both turned at Nathaniel’s voice. There was something in it… some hint of warning that made me edgy.
A man stood next to him. I didn’t need to ask who he was—he was like a male reflection of Kyla, with the same creamy brown skin and bright blue eyes.
