“Did your griffin like the move to Hex?”
Talon’s shoulders drop, and he shakes his head. “My griffin is a pack animal. He misses our pride, but he understands why we left.”
“Other than the bullying, why did you leave? I thought griffins were pretty close to each other.”
“We are, and I keep communication with my family. I’ve got two brothers and a sister, and some very nosy cousins that I’m always sending letters back and forth with.”
“Letters?”
“Yes, like old school letters. None of us have, well, none ofthemhave cell phones to text or call, and they’re not interested in coming to Hex. Every couple of months they show up claiming that they missed my face, even though it hasn’t changed in however long it’s been.” He chuckles as he strokes his beard.
“How old are you?” Never know with shifters.
“Uh, thirty-two.” Talon shrugs. “Time’s weird between the realms.”
“True. What’s your favorite part of Hex? Because I’m still trying to decide. Obviously, I like all the ice cream I can eat. It’s a pretty great perk, but I think Hex Grocer is starting to give me the side eye. Beau gets me some discounts sometimes, and I take advantage of that for sure.”
Talon’s smile starts to grow wider. “It’s the bakery for me. I wouldn’t have been allowed to do this if I stayed in the Fae lands. No one sees griffins as anything other than protectors, and I was never that. I always wanted to paint or bake or literally anything other than learn how to fight and flight formations, and watch some Fae noble while they court a courtesan.”
I snort. “It looks like we both were not suited for the jobs we were enlisted into.”
“Why did you become a courtesan?”
I shake my head. “I’m sorry, but that’s not a topic I have any desire to talk about right now. I promise I’ll give you my story in the future, but right now, it’s still too raw.”
“I understand. I’ll be ready when you’re ready to talk.” Talon squeezes my hand and it makes my heart and wings flutter. He’s really sweet under all the grumpy.
“I appreciate that.”
We walk up a path and towards the woods. There’s a cute little cottage and a little patch of forest. It’s something out of a fairy tale.
“Did you build your own cottage?”
“Yeah, I learned some construction, anything to not have to be a guardian. So I used some Fae construction methods and created my little house.”
There’s a soft tinkling sound on the breeze. “Oh my gosh, did you make the wind chimes?”
“I did, and that was a fun project. I quite like all my projects.”
“What other projects have you done?” I want to dig into this griffin and discover everything about him.
“Well, aside from making our fans.” He whips his out and fans himself a few times. “I’ve made my wind chimes. I make cider on the side. I like peach flavors the most because apple cider gives me the shits.” He goes so red, but continues on. “I decorated my house. I’ve done a lot. I don’t really think about it because I mostly want to keep busy.”
“Why?”
Talon takes a deep breath and looks away. “I was told I was lazy. But I’m not lazy. I just, I have to have the right stuff going on for me to start a project. A lot of times I’m very good at starting, but not finishing, unless it’s the bakery. I’m a beast at Wicks.
“Sometimes I feel like the shop’s mine instead of his, even though I know it’s his, and he’s very good at what he does. It’s not like I’m the only one baking. He’s in there every night doing the stuff that absolutely has to get out in the morning. And I’m there first thing in the morning to finish up what he doesn’t. I get to work on little experiments, and it’s magical. But everything else, I don’t know. There’s just this switch that flips in my brain. I can’t move on and work on something else unless I’m in the right headspace. And that used to frustrate my family and flight masters and school teachers and everyone who ever had to deal with me.”
“They didn’t have to deal with you. They had the privilege of being in your presence.”
“Is that what you thought when I was being an asshole to you?” There’s a gleam in his eyes that I can’t tell what emotion runs through him.
As soon as we’re on the cute little stone path to Talon’s house, he goes stiff and throws his arm out to stop me from continuing.
16
TALON
