Chapter 1
An Ignominious Son
Griffin
Present Day – Catastro Sea
Griffin tapped his fingers against his arm, glaring around the table. He focused on the task at hand, ignoring that Raven was once more injured. That she had fallen unconscious. That he could do nothing to help her except wait for her to return to them.
The over-sized ship rocked as they made their way through a particularly nasty wave. They were only a few hours into their journey and he knew that this sea was unforgiving. Enough so, that even this colossal vessel was feeling the brunt of it.
He surveyed the men at the table with him. The ones who would be Raven’s protectors, who would be tasked with ensuring her safety.
“Where are we going?” Levi was the first to break the silence. “Back to Violencia?” He pointed the question to Griffin, but it was his brother who answered.
“No, we are heading towards my country. To Grypheem,” Drago explained from beside him. He spread his arms out to the men. “We may have rescued you all from the brutal games, but there are no promises that you will remain safe.”
Maverick cut in this time. “Your country. You came with an army, with enough muscle to rip the game to shreds. I don’t know much about the world outside of Violencia, as it wasn’t available to us, but I have heard the rumors. Drago Grypheem?”
Drago let out a hearty chuckle, bumping his shoulder into Griffin’s.
“You certainly chose a spread of men to bring along.” Drago got up from the table, pacing the small room.
The space was just above deck, but there weren’t any windows to see outside, instead it was four metal walls with a singular door in and out.
Griffin swallowed down his spike of anxiety at the claustrophobic nature. The game in the metal tomb had brought unwanted memories from his past, and this was stirring them up further.
“Yes, I am Drago Grypheem, and this is my little brother, Griffin Grypheem.” Drago’s hands landed on Griffin’s shoulders, the impact nearly causing Griffin to wince.
“As I suspected,” Maverick advised. He leaned forward pulling a notebook from his back pocket and jotting notes into it. “We are headed to Grypheem, and then what? We go kumbaya off into the sunset?”
“Not exactly.” Drago released Griffin, grabbing a remote from the table and turning to one of the metal walls. He clicked a button and a map appeared on it. “I suggest you memorize this.”
Maverick’s pen began to jet across his notebook as he made meticulous notes.
Drago pointed in the southeast area. “This is Violencia, your country, and just above it is the volcanic island that they held the games on. We are just above there now, heading due north.” He moved his fingers upwards through the Catastro Sea.
“To the east up here is the country of Vanravara—they are outsiders, mostly leaving others alone except when passersby drift too close to their island.”
Griffin didn’t contradict the notion, but he knew that wasn’t necessarily true.
Vanravara were pirates through and through.
They would go far into the sea to pick off unsuspecting victims. While they did not often choose violence, they would take what they wanted.
Be it something…or someone. He first heard of them through stories… and then he had his own encounters.
“On the west side of the Catastro Sea are the Isles of Sacerdos. They are deeply integrated in the lives of Grypheem and Luscinia alike. We will most likely have an encounter with them sooner than later.”
A buzz of energy hummed beneath Griffin’s skin. At what his brother wasn’t saying. There was no doubt that they would be having a run in with the priests there. And most likely the High Priestess herself.
He traced further to the area above. “And if you go up here, this side of this big mass of land is Grypheem, and to the west is Luscinia. There is a single bridge in the center of the countries to connect us, but otherwise there is the Styx River that completely separates our lands. These three countries make up the Sacred Trinity.”
“Thanks for the lesson, but what does that have to do with us?” Enzo asked, folding his arms across his chest, his burgundy hair sticking up haphazardly with half of it tied back away from his face. His hazel eyes narrowed in annoyance.
“We aren’t yet, but very soon we are going to be at war with Violencia. This decision to rescue you all will torpedo us in that direction without any return,” Drago stated plainly, as if he were talking about the weather and not the lives of millions of people being put at risk.
“Respectfully, we are not a part of your country. Nor should we be a part of your war. When we land wherever that may be, Maverick and I will go on our way.” Enzo glared at the map in disdain.
Drago clicked the remote in his hand again, and the map transformed into a clip. He pressed play.
“These are the escaped prisoners. They are considered armed and dangerous. Do not approach, simply report their appearance to your nearest guard station,” echoed out around them, a man reading from a sheet of paper in his hands.
His face then disappeared, and in its place, pictures lined the screen. Unmasked.
Levi, Maverick, Enzo, Jayce, Oleks, Ivan, and countless others.
But not Raven. Not Julian. Not Griffin.
Enzo cursed, his nostrils flaring. “You have taken us from one dangerous game only to throw us into another!”
“What about Raven?” Levi asked. “Can she be tucked away in safety until we do whatever it is that y’all need from us?”
Griffin had the same thought, and eventually that would be the plan, but he couldn't whisk her away… Not yet.
“No,” Maverick answered for Drago. “She is in the center of this, isn’t she?”
Griffin hummed in agreement, deciding to explain this part.
“Women in the Sacred Trinity are dying out. Natural-borns are decreasing every year to the point that many Unnaturals are born in labs. Women who can bear children are considered Sacred Cherished. They have a strict set of rules and are also protected above all else.”
“That’s why you showed Sparrow on the screen with Raven.” Maverick scribbled more down, flipping the page. “She will be your excuse for rescuing us all. You have kept us to protect her.”
Drago turned the screen off, sitting back down beside Griffin.
“Right you are. The Sacred Cherished are above all laws. With Raven behind us, we will have the people of Grypheem’s vote.
But we will also be targeted. The Isles of Sacerdos are tasked with…
protecting the Cherished. But we cannot allow them to take her. ” Drago cut his attention to Griffin.
There were only two ways a Sacred Cherished woman escaped the priests that resided on Sacerdos.
Death.
Or…
Griffin pushed down the thought. He would tell the others when the time was right.
“Raven will need you all,” Griffin confirmed. His gaze jumped around the room meeting each of the other men’s eyes. Levi, Julian, and Oleks were solid, and he knew they would be formidable and trustworthy. But Enzo and Maverick, he wasn’t so sure of.
He hated that they were needed, but he was only one man and Raven would have danger on all fronts. Men attempting to claim her. The priests and High Priestess would attempt to take her.
“Was this the plan all along?” Oleks murmured. “From the very beginning, was this where she was going to end up?”
Griffin didn’t deny it. Over five years ago, Anadil had requested he keep Raven safe. Advised him that she was pregnant. That she would be in imminent danger and he would know when it was time to rescue her.
At that point, he didn’t have any true insight into Anadil’s plans. He had simply worked with her in the past and agreed. Not realizing that Anadil would be the one to put her in danger.
But not long after that, his men had learned the truth that he was an enemy, an outsider. They had turned on him, causing everything to go awry, and locked him away in a Government prison. It wasn’t until months later that Anadil had helped him escape, that she had taken him to his brother.
And just before the games, when his brother sent him back to Violencia to locate Jayce… Well, he was beginning to suspect it was just another part of Anadil’s plot.
He knew, even when he met her, that every choice she made was calculated, that she was planning dozens of steps ahead.
“You are a belladonna. Slow and insidious.” Oleks inclined his head. “But I will remain by her side. I had already decided as much.”
“I don’t like this. Don’t like us deciding without her here to voice her own opinions.” Levi got to his feet. “But I will not be leaving her side either. If there’s nothing else, I’m going to check on her and see if she’s woken up.”
“Ivan is on this ship,” Drago blurted out. “Or at least there’s evidence he might be.”
Griffin stiffened, his brother hadn’t informed him of this.
“And we left Raven alone?” Levi growled, marching from the room and slamming the door shut behind him.
“Ivan?” Julian asked, his charcoal eyes swirling in rage. “How?”
Drago explained, “I suspect he snuck aboard in the chaos. One of my men found his uniform, but by the time we got everything settled, it was too late to turn around. We can’t find him anywhere, but we have tried.
Watch yourselves. This ship is too large to search every nook and cranny, but I will continue to do so. ”
Griffin didn’t like this, didn’t like that his brother hadn’t told him before now, that he was kept in the dark on this very important piece of information.
“Noted,” Maverick cut in. “What is this war for? What are you fighting?”
Griffin noticed the way that Drago stiffened, it was nearly an imperceptible amount, but he had grown up with his brother. Recognized his ticks.
He still does not like to be questioned.