The fist she held at her side landed where his kidney should be. She turned her whole body into the blow, aiming for maximum pain.
Trenton choked on a laugh behind her as Griffin bent over, almost collapsing as he groaned in pain.
“You’re right. I’ve been wanting to do that for years,” Shea said with a sweet smile before stepping back.
He’d seriously underestimated her if he thought she’d welcome him with open arms and loving words. Any feelings she had for him had died a long, slow death. Their demise had begun even before they crossed into the Badlands. Everything that followed was a product of misguided guilt and the need to help an old friend.
The only thing that had consoled her afterward was that he had died with all the rest. That he was standing here now, in front of her, much the same and arrogant in his assumptions, was an affront.
Braden stepped forward as Griffin straightened with a grunt, some of the anger and pettiness that Shea knew him capable of in his expression.
Braden looked down at the beast call in his hands, holding it up for Griffin to see. “I take it we have you to thank for the attacks over the past few months?”
Griffin stared at him, his face blank and unreadable. He looked at Braden like he was a bug, insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Braden chuckled, the sound warm with a hint of cruelty in it. “Silence. We’ll see how long that lasts.”
Clark came to stand at Shea’s shoulder, a cold, flinty expression on his face that seemed to sit ill with the friend she knew. He looked at Griffin like he wanted to take him apart with his bare hands and then put him back together again so he could do it again.
The Trateri had lost many to the attacks, and in a way, it was a catalyst for the events that followed, including Charles’ betrayal and subsequent death.
“Ah, the youthful hero,” Griffin said with a sly smile. “Your friend was unsuccessful then. A pity. He had such promise.”
Shea grabbed Clark and forced him back when he would have sprung at Griffin.
“Why have you been guiding the beasts to attack us?” Shea asked, once Clark gave her a nod, telling her he had himself under control again.
Griffin turned to look at her. “To get your attention.”
Shea went still, her eyebrows lowering in confusion. “Why?”
Griffin cocked his head. “Come now, lover. Is it so hard to believe I would want a reunion with the woman I love?”
Shea studied him, putting aside her emotions—the guilt and sorrow, the rage and hurt—before looking him over with a coldly analytical mind.
Could he be telling the truth? It wasn’t difficult to imagine a lover, lost and alone, plotting to get back to the person he cared about. In that world, yes, she could see reaching out to that love.
Except he’d used beasts to carry his message in the bloodiest way possible. He had cost people their lives and put Shea’s own life in danger on more than one occasion. Not the actions of someone in love.
No, this held more in common with a punishment.
It wasn’t until she’d become telroi and formed a relationship with Fallon that the attacks had started. These actions were closer to what a jealous ex-lover might do if their partner had found someone new.
Still, something about that assessment felt off. She could see Griffin acting out of a jealous rage. He was always the type who didn’t enjoy sharing his toys. Looking back, she knew he’d done similar things to others when they moved on, sick or fed up with his antics. He’d always been a bit vengeful, but he wouldn’t have gone out of his way without a purpose.
She just couldn’t imagine what that purpose was.
Braden tapped his leg with a finger, a frown on his face as he seemed to come to a decision. He turned to Reece. “I’m afraid your training exercise needs to be cut short. I want to get him back to the Keep so we can question him further.”
Reece nodded. “I’ll get them ready to move.”
“What about Peyton?” one of the student’s asked.
Shea noted how they didn’t ask after Dane, despite the fact that he’d been with the pathfinder.
Reece met her eyes, resignation on his face. “They’re in the mist now. They’re on their own. There’s nothing we can do for them. They’ll either make it back to the Keep or not.”
Much as it burned to abandon them—especially given the way they’d fled into the mist, a grindle chasing after them—Reece was right. The only ones who could save them were themselves.
