“Trust me,” Noro purred, “when youdocum, you’ll be wondering why you’ve never tried it earlier.”
“I’ll see when it happens.”
He chuckled. “Goodnight, Matheson.”
“Night.”
I curled in closer to him, letting his warm safety of his arms envelop me. I felt intensely tired and I was ready to fall asleep against Noro’s chest and not wake up until this whole debacle was over.
But in the back of my mind, I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.
Chapter 10
In the morning I was startled awake by Noro scrambling out of bed and shifting forms. Still in the fog of post-waking, I wondered why my bed was empty and why there was a huge gryphon standing a healthy distance away from me and not making eye contact.
I rubbed my eyes. “Wha…?”
“Get up, Matheson,” Noro hissed under his breath with urgency that made me instantly alert.
I found myself clothed and realized Noro must have dressed me before getting up, which confused me even more.
The door swung open. Bastian in his gryphon form bowed his head to someone beyond the door frame, then stretched his wing, gesturing inside the room. Noro stood upright and very still.
It made sense when Blaze marched in.
Oh. Right.
I tried not to look at Noro because I didn’t want to incriminate him. I wasn’t sure if he was even allowed in here or not, despite the argument he made earlier--would Blaze believe that he was only here as a security measure?
“Good morning, Matheson,” Blaze stated. He glanced at Noro with a slightly less pleasant look. “Noro.”
Noro dipped his head. He wasn’t scrambling to apologize, so I guessed he had some kind of strategy.
“I wasn’t aware that Bastian required extra help looking after Matheson,” Blaze remarked, eyes slightly narrowed at Noro.
Oh no. I don’t want Bastian to get in trouble because of us!
“He does not,” Noro said as calmly as ever. I thought he was an excellent liar--better than me, anyway. “However, since the omega is a mage, I thought it would be best if a magic Keeper such as myself kept a close eye on him. I apologize for not letting you know in advance.”
“A mage?” Blaze asked, eyes widening as he turned to me. “You know magic?”
I hesitated, unsure of how this was going to play out. But Noro had already outed me as a mage, so I guessed it was safe for me to confirm it.
“Yes. Not much, but I know some.”
For a fraction of a second, a dark shadow seemed to flit over Blaze’s expression, and then it was gone. “Mates, you said before. Not just one. Is that right?”
“Yes. Three.”
Their faces flashed in my mind, and I felt a pang of deep longing. I missed them more than I could put into words.
Blaze took in this information with a slow flick of his tail. “I see.”
The lavishly large room was quiet. Too quiet, unnervingly so. I didn’t want to be the one to break the silence, but I also didn’t like the way Blaze continued to stare at me with those unblinking, piercing eyes.
“Noro,” Blaze finally said, and I tried not to let out an audible sigh of relief that someone had spoken. “You did well, coming here to guard the omega.”
Noro dipped his head politely.
