Page 5 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

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 hisskiáto 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 bondedskiámales 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 itmusthave crossed Riordan’s mind. He had not brought it up to me, but hehadsaid 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 reacheddown 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 beautifuland 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.

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