Page 44 of A Clash of Embers

Eros chuckled and I assumed it was because my eyes were closed.

"This isn't funny. It’s terrifying!" I yelled at him.

All he did was laugh again, and damn did I miss his laugh.

Finally, what felt like hours later, we landed in front of a large Gothic-looking castle. The entrance had large statues of animals that looked like they were in pain. The animals' mouths were stretched wide as if they had imaginary hands wrapped aroundtheir jaws pulling them apart. The dark stone wrapped around the columns leading up the banister to the entrance.

There were large stained-glass windows that added color to this dark and ominous castle. As we walked up the gray stone stairs, I heard the click of my heels and the rubbing of the soles of our shoes against some of the leftover rock and dirt making a horrendous scraping sound. I was filled with dread as we approached the large black metal door.

Eros placed his right hand on the knob of the door to push it open, but before he did his other hand gripped my wrist turning my attention to him.

“Remember what we talked about. They know you hold every power. Anyone andeveryonewill want their hands on you. Stay close to me.”

I nodded, realizing this was not the time to argue.

We walked into the cold, dark castle, and my heels continued to clack against the stone walkway. The walls were dark black with glass enclosing what looked like millions of books that lined the hallway. The ceiling was a slight hue of sapphire with lights that illuminate the ceiling causing it to look like the sky. I heard the rumble of voices and my heart started to beat faster with every step. Eros halted my steps and pulled my hand into his, causing me to jump slightly.

“You have to calm your heart rate. Everyone here can sense your pulse. They will look for anything to be a lie. Calm it. Play along with whatever I do.”

That sounds familiar.

I saw a small smirk form on the side of his mouth as we continued to walk. With one final breath, he pushed open the large doors that reminded me of Sefida’s ballroom doors.

Once we stepped in, I noticed the vast amounts of people who were eating and drinking in celebration at long wooden communal tables. They were soldiers, women, and children,but what surprised me the most was it wasalsoa mixture of humans, werewolves, and vampryes, which I just recently learned was not a popular idea amongst Darthium to mix and mingle amongst species.

My eyes scanned the crowd as we made our way to a particularly large table at the front of the room with chairs that looked like they belonged on the top of a throne. Eros smiled and made small talk along the way as the people around us studied me closely. Finally, we made it to the chairs and I felt the wind knock right out of my lungs when I noticed Griffin. His brown eyes locked onto mine and I wanted to believe that he remembered me.

He took large strides towards Eros and he stopped only a foot short looking between the two of us. He looked the same, but with added features that made him more mature and dare I say,stronger. I could see the crinkles in his eyes and I sensed the calmness he had standing in front of us. I felt his intentions—they were pure.

Griff was still the same gentle giant that I had grown close to in Carondelet and I wondered if he knew that we were related now or if he even remembered me at all.

Chapter 21

“Eros, pleasure seeing you as always.” He stuck out his hand and shook Eros's in return. They both stared into each other's eyes as if they had secrets that they were affirming just by shaking their hands.

I noticed people around us watching this exchange. Out of curiosity or maybe ill-intent, just waiting for me to slip up.

“Griffin, yourememberClara.” Eros said this with such certainty and loudly enough for others to hear. I watched as Griffin’s hand reached out to mine, and I glanced towards Eros, making sure that this was okay for me to do. I didnotwant to do anything to mess this up. He nodded at me with a slow blink, and I knew it was okay.

I encompassed my hand in Griff’s, but when I did a wave of energy flowed through me and into him. As this wave entered Griffin’s mind, I saw the slow realization from him that I had just shown him parts of his past that he didn’t know about. He immediately dropped my hand and took a step back looking between Eros and me.

The worried look he once had was now gone and replaced with his ever-glowing smile. Realization appeared, and I knew he remembered me. He reached his arms around both of us and said, “Happy as a clam you two are here. Please eat and enjoy the company ofourpeople.” Then he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, but he didn’t move his head away from mine as he whispered into my ear. “Great to see you, cousin. We’ll have to catch up later; no one here needs to know athingabout us two.” He pulled back and winked.

His smirk was so large that if someone were watching this conversation, they would most likely think Griffin said something dirty in my ear, but what he said was so much more than that. What he had done was acknowledge that he knew who I was and that it was the best news of the night.

He dropped his arms from around the two of us and started walking forward gesturing for us to follow him across the ballroom.

“Tonight, we have some food set up over here." He pointed to the table with an assortment of dishes. "You are welcome to eat anything you’d like. We also have some beverage choices, the ale being my personal favorite.” I watched Griffin as he continued to give us the tour of the dining area and my features were surely lit up with happiness seeing him so in his element. He was a caretaker, he loved to ensure other people were well taken care of, and that resonated with me. He also had a lot of pride in himself and his people and that's what I wanted. The lingering thought of Lettie stayed on my mind. They were together in Carondelet. They had finally admitted their feelings for one another and then everything stopped.

I'm gonna ask him about Lettie.

The sharp look in Eros's eyes told me that I shouldn't. Maybe it was a sensitive topic, but I feel like Lettie and I were similar in many ways. I didn't have a place I truly belonged and she wasthe same. I was a goddess with powers from theothergods and goddesses swirling within me, but my blood spoke a different tale. My blood was a pure blend of witch and werewolf. Of Artesian and Rhysettian blood. Which would mean that I could somehow transform into one unless it was suppressed by the other powers.

“And unfortunately for you, Eros, we don’t have aspecialtymeal for you,” he said to Eros with a wink. I would assume he meant blood, but we haven’t gotten to that conversation quite yet. So, I was very unsure of how he sought out nourishment being that he was both Vamprye and Angel.

Eros rolled his eyes at Griffin, “That’s alright. I’m well fed for now.”

For now…my skin was itching with nervousness as I wondered who his next meal would be. Me?

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