“I am a griffin,” Eduard said.
Sawyer blinked, then blinked again. “Isn’t that like…. Eagle head and lion body, right?”
Eduard nodded.
“Whoa. I would never have thought griffins were real. I mean… I never thought any of this was real, but at least when you’re talking vampires and werewolves and guys who see the future or whatever… I’ve got pop culture references for them.”
Eduard smiled and laid his hand over Sawyer’s bare foot. “We are a quiet group and our primary talents lie in the protection of wealth.”
“Right, the money man. Isn’t that what Draco called you?”
“Yes. For many centuries, my clan provided protection over the treasures of the wealthy, their gold and jewels, important documents. We were their bank vaults, to put it in modern terms.”
Sawyer nodded. “That’s cool. Sounds a bit like dragon lore, though. Don’t they protect their hoard up in their dark and gloomy cave while breathing fire at the poor villagers who dare to disturb them?”
Eduard smirked and began to rub his thumb along Sawyer’s ankle. He tried to hide his body’s instant reaction to the touch, but he couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through him. Eduard didn’t comment, simply continued the soft movement against his skin.
“Dragons do have their treasure but it is a bit more mercurial. Don’t tell Draco I told you this, as he would likely remove my head from my neck, but they are a bit of a magpie group. You never know what will catch their eye, but once they have seen what they want, they claim it as theirs and guard it fiercely.”
There was weight behind Eduard’s words and half of Sawyer hoped it meant that Draco had claimed him, that Draco treasured him. But he knew better. Draco had kept a very firm line between them, and at least now Sawyer understood why. The most he could hope for was for the guards to wait here for this mysterious chosen one to arrive. And since Henry had seen the house here, had gone to all the trouble of actually having it built… maybe he wouldn’t lose Draco at all. He’d still be right next door.
“So you just… what… keep the chosen one’s money?”
Eduard smiled. “Something like that. Each clan provides an offering each year to the chosen one. A tithe, if you will. My clan has been responsible for growing that investment over the centuries. Our goal has always been the same. Provide for the needs and protection of the chosen one and his guardians. Financial needs fall under that equation, especially as a griffin has always been called as one of the guardians.”
“Makes sense,” Sawyer said. “So this chosen one, he or she is some kind of… what? I mean, chimera is the word that pops to mind, but I’ve probably read way too many fantasy novels and have it all wrong. Some sort of magical combination of all of you or something?”
“That is one question I cannot answer. All the prophesy told was of a very powerful person who would come at a time of need to unite the clans.”
“Hmm. How many clans are there exactly?” Sawyer asked.
“There are many clans, but generally we are broken down into eight.”
Sawyer glanced back over toward the bed and the sleeping men. “So, Henry’s pack is part of a clan?”
“Yes and no. The Jerrick pack is well known and respected, but they aren’t considered shifter… I hesitate to use the word royalty, but it is close. As I’m sure you can imagine, clan size has grown considerably since the original prophesy. The chosen one and their guardians can come from anywhere, and have, on occasion as witnessed by our Henry, but the majority have come from the descendants of the original guardians.”
“Sorry to bug you with so many questions,” Sawyer said. “I can shut up if you want.”
“It’s fine. I find myself intrigued by you and by your role in our future. A null, one who can assist Henry though his visions. I had worried. They are very draining for him, and extremely painful. But you helped him tonight, and that gives me hope. You were where you were meant to be, young Sawyer.”
Sawyer snorted and pulled his leg out of Eduard’s grip. “Right.”
“I’m sorry. Have I said something wrong?”
“No, not at all.” Just another case of him being treated like a child. He was even being pet soothingly like he was a toddler who needed comforting. “I’m going to go downstairs and see if I can find something to eat. I rushed through dinner because I wanted to come over here and meet the new neighbors and now I’m really hungry.”
“We…actually, we have little food in the house,” Eduard said softly. “Perhaps I can order—”
“Yeah, no one’s going to deliver at this time of night. I’ll just head home. It’s fine.” He made it down the stairs and to the front door before Eduard appeared again. His hand pressed against the wood, preventing Sawyer from opening it. Before he could snarl out a demand to move, Eduard had stepped closer and cupped his hand around Sawyer’s cheek.
“I didn’t mean to upset you. Please tell me what I did.”
Sawyer looked up at him, unable to see a hint of anything but regret in Eduard’s gaze. “I hate being treated like a child. I’m a grown man, weeks away from having a master’s degree, and yet you and Draco both treat me like I can’t even take care of myself.”
“I see. When I called you young Sawyer, yes?”
Sawyer scowled. “Yeah. That. And you were petting me like I was a toddler needing to be soothed back to sleep. I mean, for a minute there… but yeah, I’m not a child. Let’s just leave it at that.”
