“He has?”
I heard her chuckle softly. “He’s always been serious, since the incident. He shut himself off from getting close to anyone for a long time, because he was afraid to lose them again.”
I remembered his bloody wound the night he’d returned from patrolling the border against the humans and shut my eyes. He was an idiot to go alone, but I knew he’d done it for my sake.
“But when you came into his life, he opened up,” Crystal went on. “I haven’t seen him laugh or smile this often since before the incident. You have no idea how good you’ve been for him, Matheson.”
My chest tightened with affection as I thought about Eric’s smile.
“I don’t want him to defend that border anymore,” I said. “I don’t want him picking fights with humans.”
Crystal lowered her voice and spoke with sympathy. “I know. I’m sorry. But it’s his responsibility as a leader.”
He’s doing it just to keep me safe,I thought hopelessly.
“I saw her face, you know,” Crystal said. “The person who killed Eric’s parents.”
I sat silently, not knowing how to respond. Grief and anger came off Crystal in waves.
“If it were up to me,” Crystal muttered, her tone darker, “I’d kill them before they got too close.”
She’d said those words to me before, but this time, I didn’t feel the same horrified gut reaction. Knowing now what the humans had done to Eric’s parents, I couldn’t say I disagreed with Crystal’s methods any longer. I didn’t want to hurt anybody, but that crime was unforgivable. I couldn’t blame her for feeling that way, and I couldn’t blame Eric for being so paranoid about keeping the humans away from his territory.
The conversation fizzled out as we reached the island. Crystal stayed on the shore, tying down the canoe.
“I’ll stay here,” she said, her gaze lifting to the sky as if she were waiting for enemy gryphons to drop down at any moment. “You go do what you need to do.”
I found Noro on the other side of the island, his head down and his tail flicking in concentration as he traced something into the sand with his talon.
“Noro?” I said.
He perked up at the sound of my voice and his feathery ears raised like an excited wolf. “Matheson. It’s good to see you.”
“You too. What have you been up to?” I asked. As I spoke I examined his wing, which he kept folded back an a slightly awkward angle. There was still a definite gap between the feathers.
He sighed. “Planning. Worrying. Thinking.” He raised his head towards West Pack and beyond where the mountains loomed in the distance. “I’ve had nothing to do except rest and fish, so I began making a map of the area to the best of my memory.”
I looked down in the sand. Noro had marked the territories of the Lake of Four Directions and the mountain range belonging to the gryphon pride. I pointed out the unmarked section in between West Pack and the mountains.
“You didn’t feel like marking the human settlement?” I said, somewhat teasing.
Noro flicked his tail and sounded a bit embarrassed. “Ah, I suppose not. Maybe it’s arrogant of me and my kind in general, but we don’t spare much thought to the humans. They’re of no consequence to us.”
A slight frown came upon my lips. After my discussion with Crystal and everything that had happened to Eric, I couldn’t feel the same any more.
“Is something wrong?” Noro asked.
“No. I was just thinking that I used to feel the same way as you. That I was a powerful, untouchable wolf shifter, stronger than any human. But I found out about… something bad that happened to a loved one of mine at the hands of humans.”
Noro nodded slowly. “I understand. They’re not strong alone, but they make up for it with numbers and tricks.”
I hadn’t expected it, but Noro took a moment to add a few small huts representing the human settlement on his sandy makeshift map. The gesture made me smile.
“In any case, what brings you here?” Noro asked, sitting back on his haunches. “Practice has been going well?”
“Very well.” I grinned. “It’s a relief to find something I’m actually good at.”
His eyes sparkled. “Excellent. I’m happy to hear that. Shall we practice some more? Maybe attempt to branch out your powers?”
