My dear friend’s normally black hair turned a dark shade of green—a cursed tell. She was lying.
The pair’s meddling always came from a heartfelt place.
“Fine… shehada home with us, but we thought you might like to keep her instead,” Wyeth conceded.
Cass outstretched her arm to motion around the space. “You have a great stable. You have the means to care for her.”
I looked at the chick. She clumsily tried to stomp on a fly with her feline-like paws—unsuccessfully.
“What do I do with her? I don’t know the first thing about raising a Griffith.”
“They bond with whoever cares for them. Which makes them easy to train. I’ll help you along the way. They grow quickly. You’ll be able to fly her in just a year.”
Lark bounced up and down beside me.
“Fly her?” I asked. I’d never even taken to riding horses.
“Your Source magic is Wind, Red. Haven’t you ever had the itch to fly?” Cassidee asked.
Sighing, I couldn’t deny it.
“Aunt Wyeth—do you have a bonded Griffith?” Lark cut in.
Wyeth huffed a laugh. “No. I am of the Soil, and that’s where I prefer to keep my feet firmly planted.”
Cassidee met my gaze. “You’ve been scouring the realms on foot for over a decade.This will help you cover more ground. Also, it will make your trips to Helos all the easier; you won’thave to go up the mountain in that rickety pulley system anymore.”
Cassidee made a practical point.
I sighed. “Well, what do I feed her?”
Cassidee rubbed the chick’s beak, and I begrudgingly grew endeared by the way the animal purred and leaned into the touch. “She eats mostly fresh fish. When the rest of her feathers come in, I’d take her to the lake just beyond your property to let her fish on her own. It’s good for their strength and mind.”
“What if she flies away?”
“She won’t. They’re loyal animals, and they long for companionship. Fierce protectors, too—they look out for their own.”
My throat constricted. I gripped my necklace, rubbing the skeleton key and teardrop gemstone strung upon it. The gem had been my mother’s. The key opened the cupboard to the mirror.
I wished Emmerick would wander into the orchard and be by my side to meet Mayra too. He’d enjoy the idea of my having a fierce protector.
“Can I pet Mayra?” Lark asked.
“You can, but be careful,” Wyeth warned. “Her beak is sharp, and her wings are weak still.”
As my niece scratched Mayra’s feathery head with a laugh, I cast my two friends a narrowed glance.
“This is the best and worst distraction tactic you two have come up with yet. I see exactly what you’re doing.”
Wyeth let out a sigh. “A bit of company isn’t always a bad thing, Elsedora. This estate is sprawling, and you’re here alone most of the time.”
“I’ve earned a bit of solitude. Plus, I can find myselfplentyof company. I don’t need a flying beast to feel less lonely.”
“I have no doubt,” Cass laughed out, earning an elbow from Wyeth. “But do you like her?” She nodded toward my new wobbling, screeching pet.
Lark knelt, and Mayra curled her neck up and over the girl’s shoulder.
“Of course I do. I’m a sucker for anything with fur or wings. Plus—doyouwant to see that kid’s face if I refuse her now?”
