31. RIORDAN CHOSE HIM TOO
Chapter thirty-one
RIORDAN CHOSE HIM TOO
Amira
T he King’s Council was petty, and that did not change no matter how many times I joined Riordan with them over the course of the next few days. I quickly came to understand why he hated this aspect of his job as the king, although I did think he did a good job of getting them to focus when they wanted to fixate on the wrong issues.
My biggest frustration with them was how preoccupied they seemed to be with policing the rights that Riordan was enshrining for the Ktínos. And despite how unkind Orion had been to me, seeing the indignation hardening his face while he stood silently and listened as his people were discussed as if they were barbarians was absolutely gut-wrenching. Riordan, of course, was tireless in their defense and relentlessly challenged each and every cruel and unfounded concern that was raised by some of the more bigoted councillors. But there were so many times that I nearly bit off my own damned tongue trying to keep quiet since I knew my voice was not any more credible to them than Orion’s would have been.
As the demand on my time began to amp up the way Sofia warned me it would, I understood more and more why my mate had so little patience for the council. The days were long and filled with all the training and tutoring that Rhea, Helena, and Sofia had suggested for me. I also offered to oversee the relief program Riordan was implementing in the Rookery since I was very familiar with the realities of urban poverty and homelessness. And although I still felt like I was getting my feet under me, I was determined to match my mate’s ambition and commitment.
And despite everything else, Riordan was wonderful.
He and Orion worked long into the nights with a slew of advisors, both Imítheos and Ktínos individuals whom Riordan had carefully curated. Their task of taking over a kingdom that had been without a proper monarch since the king was cursed was monstrous. But they were also dealing with a resurgence of the Fuath and a mysterious food shortage in the midst of effectively turning all of the city-states upside down with reforms.
Nikos had also left the capital for árgos right after his expulsion from the council chamber which was cause for concern to everyone. But Riordan insisted on letting him go so that they could have someone watch him and try to identify any supporters and collaborators he might have. We sent spies to the Four Courts in the hopes of fostering alliances and attaining information on the Autumn Prince, and an envoy had gone to the Sylvan Elves as well.
And somehow, amidst all of the chaos, Riordan still managed to join me in my room for breakfast every single morning just as he had promised.
But I really began to miss the quiet days which I had not properly appreciated when he was just a griffin and I was just a rogue witch. When he was the most beloved and trusted confidant that I’d ever had, and I was his place of safety and companionship. I missed him from the moment he walked out my door to the second he returned to me. And I knew he felt the same about me because his hands lingered on me a little longer each time he had to go away from me.
It also seemed like I might be growing sensitive to his very scent. Not the airy, fresh smell of his magic, that was something that I’d always been able to sense about others. This was his natural scent, which was not something I had ever been able to detect before, but I could almost taste it. A warm, musky smell, like bergamot and clove, that I was now constantly catching hints of on my skin and clothing. His every touch, even a light brush down my arm was enough to bring my whole body to attention. I was often distracted thinking about him and could barely keep my hands off him whenever we were together. Helena and Ares found it highly amusing and teased me relentlessly. Sofia was a bit slower to get used to our open displays of affection, but she was still far more accepting of it than any of the other Imítheos that I’d gotten to know.
And of course, Orion continued to be unenthusiastic, but he was no longer confrontational. He had either taken his conversation with Riordan to heart or he was slowly beginning to accept that I really was going to be a part of Riordan’s life. I tried not to get my hopes up too much about him coming around.
But waiting to complete the mating ritual with Riordan was becoming increasingly difficult .
The King’s Council had suggested we wait to perform the symbolic and public aspects of our union at Riordan’s coronation ceremony. Dio had pointed out that our private declaration to one another, which was apparently all that was strictly necessary before we consummated the union, might make some think the king was ashamed or coerced. All of the councillors agreed that if Riordan was going to choose such a controversial mate, then he should commit to me with confidence and transparency before everyone.
I was a little skeptical on whether they actually meant well with this recommendation after listening to how they spoke about the Ktínos. But we did agree to wait because Riordan was already being overwhelmed. And when he did finally make me his mate, he said he wanted to give me as much of his undivided attention as he could…
And I was completely unopposed to his plan.
That didn’t make it any easier to wait. Especially since I was always so surrounded by guards that tending to my raging desires on my own felt almost impossible.
“Your mind is wandering,” Riordan said with a hint of amusement in his voice, bringing me back to the present. We were in Ergastiri to train in the private gym in his old apartment since he did not want anyone else to know that I could use his magic.
“It’s a little difficult to focus when you’re standing so close to me,” I insisted without opening my eyes, as if I were still trying to focus on my magic. I grinned when he snorted a soft laugh at me.
“I am not even touching you this time.”
“Maybe you should . Maybe that would make it easier to connect with your magic,” I pointed out.
Orion muttered something in Aeolian from the corner of the room. He had made the workout bench there his customary perch whenever he watched us train since we were not yet allowed to be unsupervised. I was keeping track of some of the foreign words he used the most to translate later. I knew he was not being mean to me since Riordan actually huffed a soft laugh at whatever he said. But one of these days I was going to take them both off guard and retort back in Aeolian.
The only other person who sometimes joined us as a supervisor was Helena who was the only other person Riordan had told the truth to about my ability. She had been a bit uncertain initially, for which I certainly could not blame her. The warrior had turned to look at me with a discerning and contemplating expression that reminded me of the way Riordan’s mother examined me. But at the end of it, Helena began to nod, almost to herself, as if she had carefully weighed all the information before she told him to train me. That was the last time that she and I had really spoken about it.
“I am more than willing to try using touch if you are,” my mate laughed, and I had to bite back a groan when he stepped up against me. Cupping my face gently, he tilted my head up and pressed several kisses to my forehead. “Are you focusing better yet?” he asked playfully before kissing my temple and then my cheek.
“Mhmm,” I grunted, happily soaking up his affection.
“I could orchestrate mortal danger. Maybe recreating the circumstances in which you used the magic will help,” suggested Orion drolly.
“That sounds much less fun,” I said against Riordan’s smile just before he kissed me deliciously slow and soft. But it still ignited a heat deep in my blood that seemed to sweep through all my veins like a gasoline fire.
Orion did not make a sound, but I heard him rise from his place in the corner to walk away across the room.
After a moment of kissing me, Riordan stepped back and squeezed my hand in encouragement, so I resumed trying to find his magic inside. I tried to remember how it felt like I had seized a bolt of lightning from somewhere inside of me. But when I reached for power, all I found was an inferno of my own fire magic. Hotter and fiercer than I had ever felt it before, but it was all mine.
The heavy thumping that arose from Orion distracting himself with a practice dummy somewhere behind me also became rather intrusive.
“Remember what I said about how the air magic is like reaching up, not down?” Riordan asked, and I nodded.
“Is he alright? Was that too much?” I whispered.
“Never too much,” Riordan assured me with a warm smile that made me blush for absolutely no reason at all. “But I am going to help him blow off some steam if it is alright with you, and then check back with you shortly?”
“Of course! There isn’t a lot you can help me do until I work out how to summon the magic again,” I admitted.
Perhaps it should have made me jealous to watch my mate make time and find energy for his skiá the same way that he did for me, but it never did. Watching Riordan find ways to balance his attention between us and attend so diligently to both of our needs was comforting. I trusted that he took his bonds seriously and would not devalue either of us to make room for the other.
And I hoped Orion could begin to see that too.
Besides, watching them together was intriguing to me. Which was why, after a moment of ineffectual meditation, I decided to drift closer to where they were grappling on their feet. I went quietly so Orion didn’t realize because he was entirely different when he was with just Riordan. He smiled. He laughed. He was playful. Comfortable.
I tried to tell myself that I was just curious because it was a relationship that Riordan valued so much.
But I knew deep down that was not the whole truth.
Orion had been grumpy and rude to me, and now he seemed apathetic, but there was no denying the fact that I still found him attractive. Not just appealing to the eye, which he certainly was as well, but Ares was objectively attractive, and yet I was not attracted to him.
Orion was intriguing to me. Secretive and private and exclusive to Riordan. His jokes and smiles were addictive because they were not for everyone.
And when he laughed… Holy gods, I did not have the words to describe it, but that had honestly been the most incredible thing to experience for the first time. Rare and precious like a Kirtland’s warbler sighting.
It was insane , and I was actually really disappointed in myself for thinking about him like that because he’d been nothing but mean to me. I should not be intrigued by him. But perhaps it was my old habits as a bird watcher that were to blame. My tenacious obsession with all things rare and beautiful and a need to pursue them.
I could only hope that the fixation would pass soon.
Orion suddenly threw a knee up into Riordan’s right side in what would have been a blow to the liver. I’d had just enough training to know that this was an incredibly painful hit to take, so I was relieved when Riordan twisted to grab Orion behind the knee. He instinctively pulled to flip Orion onto his back, and I gasped in concern that Orion was about to land on his wings. But in an incredible feat of agility, Riordan twisted in midair. His wings went incorporeal in a way Ktínos wings could not so he did not injure them as Orion would have done if he fell first.
The breath whooshed out of them both when Riordan landed flat on his back, and Orion fell on him.
Orion gasped something, reverting to his native tongue as he undoubtedly checked to make sure his friend was not hurt. Then he seemed to realize he was still lying on Riordan and scrambled upright, straddling Riordan’s hips with his knees. Luckily, my mate was unhurt and started laughing with his head tossed back on the leather mat.
“Finally took you off guard,” he declared breathlessly.
Orion hesitated, and for the briefest of moments, I saw his eyes tracing Riordan from his parted lips and exposed throat to his heaving chest. Awareness seemed to eclipse Orion’s concern, and his lips parted as his fists clenched against his own thighs. Affection softened his expression until he was almost unrecognizable to me.
Then he blinked, rebounding from the momentary lapse in control and forced a glare down at his skiá .
“ Ilíthios ,” he cursed Riordan, but the name calling only made my mate laugh harder as he accepted the hand that Orion extended. Riordan’s incorporeal wings smoked as he was pulled back to his feet, flickering with veins of lightning until he was upright and they solidified.
It had all happened so fast that I might have dismissed the brief glimpse of Orion’s yearning, but it left an ache in my heart. I thought again that I should probably be angry, but how could I be when that look on his face was so full of such genuine love?
Besides, there was no denying the emotion that had been invoked instead which was definitely not anger.
I found my eyes lingering on where they touched one another while Orion began to brush nonexistent dirt off Riordan’s back. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell my mate what an impressive move that had been, but I kept my mouth shut in favour of observing them quietly.
It wasn’t surprising that everyone knew how Orion felt about Riordan. And it bothered me because I knew I was supposed to be angry. I was supposed to feel jealous and possessive, and I was supposed to try and limit their interactions the way Orion had wanted to do with me.
Instead, all I wanted was for Orion to work through his hatred of me so we could all exist in the level of comfort they were sharing now. I didn’t want him to feel like he was competing with me anymore. I wanted him to know that I was not taking Riordan away from him, and for him to become comfortable sharing our king.
Perhaps wishing for that was unfair and selfish of me. There was no doubt that he loved Riordan even more than I did simply because he’d known him far better for far longer than me, but I was not intimidated by it! I wanted to learn from him. Riordan chose him too, and I wanted to learn how to love my mate from him.
“Riordan! The envoy returned from the Silver Moor,” called Ares abruptly, thankfully interrupting my thoughts that had gone in a very questionable direction.
And I tried hard not to notice when Orion’s expression instantly shuttered again.
Riordan strode to my side and gave Ares a nod for him to invite the envoy into the room. I recognized the Ktínos female from his office when he had debriefed her before she left to visit the Sylvan.
Helena and Sofia also slipped into the room from the hallway where they had been waiting, and my handmaid gave a customary glower to Ares when he grinned at her. Although his taunts had evolved into more of a genuine playfulness, she still treated him as little more than a mild annoyance to her. Which seemed to only make him even more determined to antagonize her.
My handmaid had submitted to Orion’s interrogation under the supervision of myself and Riordan who asked her a few questions as well. My mate seemed satisfied, although Orion remained reserved.
“Your Majesty,” the envoy said to Riordan with a bow. “I spoke with the Sylvan, and they agreed to meet you to discuss your concern about the Autumn Prince.”
“And did they give a time and date?” asked Orion.
“The second night after the full moon in four days.”
“That is very fast,” Orion noted to Riordan who was nodding in agreement with him.
“They seemed eager. I believe there is something they want from you too, but I was not able to discern it,” admitted the envoy apologetically. “I must warn you that the interaction with them was quite strange. They did not take me to their city; we met in a void of… nothingness. It is not unsafe or uncomfortable there, but it is a strange experience. And time passes much slower too.”
“Thank you, Pen. You have done well,” Riordan said. “Please have a full written report to me before we depart, so I can review it,” he added, and Pen dipped into another deep bow before she took her leave.
“Well?” Helena prompted my mate after a moment of his thoughtful silence.
“You and Orion will come with me and Amira. I need Ares, Theo, and Iris to stay and make sure there are no interferences with our reforms while we are gone.”
“But I want to see the Silver Ones!” Ares objected.
“You will insult the elves with your very first breath,” Helena dismissed him with a roll of her eyes.
“The Silver Moor is said to be the most beautiful place in the Vale. You could consider it a part of your mínas agápis . You will be mated by then,” Sofia pointed out to me.
Mínas agápis was supposedly a tradition in which a newly mated griffin couple would seclude themselves for a month to consummate their union. Like most shifters, griffins were only fertile during the full moon, which was why Riordan’s coronation, and the night of our union, was set for the night after the full moon. Children were out of the question until his kingdom was secured, and the issue of the Wild Hunt was completely resolved.
Besides, we had centuries now, and I was in no rush. Assuming we could prevent this war from happening…
I felt my cheeks flush when I felt Riordan looking at me to see what I thought of Sofia’s suggestion.
“It is unlikely that there will be time for mínas agápis with all the reforms and—” Orion began to protest.
“We can discuss it privately,” Riordan assured him.
My mate had not spoken harshly or even raised his voice to his skiá . I had learned that he simply did not like to discuss personal matters in front of other people before talking about them first with me and Orion.
Orion knew that too, and yet I watched his reaction with interest when he went instantly silent and stoic.
Riordan was fully absorbed in giving instructions to Ares and Helena about the security measures he wanted to take for me at the coronation. He and I had already discussed everything with Orion that morning, so nothing about the information was new to me.
Sofia was always aware of me and tailed me from a distance to give me the illusion of privacy when I drifted away from where the others stood over a map. I became more interested in my mate’s old apartment and took the opportunity to actually look at the books on his shelves. Military books judging from the artwork when I flipped them open. I admired his ornate tavli board which he had promised to teach me to play and lightly plucked a string on his beautifully painted lyre.
Eventually I wandered around the room to the archway back into his private gym where we had been training before Pen returned. Usually I was working with Riordan, so I hadn’t had the opportunity to really look around the room on my own, but it was also an armoury.
I stopped in front of his armour which was displayed on a stand in the corner of the room. I hadn’t had a chance to look at it up close without Riordan in it distracting me, and I was awed by the detail and craftsmanship.
“It is so beautiful,” I said to Sofia over my shoulder as my handmaid leaned against the doorframe. I wanted to touch the intricate engravings, but I was afraid to leave finger smudges on the polished metal.
“Their armour is striking,” she agreed.
I moved along, this time allowing my hand to brush over the handles of his knives that were carefully oiled and arrayed from largest to smallest. My fingers tightened fully around the last one which was heavier than it looked despite being the smallest as I lifted it up for inspection.
I heard a light tread behind me and assumed it was my handmaid approaching more closely.
“What are you doing?” demanded Orion unexpectedly, and I jolted with a startled gasp, nearly losing my grip on the rather enormous knife in my hand.
Orion reacted with reflexes that had been honed from centuries of battle. Both of his hands seized over mine to keep me from dropping the lethally sharpened blade.
“ Ilíthios ,” he muttered as he carefully took the knife away from me and shook his head.
He was suddenly very close to me, and for some very stupid reason, not even the eight inch knife that I’d almost impaled myself with could distract me from it. Orion had been careful to stay away and had not touched me since the day I came to Kórinthos. Now he was standing close enough for his scent of leather and amber to completely flood my senses, and his left wing brushed my back.
I glanced behind and saw Sofia had abandoned her place by the door.
“Should we be alone?” I pointed out, and he snorted in dismissal as he stepped up beside me to put the knife back on the table. I noted the careful way that he positioned it.
“We are not skiá , nor will we ever be romantic, so it does not matter,” he assured me.
“You are all too right, but you know the Imítheos do not think like that,” I retorted.
He did not respond, merely took a step back from me and crossed his arms as if expecting me to leave.
I wasn’t ready to go yet, so I turned to continue on my way around the room. Orion sighed and followed much more closely behind me than Sofia ever did.
“Must you touch everything?” he demanded while I marvelled at the texture of one of Riordan’s shields.
“You are the one who has spent a lot of time oiling and polishing everything in here to perfection,” I guessed.
“I am. And now I must hunt down all the greasy little finger marks you undoubtedly left all over everything.”
“Sounds like you’re looking forward to it,” I answered, keeping my face turned away when I saw his head turn in my peripheral vision. His glare burned into the side of my face as I continued onward, but he did not respond.
I got to the wall which was hung with all manner of weapons from kopis swords with their curved blades to battle axes and maces.
“Are some of these antique? They don’t look like the same weapons that the soldiers carry,” I noted aloud.
Orion heaved another heavy exhale out of his nostrils and seemed to resign himself to addressing me.
“Yes. All antiques,” he confirmed. “Riordan has been collecting them since before we came to the Vale.”
“Does he have a favourite?” I asked, and thankfully he pointed to a kopis blade without getting snarky with me.
“The schístis ,” Orion answered. “He has used all these weapons at least once in battle but that one he liked best. He was sorry to see it exchanged when the general at the time opted for us to carry a longer standard sword.”
“Huh. That is an advantage to living so long which I’d never considered. Humans have museums filled with this kind of thing, but they can only ever speculate about how it was used since none of them were alive,” I explained.
“Then why hold onto it at all?” he pointed out.
“I’m not sure. I suppose they want to learn about their past and who they used to be,” I answered with a shrug.
“Did they not record history?” he asked.
“I think they did, but they burned a lot of their books,” I recalled as I continued along the display of antiques.
I could feel him looking at me so I turned my head over my shoulder to meet his mildly horrified eyes.
“They burned their own books?” he verified, and I was a little surprised by the offense he seemed to take.
“Yeah. Religion and—”
“Madness,” he interrupted, and my brows rose at him as he nodded toward the display of scrolls next to the wall of weapons. “Our texts are sacred to us.”
“Riordan told me about the archives below us and how they form a city. It sounds incredible,” I admitted.
“It is. Whatever you can imagine of it, the archives are a hundred times more impressive,” he assured me.
“You’ve been down there? Riordan made it sound like he was only allowed to go because he is a prince!”
“Well… I’m not sure I was supposed to go with him,” Orion admitted, and my brows rose in surprise.
Was that a hint of irony in his voice or was I looking for too much in our interaction? He was still very reserved with me, would barely meet my eyes, and he stood with his arms crossed. But I was just happy that he answered a question simply without brushing me off. It made me feel a little braver, so I decided to actually risk broaching the topic of our shared beloved.
“You know him so much better than I probably ever will be able to,” I admitted tentatively and then turned my head to look up at all the scrolls. I could not look at him, but I knew he was looking at me now. I could almost feel the weight of those hooded, golden-brown eyes on me as he debated how to respond to my acknowledgement.
“And does that intimate you?”
“No,” I assured him unflinchingly, relieved that he was not going to shut me down as I finally looked up at him. “He’s proven that there is enough room in his heart for both of us. I am building something different with him. What he has with you will always be yours.”
Orion was silent for an agonizingly long time with his hard gaze drilling into me. It was hard to tell what he was thinking until he glanced away, and I could tell he was not sure whether he wanted to have this conversation. But it had been such a good interaction that I did not want either of us to spoil it by saying the wrong thing.
“It was… good to have a real conversation with you,” I told him when the anxiety got the better of me.
Then I turned and left the room before he could reply.