Ronan’s eyes are filled with childlike glee. Kerensa save me, he’s adorable. He’s just so excited, and he did it for me. I can’t resist him.
Thisis what I want my life to be like, I realize as I approach him. Adventure, a little danger, a lot of excitement, and the feeling I get when I see him smile.
“Come on,” he says. “She likes you.”
I swear if this man is delusional, I’ll—
“Oh,” I say as she nudges my shoulder with her head. It’s feathery but firm, a powerful push that nearly knocks me off my balance.
“See?” says Ronan. He catches me by the waist with one hand and pets the griffin’s eagle head with the other.
“Very good,” yells Taran from behind the rocks. “Can we go now?”
The griffin lowers herself so that her hindquarters, the lion bits, are on the ground.
“What is she doing?” I ask.
Ronan smiles in response. “Didn’t you say you wanted to see the world?”
“No!” shouts Taran, understanding what Ronan is doing before I do. He cautiously approaches us, his sense of duty overwhelming his fear. “I’m sworn to protect you. I can’t let you do this.”
I really want to, but I’m terrified. It wouldn’t be like riding a horse. Griffinsfly.People don’t fly. Not even the wind-born can fly. We’re just too heavy for it.
“She wants us to,” says Ronan, already moving to her side and getting ready to put me on her.
The sensible thing to do would be to turn around and head back to the palace, leaving the griffin to her griffin business. The main problem with that is that Idowant to see the world from the sky. I’ve thought about it since I was a child climbing the castle walls. Since I pretended I was an acrobat, soaring and tumbling through the air.
And I know Ronan knows it.
“Taran, tell the others where we’ve gone. Tell them the hunt is off. Tell them something like Kerensa appeared before me and asked me to spare the animal, and that out of love for her, Sai agreed they should hunt some fallow deer on the way back to the palace. Or make up something better, I don’t care.”
Taran stops, hand furiously rubbing his tattooed neck. It’s a direct order from his king, but I can tell by his continued defiance that this wouldn’t be the first time Taran had to save Ronan from himself. “If you die—”
“We won’t die,” says Ronan. “She won’t let us. I know I sound insane, as usual, but you’ve learned to trust me. I’m right, at least half of the time.”
Taran remains unconvinced.
“At least a third of the time? Look. If you won’t believe me because of me, believe me because of her. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Me. He won’t let anything happen to me.
Taran nods, shoots me a look that saysthat’s what you get for encouraging him, shakes his head, and walks away.
“Ready?” says Ronan.
I nod, trembling. My body shakes as he helps me onto the griffin’s back. It feels a bit like riding a horse bareback, something I’ve only done once or twice when I had to share a horse with my sister. But her body runs hotter than a horse’s, and the feel of her long feathers beneath my hands as I grip her large neck is strange and somewhat alarming.
Ronan mounts the griffin behind me, her wings making it a tight fit. He wraps his hands slowly, luxuriously around my waist as he presses his body against mine.
“Hold on tight,” I say. My heart nearly explodes out of my chest from terror and excitement as the griffin takes to her feet.
The great eagle wings spread behind us and begin to flap.
Then, with a stomach-turning lurch, she launches into the air.
I scream involuntarily as the canyon floor recedes beneath us. I grip her neck, hoping I’m not hurting her, hoping Ronan doesn’t slip from her back as she soars through the valley.
Ronan laughs and cries out in joy as we come out of the canyon.
