“You busy tomorrow?” I asked Chris when he sat with Tristan and me at breakfast the next morning.
“Nothing I can’t reschedule. What do you have in mind?”
“We have a warlock selling bad spells in Boise,” Tristan said. “Nothing too dangerous, but three people have been hurt using his magic. I’d like you two to have a kind word with him before it gets out of hand.”
Chris shrugged. “Sure. I’m up for a day trip. But why didn’t you get the Boise team to talk to him?”
Tristan smiled. “The Boise team is fairly young, and you two have more experience dealing with warlocks.”
“Good morning, gentlemen.”
“Morning,” the three of us answered as Celine laid her tray next to mine and took the seat beside me.
Celine said something to me, but I was distracted when I sensed Sara’s arrival. I glanced around, but she wasn’t in the room yet.
We’d had a great session yesterday, and I looked forward to spending today with her. This morning, I planned to take her back to the lake because she’d enjoyed it so much the last time. After lunch, we were going to spend a few hours on her studies. She’d learned a lot from her friend Remy, but there was so much she didn’t know.
“Nikolas?”
I looked at Celine, who looked a little annoyed that I’d been ignoring her.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you had given any thought to joining me in one of my training sessions.” She leaned in. “I’m sure Chris wouldn’t mind working with Sara one afternoon this week to free you up.”
Chris’s smile was full of mischief. “I’d love to teach my little cousin a few tricks.”
Movement behind him drew my eyes to the door, just in time to see Sara’s back as she hurried from the dining hall.
I stared after her. Sara didn’t skip breakfast. Was she ill?
She’d looked okay when we parted ways yesterday, but I hadn’t seen her since. Had I pushed her too hard in training? Maybe I should have gone to see her after dinner.
“Excuse me.” I stood and picked up my tray, ignoring the surprised faces of my breakfast companions. I dropped my tray in one of the bins and turned toward the door.
My eyes fell on a side table piled high with baskets of muffins and pastries, and I snatched up a blueberry muffin wrapped in plastic. I’d seen Sara eating these all the time back in New Hastings, so I knew she liked them.
Something told me she had gone outside, so I left by the main entrance and looked around for her. I didn’t see or feel her, but she couldn’t have gone far. Knowing her love of the woods, I started toward them until I picked up her presence off to my right, in the direction of the river.
The sight of her sitting on the riverbank, with her forehead resting on her knees, which were drawn close to her chest, caused my stomach to tighten. She looked so small and lost against the backdrop of the foaming water, and all I wanted to do was take her in my arms and comfort her.
She didn’t look up when I approached, and my steps faltered when I felt pain coming through our bond.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She started in surprise, but she didn’t answer.
I walked over to stand beside her. “You left without eating, and you can’t train on an empty stomach. These are your favorite, right?”
Her head tilted back, and she stared at the muffin I held out to her. “Thanks,” she said quietly, taking it from my hand without looking at me.
“Are you going to tell me what is wrong with you?” Something had upset her, and I wished she felt like she could talk to me.
“I’m fine.”
I sat beside her. “I think I know you well enough to know that is not true.”
“I didn’t sleep last night and I’m tired,” she said thickly, still not meeting my eyes.
“Is that all? You sound upset.”
I could sense she was distressed, and I didn’t believe it had anything to do with a bad night’s sleep. Frustration gnawed at me. I hated seeing her like this and not knowing how to help her.
She lifted her head to stare at the river. “Not getting any sleep messes me up.”
Maybe forcing her to use her power on me yesterday had affected her more than she’d let on. She’d told me once that using her power weakened her, and I’d seen the effects of it when she’d healed Roland. She’d looked okay when we parted ways, but she could have been hiding it. Sara was very good at keeping things to herself.
“Perhaps we overdid it yesterday in training,” I suggested.
She nodded. “Maybe you’re right.”
What she needed was a day out. She’d been here a month, training almost every day. The one time she’d gotten a day away, she’d been attacked and spent the night in the medical ward. And I’d been pushing her in training. She needed a break.
“We’ll skip training today. Is there anything else you want to do instead? We could take that trip to town.”
There was a short pause, and I thought she was going to say yes.
“I think I’ll eat my muffin, and then I’ll go take Hugo and Woolf for a walk.”
I felt a small pang of disappointment, but I pushed it away. Her needs were all that mattered. She was upset and being with the hounds comforted her.
I got to my feet. “Just as long as you don’t do anything to tire yourself too much. I’ll see you later.”
I walked a few steps before she called, “See you, and thanks again for the muffin.”
“Anytime,” I called back with a smile.
Free from my plans for the day, I found Tristan and told him I’d visit the warlock today instead of tomorrow. Chris and I drove to Boise and found the warlock’s residence that had been hastily vacated. Warlocks had a lot of tricks up their sleeves, and this one apparently knew when someone was looking for him. We spent the next day and a half tracking him down and getting him to clean up his mess.
It was a day longer than I’d planned to be away from Sara, and I caught myself speeding more than once on the drive back to Westhorne. It still amazed me how my life had changed since I met her. A few months ago, I’d thought nothing of being on the road for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. Now I could only think about getting back to her.
We made it back in time for dinner. I checked in with Tristan to let him know the warlock problem was resolved, and then I headed for the dining hall.
Sara and Jordan were leaving just as I entered, and Sara gave me a small smile. She appeared to be in better spirits and no longer upset by whatever had been bothering her yesterday.
After dinner, Chris and I went to the arena to spar. We fought for an hour before Chris lowered his sword and declared he’d had enough.
He rubbed his shoulder. “We need to find a better way for you to work off some of that aggression.”
“What aggression?”
Chris snorted. “You’ve been wound up for two days. I thought being back here would improve your mood, but my aching shoulder says otherwise.”
I started to shake my head and stopped because he was right; I was wound up. Every minute I spent with Sara strengthened our bond and intensified my need to be with her. It was a constant struggle to be what she needed and not reveal my true feelings for her. Being away from her had been hard for me and my Mori.
“I can guess your mood has something to do with my little cousin. You two on the outs?”
“No. She just needed a break.” I told him about our training session two days ago when I’d tricked her into using her power on me. “I think I pushed her too hard.”
Chris whistled. “You are a braver man than I am. I heard what she did to that lamprey demon.”
“It was a risk, but a worthwhile one. She can’t fight or use a sword yet, but she has this powerful weapon inside her. She’s afraid of using it because she thinks she’ll hurt one of us. Now she knows how to call on her power and how to control it, and she doesn’t have to be afraid of harming us.”
“I’m impressed.”
“She is impressive,” I agreed.
“I’m talking about you. Who knew you had a trainer hidden inside of you all this time?”
I laughed. “Only for her.”
“Trainees everywhere will be sad to hear that,” he quipped as we walked to the door.
I followed him outside and came to a halt when I saw Sara and Sahir walking quickly toward the menagerie.
“Where’s the fire?” Chris called.
“The young griffin we got in today is in distress, and Sara is going to help me with her,” Sahir replied.
Griffins were intelligent creatures, but also vicious when they felt threatened. I’d watched one rip apart a dozen poachers that had stupidly tried to raid its nest after I’d warned them to stay away. A young griffin could be even more dangerous if they were frightened.
“Griffin wrangling? Another one of your talents, Cousin?” Chris said.
“Griffins can be very dangerous when they are cornered. Sara is not going in there unprotected,” I said firmly, walking over to them.
Sara frowned at me. “She’s just a child, Nikolas.”
I stepped between her and the menagerie. “That child could easily rip a grizzly bear apart with her claws.”
She raised an eyebrow. “So could the troll you thought was going to kill me.”
Sahir stared at us. “Troll?”
“I’ll tell you about him later,” she said. “Let’s take care of your griffin first.”
“Not without us,” I said.
Sara huffed and rolled her eyes. “Fine, but you better not frighten her. You two can stay by the door unless the vicious griffin attacks me.”
Chris snickered and leaned toward me to whisper loudly. “I think she’s gotten bossy since she came here. What have you been teaching her?”
Scowling, I pushed him away and followed Sara into the menagerie. I took up a position near the door where I could watch her and jump in if necessary.
Chris didn’t speak when he stood beside me, but his tight grip on his sword told me he was worried too despite his joking.
Sara and Sahir moved toward the cages. She stopped to pet the hellhounds and called a greeting to the wyvern from a safe distance.
My whole body tensed as Sara walked past the cages toward the center of the building. At the same time, I couldn’t help but be amazed by her composure and her lack of fear. You would think she was approaching a baby bird that had fallen from its nest, not a creature that could kill a man with one swipe of its powerful paw.
Despite the instinct that screamed for me to pull her away from this new threat, I did nothing but watch her. I didn’t understand the effect Sara had on creatures, but I had to trust she knew what she was doing.
She stopped and looked up, and my gaze followed hers to the small griffin perched in the rafters of the domed building. The griffin’s feathers were filthy and dull, and it had a bare spot on its neck where some of its feathers had fallen out. Judging by its size, I guessed it to be no more than four or five years of age.
“Wow, oh, wow,” Sara said in an awed voice, staring raptly at the griffin.
“Sara, this is Minuet,” Sahir told her in a soft voice.
“She’s incredible.”
He nodded grimly. “She won’t be that way for long if we don’t get her down from there and get her to eat something.”
“Right, sorry. I’ve just never seen anything like her.” She walked over to sit on the floor with her back against the bars of an empty cage. “Sahir, could you stand with the others so you don’t frighten her?”
He stayed where he was. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m just going to talk to her for a bit.”
I took a step forward when he left her and walked toward us.
He shook his head and held up a hand to stop me. “She’ll be okay,” he whispered confidently.
Sara’s soothing voice filled the room. “I hope you don’t mind me keeping you company, Minuet. I bet it’s pretty scary and lonely for you here. I know how you feel. I miss my family, too.”
The griffin shifted restlessly but made no move to leave her perch.
“Minuet, would you like to hear a story about a girl who got lost far away from her family?” Sara asked softly. “Kind of like you, I guess. It has a happy ending, I promise.
“The girl’s name was…um…Mary, and one day she disappeared, and none of her friends or family knew where she’d gone. They all thought she was lost to them forever. But what they didn’t know was that Mary was very sick, so sick she almost died, and some good faeries had taken Mary home with them to heal her.
“For a long time, Mary lay in a deep sleep while the faeries worked their magic on her. And then one day, she woke up and found herself in the most amazing place she had ever seen.
“Mary was lying in the softest bed you could ever imagine, surrounded by walls made of vines and pretty flowers. Then the vines moved and in walked the most beautiful red-haired sylph who told Mary they had healed her.
“Then she shocked Mary by telling her that she was actually half faerie, which was why the faeries had saved her. She took Mary outside and gave her the most delicious food and drink, then took her on a walk to show her a place so beautiful it brought tears to Mary’s eyes.
“Mary and her new friend talked for a long time, and the sylph told her this was her home now if she chose to stay. Mary looked around her and knew she might never feel as safe or as content as she did at that moment. She could have that forever if she gave up her life in the human world and stayed in Faerie.”
I should have been watching the griffin, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from Sara’s face as she described her time in Faerie. The joy in her eyes when she remembered the experience caused an ache to start up in my chest. In Faerie she had been safe and pampered, and she never had to worry about the dangers of this world. Was I selfish for wanting her here with me instead of in that beautiful, safe place?
Movement from above drew my attention, and I sucked in a sharp breath as the griffin stepped off the rafter and flew in a small circle before descending to land near Sara.
I raised my sword and took a step toward Sara before Chris grabbed my arm.
“Look at the griffin,” he whispered. “It’s not upset.”
He was right. The griffin stood quietly, watching Sara with interest. But there was nothing threatening in its stance.
Sara went on with her story as if there wasn’t a griffin standing a few feet away. I tried to listen, but all of my attention was on the creature. It looked calm now, but griffins were unpredictable. If it attacked, I’d only have a second to reach Sara.
The griffin let out a small squawk, and I realized Sara had stopped talking.
“I know it’s scary being away from home,” she said in a crooning voice. “I don’t know if you can understand me, but I promise you’re safe here with us until we find your family.”
It took all of my strength not to move when the griffin began to walk toward Sara. It stood over her for several long seconds before it lowered its head and rubbed its face against Sara’s. It was a gesture of affection shared only among griffins of the same flock. Then it turned away and marched into the cage across from where Sara sat.
Sara stood and walked over to quietly shut the cage door. Her face glowed when she turned and smiled at us.
Chris found his voice first. “I thought I’d seen it all when I met the troll, but this…”
“Sara, do you realize what just happened?” Sahir croaked.
She frowned and shook her head.
“She marked you with her scent. To her you are one of her flock now. I-I have never seen anything like it.”
Grinning, she started toward us. “So, I’m like an honorary griffin? Cool.”
She gave me a smug look. “See, piece of cake.”
I heard a scratching sound, and it took me several seconds to realize it was coming from the wyvern. My eyes flew back to Sara, and my gut wrenched sickly when I saw how close she was to its cage.
I dropped my sword and ran as flames spewed from between the bars of the cage. A second later, I reached her and spun her away. I wasn’t fast enough to prevent the flames from touching her, and I held her against me with one arm while I smothered the fire on her sleeve with my free hand. The smell of seared flesh filled my nose as Sara cried out in pain.
Blood pounded in my ears, and I fought to control the fear simmering below my skin. If I had been one second slower…
Sahir ran toward us. “Sara, are you okay?”
“Goddamnit, Sahir, I told you it wasn’t safe in here for her,” I roared at the warrior, who came up short. “That thing could have killed her.”
“It’s not his fault,” Sara rasped in a pain-filled voice. “I was careless. I got too close.”
“The hell it’s not,” I bit out. “He should never have allowed you in here.”
Chris moved toward us. “Nikolas.”
I looked at him and saw the warning in his eyes, the same one he’d given me when I almost lost it the night Sara was hurt by the crocotta.
Sanity returned and I loosened my hold on her, but I kept an arm around her waist. Touching her was the only thing calming my Mori right now.
Sara tried to pull away. “D-don’t blame Sahir for this. I’m old enough to make my own decisions.” She glared up at me. “Let me go.”
I ignored her demand. All I could think about was how close she had come to being engulfed in flames. “You can’t keep taking risks like this.”
“Would you just get the hell over yourself?” she yelled, pulling hard.
I released her so she didn’t injure herself further.
She whirled to face me, her eyes flashing with pain and fury. “You don’t get to say where I can go or how I spend my time. And I’m not some weakling you need to jump in and save all the time.”
I gave her a disbelieving look. I wasn’t trying to control her life. I just couldn’t stand to see her put herself in danger. Like just now.
“Okay, you just did and I’m grateful, but that doesn’t give you the right to yell at everyone or treat me like I’m useless. If that’s all you think of me, I wish you’d just stayed away.”
The hurt in her voice cooled my own anger. I took a step toward her.
“I didn’t say you were –”
“Just forget it.” She put up her good arm and let out a whimper of pain.
“We need to get you to the medical ward,” I said, taking another step toward her.
She turned away from me. “I don’t need your help. I can get there on my own.”
I followed her. “I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not. Just leave me alone.” She walked stiffly to the door and pushed it open, the set of her shoulders matching the anger in her eyes.
I stayed behind her as she ran to the main building, and I followed her into the medical ward where she was immediately whisked away by one of the healers. I paced the ward for almost thirty minutes before the healer came out of the room and assured me Sara was no longer in pain.
“You can go in now, if you want to,” she said.
I thanked her and went to Sara’s room. I knew she didn’t want to see me, but I needed to clear up a few things between us. And I needed to see for myself that she was okay.
Sara was lying on the exam table with her arm resting beside her, wrapped in gauze. Her face was paler than usual, but she didn’t appear to be in pain.
She saw it was me and turned her face away to look at the ceiling.
“I’m really not up to arguing with you again, Nikolas.”
I stayed by the door, not wanting to upset her, but unable to leave. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine. I’ve had worse injuries, remember?”
“I remember,” I said, my voice rough as I recalled her standing at the edge of a cliff with a knife in her chest.
She sat up, her legs hanging over the edge of the table, and held up her arm. “Look, all taken care of. I’ll be as good as new in no time.”
Her words were light, but I could sense her discomfort, and I cursed myself for being the cause of it. I’d come home, looking forward to seeing her, and all I’d done was upset her.
“You don’t have to stay with me,” she said quietly. “The healer said I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry for yelling at you.” My gaze held her surprised one. “I never meant to make you feel useless. It just angers me to see you taking risks like that.”
Her nostrils flared slightly. “What do you expect me to do – hide out in my room so I don’t get hurt? I can’t be safe all the time. You have to realize that I will get hurt sometimes, especially if I become a warrior.”
The thought of her being hurt again made my jaw clench. “I thought you didn’t want to be a warrior.”
“What am I training for, if not to become one? Isn’t that what we do?”
Her agitation pulled at me through our bond, and I walked toward her. “I’m teaching you to defend yourself if you ever need it, not to go out looking for trouble.”
“I’m not looking for trouble, and that thing with Alex was a freak accident. It could have happened to anyone.” She looked away, her voice cracking. “Why is it so hard for you to believe I can take care of myself? I’m not a child, you know.”
I stopped in front of her. She lifted her head, her face flushed, and her beautiful green eyes pulling the air from my lungs.
“No, you are not a child,” I said gruffly.
A voice in my head told me to stop, but the need to be close to her, to touch her, was too strong. She didn’t move when I lifted my hand. Her breath hitched, but her eyes never left mine as I brushed the pad of my thumb gently over her jaw. I imagined my mouth moving along her skin to finally taste her soft lips. Need tightened my gut, and my body almost trembled from the strain of denying myself what I had craved for so long.
“Sara,” I whispered hoarsely. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against hers, fighting my excited Mori and my own desire. I didn’t have the strength to pull away, not unless she asked me to.
“Yell at me. Tell me to go,” I said, even as I silently begged her to ask me to stay.
She pulled back slightly and laid her palms against my chest. I waited for her to push me away.
“Nikolas, I…” she breathed, and in those two words I heard confusion and doubt.
But no withdrawal.
I cupped her chin and lifted her face to mine. The innocent desire in her eyes punched me square in the chest, and my Mori came roaring to life.
Mine, it growled, reaching for its mate.
Her Mori answered, and she leaned in. Her lips parted, and her fingers curled in the front of my sweater.
Placing a hand on either side of her face, I gently tugged her to me until my lips grazed hers. Her bottom lip trembled when I kissed it softly, and I slanted my mouth to claim hers at last. Her lips parted slightly in silent invitation, and I pulled her closer as I coaxed her mouth open and deepened the kiss.
When her tongue shyly touched mine, a fire began low in my belly and I had to suppress a groan. Her timid eagerness told me this was her first kiss, and I reveled in the knowledge that no other man had tasted her mouth. She was mine, just as I was hers. My heart knew it, our Mori knew it, and one day soon, she would know it too.
It took most of my willpower to break the kiss. I pulled back just far enough to look into her eyes, and close enough to feel her warm breath mingling with mine. One kiss from her would never be enough, and already I craved her lips. But first, I needed to make sure she was okay. I didn’t want to rush her into anything she wasn’t ready for.
She wore a bewildered expression, which quickly turned to shock as her eyes widened and she gasped softly.
Her reaction was like cold water dousing my desire. I’d sworn to myself and Tristan I would take things slowly with Sara, to spend time with her and let her get to know me better before I took the next step. She’d been injured and emotional, and I’d taken advantage, even if I hadn’t meant to. She deserved better than that.
Releasing her, I stepped back. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to…”
She flinched and looked down, her cheeks rosy with embarrassment.
My chest ached as self-loathing filled me. It killed me to see her in distress and to know I had caused it.
“Sara –”
“No.” She whispered the word, but I could hear the tears in her voice.
Every part of me wanted to reach out to her, but it felt like a chasm stretched between us. I stood there for a long moment, waiting for her to meet my eyes again. But she refused to look at me.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly before I turned and walked away from her.
It was the hardest thing I had ever done.
