Page 79 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

“Yes,” he answered, his wing fidgeting against mine in his aggravation before he slid his arm off my shoulders to stride over to his wardrobe. “There were too many for the scouts to dispatch. Their numbers have grown once more, but thankfully the infestation is not nearly as awful as it was before,” Riordan informed me.

He began to unbuckle his armour, so I jolted myself out of my melancholy and walked over to help him with some of the straps. I did not need to, the armour had been designed to be easily put on without any assistance, but it had become something of a tradition for us. One I could tell he appreciated as I made short work of his buckles.

“Helena said you have a strategy in mind for bringing the kingdom back under your control,” I said in order to try and distract myself. To try and do my best not to stare at the beautiful expanse of his muscled back, the breadth of his shoulders, or his corded arms.

I’d had many lovers over the centuries while furiously trying to bury this torch that burned for my king. All of them had been warriors at the peak of physical condition, but I wasn’t sure there was anything in this world I would not give just to touch Riordan freely.

But I still turned away respectfully to give him some privacy when he removed his pants. I retrieved his armour and focused on mounting it on its wooden rack while he shifted his form to clean his feathers, hair, and skin. I soon heard him donning fresh clothes.

“I am sorry that I was not forthright with you. It is not my intention for you or Helena to be excluded from my decisions in the future,” Riordan advised me.

I stopped what I was doing to look at him in surprise. Riordan was not ever cruel or malicious, but he could be imperious and irreverent. It was something I was used to, and it had never bothered me much since he listened when I needed to check him for it. But for him to come to me already humbled was something new.

“And did you come to that conclusion all by yourself or did Helena mandate it?” I teased him, wondering why ourmitérahad not gloated about it when she visited.

“Amira was patient and gracious enough to suggest it,” admitted my king with a crooked smile.

We faced one another so he saw my face change before I could turn it away from him. I was sure to take a pause and draw in a deep breath to try and remain calm.

“I have been trying to tell you something similar since you returned home,” I reminded him quietly. I worked hard to try and ensure that my voice was not accusatory, but I could tell a little of the emotion had slipped out.

“I know you were, but you were also trying to tell me something I knew in my heart was not coming from a good place inside you. I was having trouble hearing you,” Riordan admitted in regret.

He waited, allowing me the opportunity to say more, but I opted not to and merely nodded.

And despite his reassurance that I was entitled to keep my secrets, I could feel his disappointment. It bothered him not to know what was wrong. He wanted to fix it.

I just didn’t have the heart to tell him there would be no fixing what was shattering so completely in me.

Chapter twenty-three

THE KING’S COUNCIL

Orion

Ihated to be impressed by the efforts of the witch’s new handmaid, but Sofia’s work was undeniable when she and her mistress met us in the morning for breakfast.

The witch had seemingly been transformed overnight from a timid outsider to griffin royalty. She was dressed in a traditional, purple chiton with pinched shoulder straps and gaping sides that exposed her ribs and the sides of her breasts. The Kórinthian silk was thin and soft, clinging to her torso just tightly enough to tease the shape of her torso beneath. She wore a wide belt to emphasize the alluring curve between her waist and hips, and a cape flowed down her back from where her wings should have emerged. Every step exposed her long, lean legs through a slit in her dress that reached the front of each hip bone. Since she’d arrived, she had been keeping her hair braided simply over one shoulder, but Sofia had styled it in the fashion that Imítheos ladies currently favoured. Half of it was swept into a messy bun tied with a scarf that matched her dress while the rest was left loose. Most Imítheos had thick and curly hair, but hers was silky and straight. It was a unique featurethat now seemed rather exotic with the way Sofia styled it. The witch even hadaithálismudged around her eyes which made the colour pop all the more. Although I doubted she understood the significance of the makeup that all adult griffins wore.

I hated to admit it, but there was no denying that she did look rather good in our attire. And I frowned at Sofia in annoyance for her exceptional work, reminding myself that I meant to look into her.

The dress was nothing Riordan hadn’t seen a thousand other women wear, but he was only affected by it on the witch evidently. She giggled at his wide-eyed response and flushed with pleasure as she wrapped her arm around his to walk him over to the breakfast table. She certainly looked the part of an eager and blushing bride-to-be.

Although she sobered instantly when her eyes landed on me, and her soft mouth pinched. “Orion.”

“Witch,” I replied drolly, only to have Riordan shoot me a warning glance. “Good morning,” I added a little more pleasantly, but she turned wordlessly away.

I sat there with them over the course of the next hour, attempting not to listen as they fawned over one another while the rest of us tried to eat. I caught Helena’s eyes on me sometimes, looking both sympathetic and reproachful whenever my mood would show. There were times when I was tempted to make snide remarks to the witch when she spoke of the Rookery or Ergastiri, but I refrained.

Even I could acknowledge that how I handled things at the pixie camp had been truly repulsive. I had been too angry the night before to fully realize but had awakened this morning full of shame. The longer I thought about it, the more disgusted I became with myself for allowing my jealousy to get so out of hand. For attempting to abuse the trust myskiáhad in me for my own selfish reasons.

So I was going to try. I wouldtry.

But I was still relieved when we left her chambers to attend the meeting. I could not recall a time before when I had been relieved to be standing in the council chamber.

Ares went ahead to secure the room while Riordan consoled the witch over what she was about to endure. Honestly, I had no idea why they thought it was necessary to even have her there. Riordan was more than capable of defending her, but I opted to keep my mouth shut.

The herald announced our arrival, and Riordan tucked the witch against his side with her arm looped around his. With a glance at me to ensure I was ready too, myskiáwalked proudly into the council chamber.

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