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

2. RETURN OF THE GRIFFIN KING

Chapter two

RETURN OF THE GRIFFIN KING

Amira

I had learned in the last couple days that there were two types of griffins. Imítheos, like Riordan, could use air magic which evidently made them socially superior to the second type of griffin, called Ktínos, who had no magic. Riordan said that he preferred the company of the lower class of griffins, like Orion and presumably the warriors I’d just met, because he found them much more genuine. While Imítheos were supposedly insufferably arrogant.

I looked up at Riordan and nervously squeezed his arm to garner his attention.

“I don’t want to be any more of a source of contention than I probably already will be.”

“You will not be. Not unless someone else makes you into one. This decision belongs only to me and Amira,” the king added firmly to Ares who dipped his head low. “And no one is free to question, undermine, or otherwise interfere with it.”

He was talking about his desire to take me as his mate. That was the issue already causing a fuss since Ornella had gone ahead of us to warn the griffins that Riordan was coming home with an intended mate.

Me. A fire witch.

Most magical creatures hated witches since those of my kind who practiced dark magics happily hacked them apart to be used as components in their spells. Most of the griffins would feel no different about me.

“Understood,” Ares reassured his king with complete confidence, clearly not one of those griffins who would be hating me on principle.

“Then we fly to The Mountain City,” Riordan replied.

Ares dipped into another humble bow before he and the others turned to stride further into the clearing to shift their shapes. Riordan was about to follow them, but Orion grabbed his arm and turned us both back to face him.

“Do you think it’s wise to give Ares such a long leash? You know he can be overzealous, and you just gave him permission to terrorize your whole court!” he hissed.

“His zeal is precisely what I expect when it comes to defending Amira during the next few months. We knew my ascension to the throne would never be an easy one,” Riordan reminded his skiá .

“Then you will not even attempt to be civil.”

“Castor is already grumbling, and I have not even presented myself to them. I do not have time or patience to ease them into this transition by playing the courtier. We both know I am not good at it, and we are at war with the Autumn Court,” Riordan insisted.

“You cannot take control of your court the way you did with the army, Riordan. Not everything can be solved by waving your sword at it,” Orion chided his friend. “And Castor is grumbling because you have proven all of their fears about your impulsivity when you declared your intentions for a witch ,” Orion added.

I flinched when his golden eyes shot down at me with pure accusation.

“If I am permitted to be selfish in just one aspect of my life then it will be in this . The choice of my mate to whom I am given wholly,” Riordan maintained.

“But she is not just your mate. She is also their future Royal Consort,” Orion insisted, jaw clenching in obvious aversion to Riordan’s declaration about me.

Riordan got that stubborn set to his own jaw, so I set my hand on his arm to try and intervene.

“We already talked about this—”

“It does not matter that you have not made an official commitment to him,” Orion cut me off, his voice rising. “The free way you touch one another, Ares being sicced on the court in your defense, it will be enough for them to deem that the king is bonded to you. And then he will no longer be permitted to select another mate.”

“Perhaps you should be thankful,” I snapped at him, losing my temper because I knew his aversion was at least partly personal and not all political. “Would it not be so much worse for you if he were with someone you actually thought was worthy of him?”

Orion was first taken off guard by my retaliation and then confused by my words. I could not help raising my brows at him, giving him a knowing look, and I saw the moment he realized my meaning. The moment he realized that I knew how he felt about Riordan, and the real reason he hated me so much.

His wings had been poised high in confrontation but abruptly drew closer to him, and his lashing tail became very still. His scowl was overcome with shock and then fear as he glanced behind me to see if Riordan understood my insinuation.

Oh yes, you arrogant bastard, I know your secret.

I smiled at him smugly when he returned his attention to me which only made him glare at me harder.

“You have teeth after all. Perhaps you will fit right in,” he mused, although it did not sound like a compliment, and his tail lashed temperamentally again.

“That’s enough,” Riordan growled, evidently oblivious to what I’d revealed to Orion about what I knew. “I have enough enemies. I need you two united with me.”

Orion glared at me a moment longer, uncertain how to react before he turned away from us to shift his shape.

“I’m sorry, I should not antagonize him—” I began to apologize to Riordan, but he put his thumb over my lips.

“Do not apologize for it. Perhaps it is what he needs,” he admitted with a glance at his retreating friend.

He was clearly irritated, but I thought there was also a flicker of sorrow in his expression. He must have been so excited for his mate and his skiá to finally meet, and now we were at each other’s throats. Not that I took any of the responsibility for our conflict; Orion was to blame.

But I knew it was even more complicated than that.

Ornella had told me that Imítheos were celibate until they selected a mate, and then the two bonded skiá males would both share said mate. Orion was Ktínos. His people did not have magic to create such bonds, and based on Riordan’s conversation with him about it earlier, it did not seem like they practiced celibacy either. Riordan made it clear he’d chosen me for himself, since Orion was free to fuck whoever, but if sharing was normal for Imítheos, then I knew it must have crossed Riordan’s mind. He had not brought it up to me, but he had said we would do whatever “felt natural” for us. I was pretty sure that might have included Orion if things were different.

Not that I would have entertained it even if the other griffin was as sweet as Riordan.

“Are you going to shift?” I asked to distract Riordan.

“I must. I cannot show weakness upon my return,” Riordan admitted. “I will also clothe you properly.”

“You don’t have to! You’re still—”

“You will not walk naked into my court, Amira,” Riordan interrupted me firmly. He was so insistent that I merely sighed in resignation and nodded.

“If you insist. Nothing too taxing for you.”

Riordan smiled slightly in amusement but inclined his head in acceptance of my assertion. “Very well.”

Then he focused those stunning golden eyes on my body clad in Orion’s cloak. My neck and cheeks heated, even though he was not looking directly at my nude skin. Just a few days ago, the thought of trusting him to clothe me like this would have been terrifying. Since then, I had been slowly rediscovering the trust I’d had in him before we broke his curse. Before I found out he wasn’t just an animal with whom I safely shared my deepest secrets.

Something brushed against me, whispering around me like a warm, phantom wind, and I inhaled sharply.

“It is only me,” Riordan reassured me, his grin now a little crooked. The smile faded as he refocused, a line of concentration forming between his eyes. His magic had always seemed effortless before, but I could tell that it was much more of an exertion for him this time.

The sensation of my body being abruptly clothed was at once strange and an immense relief. I parted the cloak to look down at myself, and my jaw dropped open when I saw the gorgeous robes he’d designed. It was a Grecian style dress that left my left shoulder bare while the rest of the dress swooped across my chest from the gold pin on my right shoulder. The soft, silky material rippled over my breasts in shimmering, creamy waves, gathering and cinching my waist, and then cascading around my legs. My fingers found a large slit on the side when I reached down to run my hand over my thigh. Beneath, I had been clad in riding leggings made from the softest suede.

“I’ve infused it with a protective ward,” said Riordan, looking pleased by my astonishment with his work.

“It’s beautiful!” I breathed as I continued to touch the soft dress. “Do I need to ride with Orion?” I asked him, trying to conceal my unease at the thought of flying with the other griffin without Riordan.

“Yes,” he admitted reluctantly. “I will not endanger you on account of my own pride by carrying you while I’m not at my full strength,” he explained. Then he took my hand to guide me toward where the other griffins had shifted and waited for us.

Orion’s tail flicked briefly with his agitation, but he lowered himself at our approach and bent his foreleg back for me to step onto his palm. Riordan helped support me as Orion lifted me up high enough to scramble onto the griffin’s back. I was much less concerned with hurting him than I was while riding Riordan, so I grabbed a hold of his feathery mane to haul myself up. Then I quickly arranged his cloak around me, tucking the ends under my thighs so it would not whip out behind us and choke me.

I looked up in time to see Riordan shift before he led the others in massive leaps into the air. Orion was the last to go after them, and I hung onto him with all my might as we began to climb into the late afternoon sky.

Thankfully, he was a little kinder to me than he was while I was riding with Riordan. Our ascent into the sky behind Ares was slow and gradual so I did not topple backward off his back. Perhaps he knew that if he actually unseated me while his friend was not helping to hold me, then Riordan would punish him.

After many long, heart-stopping moments, we finally reached the right altitude, and the griffin levelled out beneath me. I dared to raise my head from his neck where I was holding on for dear life and saw Riordan beside us. My king was so beautiful and regal with his strong wings outstretched to glide with just the softest strokes of his wings to keep him afloat. Another griffin had dropped back to cover us from behind and another flew over us. And I could not prevent an immense grin from erupting across my face as I watched them soaring around me.

Then I tilted my head to peer around Orion, and I saw the Kingdom of the Vale below. Riordan’s kingdom.

The Summer Quadrant spread out directly beneath and behind us with lush meadows, marshland, and woodland. To my right beyond a mountainous barrier was obviously the Autumn Quadrant with its vibrant hues of red, orange, and gold. To my left was the Spring Quadrant with bare trees in the north, close to Winter’s borders, and budding foliage nearer to Summer. In the farthest distance ahead rose snowy peaks that would be the Winter Quadrant. And in the middle of everything was a circular mountain range where each of the four seasons converged like the triangular spokes of a wheel.

That was where we were going.

We passed out of the Summer Quadrant and over the first outer fringe of mountains in the middle of the Vale. One of the griffins flying with us gave a few sharp eagle cries with their head angled down. I looked below to see what they might be signalling and saw watchtowers and walls were built into the mountainous terrain beneath us. Winged humanoid forms were patrolling the defensive buildings and waved at us as if to acknowledge the alert my companion had given.

The bells stopped tolling, and a new sound rose deep and proud amidst the mountains. A horn.

I was surprised when dozens of griffins joined us instantly from the towers and walls. There were many openings carved into the sheer faces of the cliffs from which even more people emerged and shifted to join us. Most of them were wearing gold armour like Ares and his companions, so I assumed they were also soldiers that Riordan would have commanded. They formed a massive procession, rallying behind him to show their support as he returned home to claim his throne. More and more of them joined us until there were probably hundreds of them flying in perfect formation. The sound of their eager chirps and cries brought tears to my eyes.

We decreased altitude once we reached sprawling hills, farmland, and pastures dotted with stone huts and flocks of various animals. Beyond the grassland, the skyline became dominated by a solitary peak rising higher than any other mountain in the ranges all around it. As we got closer, I thought it looked less like a natural formation and more like a mountain-sized tower. Two rivers flowed from either side of the structure and met in the middle at its base before plunging over a cliff. The giant waterfall thundered into a lake at the edge of the grasslands where I saw two cities on either side. The one on the left was a somewhat decrepit settlement with mudbrick walls and crumbling buildings. The one on the right was a stunning and ancient fortress with stone walls and green fields from which more griffins in gold armour joined us.

More horns were blown as we passed over the water between the two cities and glided up over the waterfall toward that mountainous tower. My jaw dropped open when I saw all the elaborate hanging gardens, waterfalls, ornate statues, and immense balconies. Almost every inch of the exterior seemed to have been chiseled artfully and many of the pillars and motifs were elaborately painted. Near the base of the tower, we flew toward a cobblestone courtyard with a monolithic staircase that led up to the main entrance of the tower.

The moment we were on the ground, I looked up at the sky filled with the griffins that flew in with us. Some of them continued to glide above, their shadows darting across the cobblestones, but some found places to land on the mountain and shifted their forms.

I immediately noticed that the guards on the courtyard walls seemed nervous. They wore gold armour and had black smudged under their eyes just like Ares, but they looked different from Riordan’s companions somehow. Clean-shaven, waxed brows, gold ornaments in their hair, and rings on their hands.

The differences between the two groups were subtle, but they were there. It could have easily been the fact that they were elite palace guards, and grooming expectations were more stringent, but I suspected they were Imítheos. All of the griffins who had flown in with us from the outposts were undoubtedly Ktínos, and in these kinds of numbers, they made the Imítheos anxious.

Riordan, Ares, and the others all changed their shapes. Orion knelt so Riordan could take my hand, and he pulled me down into his arms.

“Are you alright?” he asked me, and I nodded eagerly, still grinning like a fool with excitement.

“That was incredible—”

Orion had shifted his form behind me and threaded his arm around my waist to tug me back two steps away from Riordan before placing himself between us.

“What are you doing?” I hissed.

“His mother is approaching,” Orion retorted with equal sharpness as he indicated the griffins walking down the staircase toward us. Unlike all the soldiers, these people wore colourful, silk dresses, long togas that were belted around their waists, and copious amounts of jewellery. They still had eyeliner smudged thickly around their eyes, but they also had colourful eyeshadow.

“I don’t think—”

“This moment is not about you, so I am merely asking you not to make a scene yet,” Orion interrupted me.

The last thing I wanted was to taint Riordan’s reunion with his family, so I grudgingly shut my mouth.