My hope was shattered. If Tholan couldn’t help me, I had nobody. He and Bastian were my only means of escape, and they were both out of the question.
My mood crashed as I was swallowed by hopelessness. I let out a heavy sigh.
“Thanks anyway,” I mumbled.
“Wait, wolf,” Tholan said, putting the tip of his wing on my shoulder. “I can’t be the beast you ride out of here on. But if you need help some other way… You know where to find me.”
I smiled slightly. “Thanks.”
“One more thing,” Tholan said, his voice turning grave. “Be careful around Blaze.”
“What do you mean?”
Tholan’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t let him put you under any sort of spell.”
I paused, thinking of the way Blaze influenced my thoughts earlier. Was it really a spell, or some type of magic? Or was his powerful presence as a king just commanding and influential?
I didn’t ask Tholan for specification because something suddenly caught my ear. A familiar voice, like a song, came from outside the door.
Without thinking I ran for it, throwing it open. My heart raced.
It can’t be. It’s my mind playing tricks on me.
But there, standing with Bastian, was a familiar golden-haired man I’d come to know so well.
“Noro!” I cried.
I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms tightly around his torso, never wanting to let go. I would have to be pried off him.
Without warning I started to cry. The emotions raging inside me broke loose and I cried and cried, soaking into his clothes. Noro murmured soothing words and pet the back of my head as I sobbed against him.
“I missed you,” I said, feeling almost incoherent. “I missed you so much. I thought I was alone, that I’d be here forever…”
“Wait,” Bastian said, blinking in confusion. “You two know each other?”
I froze. I backed up quickly.
Had I made a terrible mistake? In my excitement and relief to see Noro, I’d forgotten where I was--and who I was surrounded by. My blood turned cold. The other gryphons didn’t know about Noro and I. They didn’t know Noro had been helping me hide for weeks now.
They didn’t know that Noro was working against them.
He’d made an enemy of himself to his own people, all for my sake.
I exchanged glances with Noro, terrified. If he had to pretend I was crazy, and that he didn’t know me, I was fine with that. I was ready to accept the consequences.
I hope I didn’t just ruin everything…
Then a different thought struck me. Why had Noro come back? Was he here to rescue me, or had he changed his mind?
I felt disgusted immediately by the idea. The only reason I was here was because of Neil. Noro had nothing to do with it. Being here was making me feel poisoned, like I didn’t know who to trust.
But I knew in my soul I could trust Noro. Him being here had lifted my spirits so high I felt like flying.
The moment of uncertainty seemed to last a lifetime. No one spoke for a few seconds, but it felt like hours. Bastian glanced back and forth between us, expecting an answer for his very valid question. I didn’t dare speak. I’d said enough already.
Noro glanced at Bastian with an unusually soft expression that confused me. He didn’t seem overly concerned. Was he playing some kind of gryphon mindgame I didn’t understand?
But then he said, “Bastian. Can you keep a secret?”
