Bane of the Wild Hunt (Heart of the Tithriall #2)

1. CANNOT BE REPAID

Chapter one

CANNOT BE REPAID

Amira

R emember what I told you.

I could still hear the urgency in her voice as Ornella implored me.

They will all wonder at your audacity to believe you belong with Riordan.

I could still feel her stubborn hesitation after I grabbed her into a hug before she could walk away. Could still feel how she finally relented and squeezed me back.

Know in your heart that you are where you belong.

I could still see her playful grin right before she turned and walked into the trunk of a tree to lure the invading Unseelie warriors away from me and her king.

Because the fucking Tithriall sent me to you…

I had been playing that last conversation over and over in my head for what felt like an hour while I was prodded through the dense underbrush. My mind was strangely disjointed from my body as it cycled through an endless loop of emotions. I was enraged that Nell had volunteered herself in the first place, and that we were really leaving her behind. But then an anguished understanding would set in because Riordan was the King of the Vale. He was not at his full strength after he was nearly recaptured by a blood witch trying to acquire his power. His life was infinitely more important than either mine or Nell’s when so many people were relying on his return to the Vale. Which reminded me that I was in over my head. I needed my friend, I needed her sharp tongue and her firm resolve, and now she was gone.

Bringing me back to rage again.

I was startled when Riordan put a gentle hand on the back of my head to pull me closer to him and under a low branch in the underbrush. I would have probably walked straight into it in my blind distraction.

I closed my eyes and allowed the griffin shifter to pull me against his chest while he pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead. A sweet display of the sympathy and devotion which he had promised to me if I accepted him as my mate.

When I opened my eyes, I saw his enormous left wing had curled around me. The feathers on the underside were still stained with his blood from the bolts I’d removed. Bolts that had been imbued with a horrible magic that ripped his power from him. Weakening him.

But the Griffin King still felt like a pillar of strength to me that stood firm against the shrill peal of the warning bells that had begun tolling in the distance. Against Orion who shouted at us through the thicket to keep moving.

Riordan ignored his skiá , his closest friend with whom he had forged the traditional bond between griffin males, and swept a hand up my back. Kissing my head again.

“I am sorry, Amira,” he murmured into my hair.

“ None of this was your fault,” I insisted as I pressed my head against his chest harder and closed my eyes to soak up his proximity. “It wasn’t your fault Jade cursed you to try and take your power. It wasn’t your fault they shot you with spears that blocked your magic or that the Unseelie invaded as soon as you got home!”

Riordan was quiet for a moment, and I could tell that he did not agree with me. He still felt responsible for my friend being taken. He was a warrior, a general before Jade killed his elder brother, and now he had become the new king. I knew the need for Nell to sacrifice herself for him was yet another reason among so many that made him loathe his new duties. He hated to be constrained because of his importance to his kingdom.

“The clearing where Ares will be waiting is straight ahead of us,” persisted Orion in exasperation. I did not look up, but I could hear the other griffin shifter walking away from us through the forest.

Riordan took the opportunity to pull me even closer, dropping his head into the crook of my neck as he squeezed me tight. And it felt so good.

“I do not yet know what the Autumn Prince intends to do with the fey he is capturing, Amira, but I swear to do everything in my power to bring her back to you.”

My eyes stung, and I squeezed them to hold back the tears dampening my eyelashes.

“If she is still alive.”

Riordan grunted softly, sounding almost as if he were somehow amused in spite of the gravity of my words.

“I have not known your friend very long, but I got the impression she is resilient and stubborn. Especially when it comes to protecting you. So we must honour her by having faith. She is alive, and we will get her back.”

He was right. Ornella was nothing if not resilient and stubborn. And the Autumn Prince was not killing the Vale fey but abducting them. Which meant he had a purpose for my friend, and she would certainly exploit that.

I wanted to tell Riordan what she’d told me about the Tithriall before she left, to see what he thought of it, but I suspected it was something better discussed in private once we were safe. Among many other things.

“I hope you are right,” I said instead, just before Orion returned to us through the forest. He came to stand so close that I almost turned my head toward him but forced myself not to. I doubted his aversion to me had lessened in the last hour, and I didn’t think I could bear it while my heart was aching for my friend. She’d said she thought he must have been in love with Riordan, and I could not deny his behaviour seemed to support that suspicion.

Orion asked Riordan a question, his voice sounding clipped even whilst he spoke their language. I was fairly sure Riordan had called it Aeolian, and it had to be some dialect of Ancient Greek.

What I did know for sure was that the other griffin was intentionally excluding me by using a language he already knew I could not speak.

“My magic is still healing,” Riordan replied in Gaelic, my native language, so I could understand them. And I swore I could almost feel Orion’s frustration emanating from where he stood at my back.

“Ares is waiting,” Orion responded, grudgingly using Gaelic as well, and then I heard him stalk away again.

I would have to learn to speak Aeolian. Orion would not be the last griffin to use my ignorance against me.

Riordan gave a soft sigh and then kissed the top of my head, gently rousing me, and I grudgingly leaned away to look up at the gorgeous griffin shifter.

His dark, shoulder-length hair had been combed back and to the right with his fingers, but the loose waves fell into his eyes as he tilted his head toward me. It made me want to run my hands through it. He had a full beard but kept it trimmed close to his strong jaw, and his nose had been broken so there was a scar in the middle. His olive skin was still pale, and his golden eyes were dulled with exhaustion from having his magic ripped away, but he still smiled at me.

The blood magic in those bolts had taken a horrible toll on him, and he had not breathed a word of it. Now he was about to face a court that loathed him and a kingdom on the verge of war that needed him desperately.

But he still took a moment to ensure I was alright.

And I couldn’t help relishing each of the loving kisses he pressed against my forehead and cheeks. Perhaps it made me a selfish bitch to want him all to myself when he was needed by so many, but I couldn’t muster an ounce of remorse or shame. The gods knew that I didn’t deserve this beautiful, sweet man, but I just didn’t care anymore. Whether the Tithriall itself meant for us to come together romantically or not didn’t matter when he made me feel like this. Safe . Cherished . Powerful .

“We should go before Orion has to come back again and scold us,” I murmured, working hard to try and infuse my voice with humour.

Riordan grunted softly in agreement, his full mouth curving with amusement, but his eyes traced my face in reluctance. I could tell that there were so many things he wished to say to me, but there was no time now to discuss my unexpected ability to use his magic, Nell’s sacrifice, or Orion’s poor attempts to conceal his jealousy.

So I reached up to touch his face with the same gentle tenderness with which he had touched me.

“I am with you, Riordan,” I reassured him, and I could tell that my words meant a great deal when the tension melted from between his brows.

“There is so much for us to discuss—”

“I know. It can wait.”

“I will do my best to ensure it is not too long,” he said, his arms squeezing around my waist.

I hesitated as I realized what he was not saying.

The return of the king was likely to spark mild chaos. It was very probable that he would be immediately swept into meetings and ceremonies and reunions. And because we were not officially mated, I would not have the access to him that I did now. We certainly would not be sleeping in the same bed, maybe not even under the same roof, and there would likely be attempts made to keep us apart too.

“It’s okay. This is important, and I want to support you however I can,” I insisted. Trying to assure us both.

Relief and gratefulness filled Riordan’s eyes as he leaned over me to press a final kiss to my forehead before threading our fingers together. We continued through the last of the trees to the clearing where Orion was leaning against a trunk with his arms crossed and wings in repose. I was still wearing his cloak, since I had burned all my clothes away whilst defending Riordan, so his arms and biceps were exposed except for leather arm guards. I had been too distracted before to notice that his muscular skin was adorned by a medley of tattoos and scars. I found it interesting since I didn’t think Riordan had any tattoos.

In the clearing behind him stood four griffins in their animal forms. I’d been faced with their kind several times before with Riordan and Orion, although they were a little more intimidating in such a large group.

But they were such stunningly beautiful creatures.

I stopped, my eyes tracing the eagle-headed beasts with sleek and powerful feline bodies. They were slightly different in colour but shared the same basic brown and white appearance of a golden eagle. The difference was that unlike Riordan or Orion, these griffins were wearing ornate, gold armour that fit their animal forms perfectly. Beautifully gilded breastplates and bevor collars buckled up around their thick, feathery manes and covered their chests and underbellies. Their shoulder pauldrons were shaped like wings, and there was a row of overlapping pleats down their spines.

I could not help wondering how they got dressed.

One of the griffins stepped forward, his giant wings unfurling and fluttering with excitement as he uttered a series of eager chirps. Riordan laughed as the other griffin began to shift into a man in a gold helmet that had wings moulded onto either side. It was as if the griffin’s armour had shifted with him, but now it included a kilt of leather pleats, gold shin guards, and leather sandals. He also wore a vibrant red cloak rather than the plain brown one that Orion had given me. And the front of his breastplate had evolved into such a suggestively realistic depiction of a man’s nude torso that I might have thought it was painted on the warrior. Which surprised me since the griffins were supposed to be very chaste. And yet there was absolutely nothing innocent about the armour exposing the warrior’s brown, muscled thighs and tattooed arms.

The griffin removed his helm, uncovering dark blond, shoulder-length hair which he combed into place with his fingers before securing his helmet to his belt. I could tell right away that he was much less serious than Orion in spite of an impressive scar that made him appear rather fearsome. It arced down from his left ear to the corner of his mouth and ended in the middle of his chin. But his handsome face was consumed by a grin that was so wide and genuine that I couldn’t help smiling along with him even though his joy was not directed at me.

He charged for Riordan with a joyous roar .

Orion stepped forward to block us, moving with a fluid and lethal grace, and he spoke sharply enough in their language to halt the other griffin instantly. The blond looked more closely at Riordan, his dark brows furrowing with concern, and I realized Orion had warned him that their king was too injured to be tackled in a rough hug.

“It is alright, Orion,” said Riordan in Gaelic, earning a look of surprise from all of the griffins as he released me and strode forward to embrace the newcomer.

Orion stepped back, pivoting to bring his wing around me without striking me with it, and took Riordan’s place beside me. I wasn’t especially fond of his proximity, but I had to admit that his protection was reassuring. He might be disapproving and even verbally cruel with me behind closed doors, but he would defend me. For Riordan.

I refocused on Riordan and saw that the other griffins, two women and another man, had shifted and approached Riordan. Their gold armour had also changed with them, and the two women’s breastplates were just as graphic as those of the men. Their hair ranged in colour from the dark blond of the first warrior, a colour he shared with one of the women, to the deep russet of the other man, and the dark brunette of the last woman. All of them wore their hair quite long, at least shoulder length, but the women’s thick braids brushed their belts. All of them had flawless, olive skin and golden-brown eyes like Riordan, but they had charcoal eyeliner smudged around them.

And I was starting to suspect that all griffins must be exceedingly attractive. Which only made sense since they were Greek demigods after all, but it was impossible not to feel just a little insecure. Especially when I was naked under Orion’s worn cloak and dirty and probably rather smelly from our journey with my braid all frayed.

I glanced up at Orion who stood with his arms crossed while his eyes scanned the trees. He was gorgeous too, especially while the wind was toying with the soft waves of his medium-length hair. The curls sweeping across his face made him look almost playful. The sunlight brought out hints of caramel and russet in the unruly strands. Riordan had almond-shaped eyes with thick, dark lashes that contrasted strikingly with his irises, but Orion’s were hooded with warmer tones of amber that softened them. The dark shadow of his unshaven stubble and the tops of several tattoos on his neck that peeked out from under his leather armour gave him a roguish appearance.

Luckily, he was grumpy enough to make up for those good looks because I refused to be attracted to him.

“Amira,” said Riordan, drawing my attention again, and I saw the others were all looking at me. The sudden attention made me flush with self-consciousness.

Riordan extended a hand, so I clenched my borrowed cloak tighter around my nude body with one hand before sliding my fingers into his. The king drew me forward, and Orion followed behind until Riordan’s wing curved around me. Keeping me perfectly shielded at all times between the two of them.

The other four griffins were so intent upon me as I was presented to them that I didn’t think they missed a single freckle on my face as they examined me. Devouring me with their eyes as though I was a rare creature unlike anything that they had ever seen. I didn’t think I could have been more shocked than when the blond who met Riordan first abruptly bent his head, but then the others followed suit. As each of them bowed forward, I noticed they were all wearing a similar necklace, a white jewel on a leather cord which swung free of their collars.

“It is an honour to make your acquaintance, thárrosi . We owe you a debt that could never be fully repaid for returning our king. I am yours to command,” the blond told me, his tail weaving behind him. After spending so many months learning to communicate with Riordan in his griffin body, I recognized the emotion in those wide movements of his tail. He was deeply sincere.

“Amira, this is Ares. He is one of my oldest friends,” Riordan told me with a fond smile. “And this is Helena, but we all prefer to call her mitéra since she trained all of us from childhood,” he continued as he indicated the tall, brunette woman. She seemed touched by the nickname as she put a hand over her heart and nodded to me.

“Abused us, I think you mean,” Ares smirked and then winced as if already expecting the cuff Helena gave him to the back of his head.

“And this is Theo and Iris. They were the first of the Ktínos to truly accept me at Ergastiri. The war college we all attended together,” Riordan explained as he inclined his head to the two remaining griffins.

“There is Althaea also, my twin sister, who is keeping an eye on Castor now,” Ares informed me before his eyes turned to Riordan. “He is disgruntled.”

“I expected he would be. I’m assigning you to Amira,” Riordan informed Ares. “You will shield her from the venom of anyone who would direct their displeasure with me in her direction,” Riordan added significantly.

Ares tried to repress a small, wicked smile, but none of the other griffins bothered as they exchanged glances.

“Are you giving us permission to defy the Imítheos?” Ares verified eagerly.

“I am,” Riordan answered.

“Then no one shall breathe a word against her and not live to regret it,” Ares assured him.