More than okay. This gives me a chance to tell him what I think of him leaving me here for so long.
I grin.Give him what he’s got coming to him.It’s mostly a quiet ride back to Rysden and Farrah’s. I don’t miss the worried glances Farrah gives both Rysden and me, but I ignore them. When we get to the house, Jamik meets us and helps with the horses.
“Thanks, Jamik.”
I head inside, wondering how this is going to go. The guy is an absolute jerk. However, weneedsaid jerk if we have a hope and a prayer of defeating the guivres. So far, they haven’t joined forces and come together in an organized manner. If they do, we’ll be in serious trouble. Now that more and more of them are shifting, the fear is real that they could definitely do just that and sooner than later. We need Rauk to bring his dragons to meet them in the air. We just have to first get their king on board, which is going to be just as hard as they told me it would be.
We head inside and gather around the table. Well, Farrah, Rysden, Lox, Jamik, and I sit at the table. Rauk doesn’t bother sitting. He stands on the far side of the room, staring at all of us. Hector’s busy working in the kitchen, so he doesn’t come out and say hi. It’s probably for the best; Rauk is not a nice person.
“So,” Farrah starts, drawing out the word and looking pointedly at Rysden.
“Anybody hungry?” Rysden asks.
I roll my eyes and take matters into my own hands. I lift my gaze so I’m staring right at the Dragon King. “Here’s the deal. The guivre problem has gotten out of control.”
His eyes move to Rysden. “Guivre problem?”
I continue as if he didn’t interrupt my speech to look at Rysden. “Yes, the guivre problem. The reason Rysden asked you tocome, multiple times actually, is that guivres are attacking more frequently. And now that Terron and his gryphon are dead, they’re not stuck in their forms anymore. Their curse is lifting, and they’re shifting back to human.”
“Impossible,” he rumbles low in his chest.
“Really?” Irritation burns in my chest.
“They can’t transform to their human form. They were cursed into a corporal form.”
“Yeah, well that’s what they’re doing.”
“It’s not possible,” he says slowly.
I sigh. “Would somebody fill in brainiac here as to what’s going on? Somebody preferably besides me? He doesn’t seem to be getting it.”
“It’s true,” Rysden says backing me up.
“How?” Rauk demands.
I throw up both hands. “Men.”
Rauk ignores my outburst. “Explain.” His command rubs me the wrong way, and I laugh. He turns that dark gaze on me, and I meet it head on. “Is something funny?”
“Hilarious,” I say without looking away.
“Well, please, enlighten us,” he says with an expression that couldn't be further from polite.
“Just the way you boss Rysden around, as if he isn’t the king of the Wolf Kingdom.”
“Harper,” Rysden says in a low voice. I look over to him. He gives me a look of warning. “I’ve got it.”
“Sure. Be my guest.” I make a motion with my hand, and he shakes his head.
Heleans forward, elbows on the table. “What she said is true. When Terron and his gryphon died, the curse died with him. Under the curse, the guivres were changed into a corporal form and were supposed to stay that way. But now the curse is lifting, and they’re transforming back into human form.”
Rauk stares at him, taking in everything he’s saying. “That’s why you don’t mess with dark magic and curses.” But he says it more to himself than the rest of us.
Rysden leans back in his chair. “They did what they thought best.”
Rauk shifts. “Okay. So, the guivres are shifting back into humans. Thanks for the update. I’ll have my people keep a watch out for them.”
I stare at him, anger on the tip of my tongue but Farrah beats me to it. “Seriously?”
