Chapter 17
Seventeen
Grayson
“These things are heavier than they look,” Henry complained as he dragged a buzzweed through a disconnected electrical outlet.
It was the third one he’d brought us. After the first, we’d fashioned a small net with shoulder straps.
So far, the paper charm Holland provided was working.
The warlock said it wouldn’t stop the buzzweed if the system were activated, but it would make transport safe.
I had no idea how that worked. Then again, I wasn’t a warlock, so that kind of thing wasn’t exactly in my wheelhouse.
“Thank you, Henry,” I said. Henry and I were alone.
Keir had requested Martin’s presence so they could discuss the wyvern eggs.
The fact we were all currently living in a ticking time bomb lent extra urgency to the matter.
Not that anything had truly changed. It was only now we all knew what was hiding in the walls.
At least some of what was hiding. There was more to be found than the buzzweeds. I was certain of that.
“How many more do you know of?” I asked while adding this one to our small but growing collection. Holland said we should be able to keep them together without further danger. So far, they hadn’t so much as twitched when placed next to each other.
Henry twisted, cracking his back with a relieved sigh.
“Not sure.” Staring toward the ceiling, Henry appeared to be considering.
He held out his splayed fingers, ticking them off.
Henry had four fingers per hand, so when he was on his second round, it meant there were more than eight left.
“Right now, I can remember eleven more. Could be I’ll remember more later.
” Henry shrugged. “I’ve lived here a long time and this place is big.
I’ve explored a lot over the years, but sometimes, I just go down a path once.
” Henry tapped his temple. “House dwellers have good memories, but it ain’t perfect. ”
“Most likely that is a blessing.” I’d once met an individual that could remember everything. In fact, she couldn’t forget anything. She’d been miserable.
“Truth,” Henry agreed.
I checked the time and noted it was far past evening. My stomach protested the late hour, and Henry looked beat. “How about we call it a day and start back in the morning?”
“Sounds good.”
“Would you like a lift?” Although he’d originally protested, Henry seemed to have fun when he rode on my shoulder earlier.
“Nah. My burrow’s nearby.” Henry went down on all fours and started across the floor, only to stop and turn around, an ornery smirk tilting his lips. “Should I come to your room in the mornin’, or should I skip that part and just head to Martin’s?”
If I’d had something light and non-damaging, I would have thrown it at the little brat. “Go on,” I admonished before tacking on, “Go to Martin’s.” I could still hear Henry’s laughter as he scurried through the walls.
Collecting the three buzzweeds Henry had found, I carefully wrapped them and cradled them within my cupped hand as I made my way to Martin.
That little spark of his magic led the way, pulsing brighter the closer I got.
As long as this piece of magic remained, I’d always be able to find him.
I wasn’t certain if there was a distance limiting factor or not.
Honestly, I had no interest in finding out.
Truth was, I didn’t like being separated from Martin and wondered if he felt the same way about me.
I was beyond self-argument. I’d grown attached and had been attracted to the dryad long before he’d volunteered to become my anchor.
What can I say? Martin was handsome. He was everything I wasn’t.
Steady and literally rooted to his home, Martin was an ideal anchor.
Did that make him an ideal mate? Other will-o’-the-wisps might not think so.
We treasured our freedom. We drifted where treasure called.
If I stayed here, with Martin, those drifting days would be over.
Not that we’d even discussed such a thing.
In fact, I was getting way ahead of myself.
Somehow, I couldn’t help it. The thing was, if Martin and I settled into a long-term relationship, I knew it wouldn’t be Martin trying to restrict my movements; it would be me.
I really didn’t like it when he was out of sight.
Did that make me obsessive? Or possibly possessive?
I didn’t think so. Then again, I’d never truly felt this way about anyone before, so I didn’t know.
My current path was uncharted territory.
Unsurprisingly, I found Martin in Keir’s quarters.
I thought back to what Hikaru had said, that he’d thought Martin desired Keir.
I snorted at that unlikely idea. Personally, I thought the kitsune’s romance radar was a little busted because I’d never picked up on those vibes.
Martin respected and loved Keir, but not in a romantic way. Of that, I was certain.
I raised my hand, ready to knock when the door opened, Martin standing on the other side, a look of utter relief softening his facial features. “Gray.” I’d never heard that amount of emotion tied to my name.
“In the flesh,” I answered with a happy grin. “And I come bearing buzzweed gifts.” I held up my palm, showing off the three Henry had retrieved.
“Amazing how you already know exactly what to get me,” Martin teased, making me laugh. “Come on in. Keir and I were just finishing up.”
I hesitated. “Are you sure I’m not interrupting?”
Keir answered from deeper within the room. “Not at all.”
Taking their word for it, I stepped into the room. My nose was immediately assaulted with the delicious scent of pasta and garlic. Turning to Martin, my grin widened. “And it seems you know exactly what to get me. I love Italian.”
Martin chuckled. “I’m afraid that’s not my doing, but Keir’s.”
“It’s one of the few dishes Martin and I can agree on. I can always add some meatballs to my sauce while keeping his vegetarian,” Keir answered. “What about you, Grayson? I confess I’m uncertain what will-o’-the-wisps typically eat.”
“I’m not all that picky,” I said while walking further into the room.
“What you’ve got cooking smells amazing.
” I was so hungry I probably would have eaten about anything at this point.
It seemed rude to say something like that, so I simply held up the hand with the buzzweeds and asked, “What do you want me to do with these?”
Keir stared at the buzzweeds as if they might fly out of my hand and attack him. “That far corner will do. I’m not sure if it matters, but I’d like them as far away from the wyvern eggs as possible.”
“Understood.” I walked to the corner, easing my burden onto a shelf. Once they were safely deposited, I vigorously rubbed my palm on my pants. I hadn’t realized just how sweaty my hand was until that moment.
“Glad to be rid of them?” Martin asked from over my shoulder. His arms wrapped around my middle and pulled me tighter. His lips pressed against the crown of my head, and I heard him deeply inhale. “I missed you.”
My heart thudded, my own magic happily embracing Martin’s spark. “I missed you too. That seems silly. We were only apart about four hours. Five at the most.”
“Too long,” Martin hummed while rubbing his cheek against my head like a cat. “Will you…will you stay with me tonight?”
Twisting in his arms, I clasped my hands behind his neck, going up on tiptoe so I could get closer to this dryad that had captured my heart. “I planned on it. Good thing you feel the same.”
“A very good thing,” Martin agreed before gently touching his lips to mine. The kiss was brief, just a fleeting pressure and little more, and yet it felt more intimate than it should have.
“Food’s ready,” Keir called from his kitchen, making my stomach growl again.
Martin chuckled. “Come on, we better go feed the beast in your belly.”
I patted my stomach. “It does seem rather demanding right now.”
Martin grabbed my hand, interlacing our fingers and squeezing tight. We headed to the kitchen that way, and if Keir’s grin was anything to go by, he was pleased with the recent development.
We were sipping tea and resting in our combined food comas when Keir’s phone rang. If I had to guess, whoever was on the other end made keeping his recent meal in place difficult for Keir.
Martin noticed too and tensed beside me, a quiet, “is it him?” slipping through his tight lips.
Keir nodded before hitting the accept button and answering, “This is Keir.”
“Who is it?” I leaned toward Martin and whispered.
“Lazarus Azure,” Martin answered just as quietly, a kind of awed reverence attached to a name that told me nothing.
“Who?” I asked again.
“Wyvern.”
“Oh.” Oh? That was all I could come up with?
Not that I could think of a single other word to attach to that insignificant statement.
My gaze landed on the wyvern eggs sitting on Keir’s coffee table within their blanket nest. The electric cord leading to the bottom blanket was still in place.
The little light indicating the blanket was on glowed a warm yellow.
The eggs sparkled, blissfully unaware of the repercussions regarding their presence.
That was as it should be. The eggs were innocent.
Keir stood and walked toward the kitchen. His voice remained low, and I couldn’t make out his words. “What do you think he’s saying?” I asked Martin.
“I’m not sure. I’d guess a lot of apologies, but beyond that, I don’t know. Keir is the steadiest, most levelheaded individual I’ve ever met. He knows the stakes better than any of us.”
I wasn’t certain that made me feel a lot better. Afterall, it wasn’t Keir’s response that concerned me. It was the wyvern on the other end.
“Listen, if this thing goes sideways, I want you to get out. You’re not a member of the council and—”
“And you want me to leave you behind.” I wasn’t a fool. There was absolutely no way Martin would leave Keir, and it had nothing to do with romantic feelings and everything to do with loyalty.
“My birth dirt is here,” Martin answered, his deep brown eyes pleading. “Even if I wanted to leave, I couldn’t. I won’t survive without my dirt, and if the wyvern attack, my earth will either be scorched or buried underneath so much rubble my roots won’t be able to reach it.”
My fingers wrapped around Martin’s forearm, pulling him close.
Words clustered inside my head, begging for release, but they were too jumbled, all of them rushing forward and crowding the exit.
In the end, I simply sat there, squeezing Martin’s arm as arguments filled my mind.
Would I leave Martin and the others to their fate?
Could I truly do that? And if I stayed, what did I think I could do to help?
The short answer was a big, fat nothing. I was a will-o’-the-wisp. We were finders, not warriors. I would simply be another casualty, another individual Keir thought he needed to defend.
I felt sick as I sat there, waiting. Little twigs and branches erupted from Martin’s ears and fingers, letting me know his anxiety was just as bad, if not worse than mine.
It felt like we waited an eternity, but in reality, I doubt Keir’s conversation with Lazarus lasted no longer than five, maybe seven minutes.
In all that time, Keir’s tone never rose.
There was no yelling or audible discord.
Keir’s muscular back grew taut and his shoulders were stiff.
I imagined the grip he had on his phone was close to shattering it.
At last, Keir lowered his arm, the phone tightly gripped between his thick fingers. When he turned, Keir’s stoic expression gave nothing away. His footsteps were measured as he walked to his chair and sat, phone still in hand.
Martin could take it no more and asked, “What did he say?”
Keir swallowed hard, his eyes downcast and focused on the eggs. “Not much. Three words, really.”
“And those were?” I asked, my ass barely sitting on the loveseat as I scooted closer, as if that would make Keir’s words better.
Finally looking up, Keir’s gaze captured Martin’s before settling on me. “Expect me soon.”
Martin jerked back, looking to me as if I could parse out that cryptic meaning. All I could do was shrug. “Nothing else?” Martin desperately asked.
“No,” Keir answered with a head shake.
“What was his tone?” I asked. “Maybe we can figure it out using that.”
Keir didn’t appear convinced. “Flat. There was no inflection at all.”
“None?” I followed. “There had to be something. I mean—”
“If there was, I couldn’t tell.” Keir cut me off.
Silence filled the room. Martin finally broke it by asking, “Do you have an idea regarding what soon means?”
Keir’s laughter sent shivers racing up and down my spine. Finally releasing his phone, Keir used both hands to rub his face, scrubbing his cheeks before dropping his arms, allowing his body to go limp. “I don’t know that either. He might be flying here as we speak.”
I spread my arms and made an idiotic flapping motion. “You mean fly-fly?” Martin stared at me as if I’d lost my senses. “What? I’m just asking if Keir means he’s going to hop on his private jet or if he’s flying au naturel.”
“Au naturel? Really?” Martin’s raised eyebrows fell, pinching his eyes before he dropped his head, shaking it back and forth. “Gaia, I shouldn’t be laughing right now but you look ridiculous.”
I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’m glad I could provide the comic relief.” I was being a bit of a brat, but deep down I was glad I’d been able to add a little levity, no matter how unplanned it had been.
When I looked up, Keir didn’t appear to share in our humor. “I’m not certain which option Lazarus will opt for. I hate to say this, Grayson, but it’s possible you’re going to be out of a job soon. If this goes poorly, finding the buzzweeds will be the least of our worries.”
“As much as I hate their song, I’d much rather hang around and find them than the alternative.”
“Thank you,” Keir answered with a soft smile.
You’re welcome didn’t sound like the right thing to say in response.
Honestly, I had no idea what to say and so once again, I closed my mouth and kept my silence.
Martin must have felt the same. Quiet reigned, heavy and oppressive.
And all the while, the wyvern eggs sat there, shimmering in the nearby firelight, little gems of potential destruction.