Page 66 of My Guardian Gryphon

“What?” I asked, crossing the lawn to join them.

“We’re going to get Eli’s body,” Calliope said, her voice tight and drawn like the string on a crossbow.

We were all on edge. I only needed the smallest excuse, and I knew I’d explode.

“And Rose’s, we need to bury them. They shouldn’t be left in the open.”

“Let’s go.” I leaned forward, putting my hands on the grass, and called my Gryphon forward. I shifted over the span of a few moments then shook my head, ruffling the feathers along my neck.

I leapt into the air, pumping my wings, and watched the others jump the wall. Erick grabbed Jared around the waist, and Bailey looped an arm around Calliope’s waist, following Erick’s lead. Both vampires cleared the high stone walls with their passengers in fluid movements that appeared effortless. Once clear, they moved swiftly through the town with the unnatural speed only a vampire possessed. I flew hard, but wouldn’t have had a chance in hell of keeping up had they not been purposefully running at a slower pace I could match.

There were no signs of any remaining Djinn or Lycan soldiers, not in Sanctuary or the surrounding areas. For the time being, they’d pulled away.

About ten minutes later, we reached the scarred and burnt encampment where Xerxes had been holding Gretchen. There were no signs of any soldiers, a blessing and a curse. I was glad not to have to fight, but I wanted to rip them to shreds. Not today.

Today was for our fallen comrades. Today was for mourning what we’d lost.

Swooping low, I landed in front of the collapsed building where I’d seen Eli die, his body lay beneath the rubble. I opened my beak and shrieked, the sound waves barreling through the broken bits of concrete and wood and steel. It moved slightly, and I loosed another cry, this time with enough sonic force to blow half the rubble a dozen yards backward.

Bailey and Erick rushed forward, moving the smaller pieces of concrete and steel beams like they were made of plastic. A few moments later, Erick climbed out of the center of the destroyed building with Eli’s body in his arms.

“What about Rose?” Calliope asked, climbing over a large piece of crumbled concrete.

“Her body isn’t here. I found traces of her blood everywhere, but he must’ve taken her body,” Erick said, his tone angry. “Bastard won’t even let us bury our dead.”

“Maybe she’s not dead.” Bailey crossed the rubble to stand next to Erick. “We don’t know for sure. Alek left when she was still alive.”

I nodded my large head, affirming her statement, and then pawed the ground, motioning to Eli’s body.

Erick laid the mangled, beaten body of my friend on the ground in front of me, and I pumped my wings just enough to lift myself a few inches from the ground. I scooped up Eli’s body with my front legs and tucked him tightly against my chest. Then I rose into the air, hovering long enough to make sure the rest of the group was headed back with me.

Erick and Bailey each grabbed their respective passengers and blurred across the landscape, though not going as quickly as they could have. They matched my flight speed, and we returned to the castle courtyard with haste.

Diana and Miles were waiting. The Drakonae female’s cries for her fallen husband gave voice to the pain and anger still raging inside me. No matter what I told myself, I continued to blame myself for not moving faster, seeing more, or realizing what Xerxes was doing before it happened.

Rose and Eli were monumental losses to the town.

Eli left behind a brother, a pregnant mate, children who would never know their father.

Rose left behind a town. Without her direction and magick, I wondered how we would survive. She was the glue that’d held us all together. Now that she was gone—though without a body, there was hope—what was the next step? The Sisters’ visions had been spotty at best before Gretchen left. Now without our leader, there was no way they’d be able to find the last two Protectors. Not that finding them would do any good. Rose was the only one who could enchant the tattoo that would link them to the other Protectors.

I laid Eli’s body gently on the grass and backed away, giving Diana and Miles as much space as they needed. Pushing my Gryphon back, I stood in human form again.

Miles glanced over his shoulder and mouthed a ‘thank you’, his face dark and his cheeks wet from tears. Diana was hunched over Eli’s body sobbing while Miles kept a hand on the small of her back. She worked frantically, using the fabric of her skirt to clean away the dirt and blood and bits of rubble sticking to him.

The air around us was icy, and frost had crept across the green lawn, tipping each blade of grass with white. Within a few minutes, the castle walls had turned white, and ice continued to form and grow and expand above the walls, closing over the courtyard like a frosted glass dome.

I shivered, and rubbed my bare arms, but remained still along with all who had come outside to pay their respects. Diana wasn’t the only one crying over the loss we’d just been dealt. A few more minutes dragged by before Miles pulled Diana off Eli and lifted his brother from the ground.

“Thank you for bringing him back to us.” Diana’s words choked in the back of her throat. Her pain bled from her like sweat on a hot summer day. She rotated her hands in the air, and ice rose from the ground, creating an altar between us and her. It grew to waist height with a hollow in the center large enough to put…

I sucked in a quick breath, surprised when Miles placed his brother’s body in the hollow.

She didn’t stop. Ice continued to form and grow and cover Eli’s body until he was expertly encased in a thick brick of crystal clear ice—safe from the elements and anything else that might disturb him.

Eira stepped forward and embraced her friend. She and Diana had bonded on the journey to Sanctuary and were never far apart. Had it not been for Eira finding her Killían—her mate—she would’ve lived in the castle with the dragon queen.

Miles stepped forward and spoke aloud. “This will protect his body until we are able to take him home.”

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