But really, she was mainly hoping he’d talk her into it.
“Completely.” Rhys smiled at her. “Do you trust me?”
Of course.
The words sprang into her mind before she could even think.
Maisie wasn’t surewhy, but she truly did trust him. It simply felt instinctive, in a way she couldn’t explain.
“Yes,” she said, quietly but firmly. “Yes, I do.”
Rhys nodded. “Then I’ll need you to stand back a little.”
Maisie’s breath caught as she took a step or two back, giving Rhys space. Even though she’d seen this before, that had almost felt like a dream – she’d been so caught up in everything thathad been going on she’d barely known what was real and what wasn’t.
But this time, I know it’s all definitely happening.
She didn’t even have to pinch herself to check if she was dreaming.
Maisie bit her lip, her eyes going wide as once again, the shimmer ran over Rhys’s body before he began to grow, massive feathered wings bursting from his back, eagle’s talons taking the place of his hands, and lion’s feet taking the place of his back legs. His face turned from his own, criminally good-looking visage to that of an eagle – powerful, striking, and deadly.
And yet, somehow I still know it’s him,Maisie thought, her chest heaving with her breath as she stared at him. Despite the powerful creature he’d become, she didn’t feel in the least bit frightened of him. She knew, somehow, that he’d never hurt her.
And despite everything, she could still see that it wasRhys, in the depths of his golden eyes.
“Wow,” she breathed, once the transformation was complete. “I wonder if I’ll ever get used to that?”
In response, the griffin let out a low, soothing crooning sound, and Maisie laughed.
“I’m not sure what that means, but I guess it’s supposed to be reassuring?”
The griffin crooned again, this time a little more eagerly, so she guessed she’d been right.
“Well, I guess… uh, that I need to… climb onto your back for this to work?” she said, as she approached him. She’d been carrying her swimmers and the bottle of champagne in a shopping bag, and she pulled it up over her shoulder as Rhys ducked down into a crouch, folding his wings to give her access.
“Well,” Maisie murmured to herself. “Riding a griffin. Here goes nothing.”
The feathers of his neck were just as soft as she remembered them when she ran her fingers through them, hoping she wasn’t pulling too hard as she gripped them to pull herself up onto Rhys’s back.
In this form, of course, he was even broader than when he was human, and Maisie found she had plenty of space once she’d settled herself on his powerful shoulders, just in front of his wings.
“I should tell you,” she said, a little shakily, “that I’ve only ever ridden a horse one time, at school camp. And, uh, I fell off. So perhaps take that into consideration before you do any aerial stunts or anything like that.”
The little chirruping croon Rhys let out was, she hoped, a reassurance that he wouldn’t be doing anything of the sort. He glanced back at her over his shoulder, and Maisie could see herself reflected in the beautiful golden orb of his eye.
“Oh… I didn’t think of the hamper,” Maisie said, suddenly recalling it was sitting on the lookout platform at Rhys’s feet. “Are you going to carry it in your, uh, talons?”
Rhys let out another little chirrup, before swooping his head down and picking up the hamper by its sturdy wicker handle. The contents were wrapped up in fancy pink cellophane, so Maisiehopedthey wouldn’t go flying out everywhere – she was pretty sure she was already illegally riding a griffin, and she didn’t want to add littering to her rap sheet!
“Okay,” she said, holding on tightly to Rhys’s neck. “Okay, I think I’m rea-dyyy!!!”
The last part of the word was squealed out as, with a mighty beat of his wings, Rhys rose suddenly into the air.
For the fifth time in as many minutes, Maisie found herself breathless as they rose. Sheknewshe shouldn’t look down, but still, she couldn’t help it – she stared, fascinated, as the lookoutplatform shrank beneath her, and then disappeared from view entirely as they burst through the canopy of the trees above it.
Oh. Oh my God.
Pure exhilaration thrilled through Maisie’s entire body as they rose higher and higher into the air.
