Page 66 of When the Moon Met the Sun

I saw the small group then—the numerous guards that had ropes over both captives—a Northerner and a griffin.

Aurora and Eden.

I recognized the smokey gray wings of Aurora and her shock of light blonde hair, along with the white and gray feathers of Eden. I narrowed my wings, dipping down to get closer.

“I need to see her! You don’t understand!” Aurora cried out, fighting against the ropes wrapped around her torso, holding her arms in place by her sides.

Eden snapped at one of the guards who came too close, but there was two on each side of her, all holding ropes they’d thrown across her back to keep her in place.

I landed forcefully, the ground beneath my feet rippling like water a couple feet around me, the earth shooting up in small, jagged spikes. I hadn’t even felt the energy leave my body, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Release them,” I said sternly, staring down the guards, my face void of emotion.

When they hesitated, I stepped forward out of my ring of jagged earth. “Now,” I said, venom dripping from my voice.

To my surprise, I wasn’t panicked like I previously would have been. I simply wanted to get to my best friend and griffin, and I didn’t like thatmyguards weren’t following orders.

After I said that, they shared glances with one another, then dropped the ropes and backed up quickly, as though fearful.

I rushed forward, reaching for Aurora, who was now knelt on the ground, struggling against the ropes tied tightly around her, her arms, and her wings.

“Here, let me,” I said gently, making quick work of the ropes and throwing them to the side. From the corner of my eye, I saw Eden shaking off her ropes, too.

“Aviva.” Aurora sounded exhausted yet relieved as she fell into my arms, and for the first time, I got a truly good look at her.

She was dirty from head to toe, like she’d been traveling for a while. Her light blue dress was ripped near her shoulder, and her hair was hanging down in a tangled mess. Eden didn’t look much better, I realized, both of them sharing matching purple eye bags.

I hugged her tightly to my body, then pulled back and brushed the hair from her face.

“Aurora, not that I’m unhappy you’re here, but this was reckless. What happened? What brought you here?” I said softly to the female who was once my closest friend in the world, not wanting the guards to overhear.

Finally, Aurora picked her head up and looked me in the eyes. To my surprise, she didn’t even acknowledge the change in my appearance since the last time I saw her, or the way the earth just moved beneath my feet a moment ago.

But what she said next knocked the breath out of my lungs.

“I came to warn you,” she said breathlessly. “Aviva, you don’t have much time. A battle is coming.”

Chapter Twenty-One

It took us longer than I’d like to admit to make it back to The Haven. Aurora was exhausted and leaned on me the entire way, slowing us down, but I didn’t mind.

Shortly after Aurora relayed her message to me, Byn and the rest of the group found us. Once I explained who Aurora and Eden were, Byn simply asked what I needed.

Byn took Eden for me, after I introduced him to her and showed her that he was trustworthy. He mentioned taking her to the den where Atlas and Lychen stay, since they didn’t exactly have a place to keep griffins, to feed her and clean her up.

Seeing my husband care for my griffin was a sight I never thought I’d see, and it pulled at my heart strings to watch.

Rayven went with Byn, while Laurence and Quinn trailed behind Aurora and me as we all hiked back to The Haven. Quinn tried to object to taking her into our home, but I reassured her that Aurora was like a sister to me. Quinn mumbled something about that not meaning much nowadays, but I didn’t take the bait, ignoring her and taking Aurora down the private wing, to the room I had originally stayed in. The room still had some of my old clothes—dresses and such that I knew Aurora would feel more comfortable in.

Teagan and I had been redoing my wardrobe the past few weeks, adding in regal dresses for formalities, as well as things I’ve foundI’mcomfortable in. Things that made me feel more like myself, such as trousers and vests. For once, I was in a place in my life where I could dress for myself instead of for everybody else, and I’d been taking advantage of that.

That was why I was still so surprised that Aurora hadn’t said anything about my appearance yet. Not only the change in eye color or display of power, but also the way I dressed and held myself.

I was chalking it up to the shock and exhaustion, but this still didn’t seem like the same female I knew.

Something had changed.

Or maybe it was simply thatI’dchanged.

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