A Pride of Gryphons

by Kristen S. Walker

  Korinna stopped struggling to rise and relaxed back into the cot. It was probably for the best, she realized, because her head felt a little woozy. “So they did come,” she murmured. “And you’re alright? I was worried about you.”

  He smiled, but he looked tired and battered. “I’m fine.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “What happened to you? The emergency team said they found you collapsed on the street outside. I warned you not to overdo it.”

  Calling all of the marewings must have been too great a strain for her, she realized. But how miraculous, if she’d really managed to bring them. She looked up at Galenos. “Do you know why the company came to help us?”

  “The marewings sensed the attack,” he said without much surprise. “The gryphons had left the farmlands for the night, but the marewings wouldn’t settle down when they returned to the camp. The riders followed their instincts and let them bring them here. We’re fortunate they did, because I don’t know what we would have done without them.”

  Korinna fell silent. She thought about telling her husband that she had called the marewings, but he might not believe her in her current state—or he could be angry that she’d risked herself to bring them. But it was enough to know that she had succeeded, and the city was safe. Time enough later to figure out what her ability meant.

  A physician came by then, and ran through a series of checks and questions to evaluate Korinna’s wellbeing. When the woman asked if Korinna could remember what had happened before her collapse, she only described her sorrow at losing Philagros and said that she went outside to get some fresh air.

  Galenos squeezed her hand in sympathy. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Someone should have been here with you.”

  Korinna squeezed back. “I’ll be alright,” she said. “I’ll honor his memory when I can.”

  The physician gave her a clean bill of health, but advised her to go home and get some rest. “And no more flying for at least a week,” she said sternly. “You need some time to recover.”

  Korinna nodded slowly. Galenos helped pull her to her feet, and they started for the door. She looked around her on the way out and noticed that there were still plenty of injuries to keep the physicians busy. “How bad are the casualties?” she whispered to her husband.

  “It will take some time to assess the damage,” he said with a shake of his head. “But don’t worry about that tonight. Shall I fetch a litter to carry you home? It’s a long way.”

  She frowned. “No, I think it will be better to walk, so long as we can go slowly.”

  He kept a protective arm around her shoulders as they stepped out into the cool night air. “Are you sure you want to walk all that way? Most of the inns are full of refugees, but there will be someone willing to give a room to their duchess.”

  She let out a heavy sigh. “I just want to go back home to my own bed. I’ve had enough… strangeness for one night.”

  To her relief, he seemed to agree and let her set the walking pace through the city. She was dimly aware that there were guards around them, checking dark corners of the streets and keeping them safe, but they kept enough distance that she could at least pretend she was alone with her husband on a casual moonlit stroll. As she said, stretching her legs helped to clear her mind and let her unwind from the evening’s excitement.

  Questions swirled around her, so many things that she needed to know. Had she really called the entire company of marewings all by herself? What did that mean? And why did the gryphons come to attack the city in the first place? Had any of the riders besides Philagros been hurt or killed in the fighting—any of her friends? But she knew that these questions would have to wait for tomorrow or later. She still wasn’t sure if she should reveal what she’d done, or how Galenos would react.

  Instead, she leaned against him and turned her face up to look at him in the streetlights. “How did it feel to fight again?”

  He blinked in surprise, then glanced down at her. “It was… strange,” he admitted. “I haven’t even practiced in a year, so I wasn’t as sharp as I used to be. But at the same time, it felt all too familiar.” He shuddered and turned his face away. “I can’t do that again. If anyone found out that I broke the sacred law to take up arms, even to defend our city, it could have disastrous consequences.”

  She scowled. “That’s all political nonsense. You were only protecting your own people from vicious monsters.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “From the moment I met you, I could see how strong of a warrior you were. How do you know that your skill isn’t a gift from the gods? It may not be a part of you that you enjoy, but I can feel it’s still in you, no matter how you try to suppress it. Why can’t you use that talent for good?”

  His arm tightened around her. “That’s not how things are done here. I think the sacred law is right—war can only harm people, no matter how good the intentions are behind it. It’s a ruler’s job to avoid war at all costs. That’s why we’re not permitted to fight, under any circumstances.” He clenched his other hand into a fist, then flung it out to encompass the city around them. “Why not use my strength for something else, like building up Kyratia to be even better? Fighting can’t be the only talent that I have.”

  “I didn’t say it was,” she said, trying to soothe away his growing irritation. Maybe it wasn’t the best time to get him to talk about the issue when they were both tired from the long day, but if she just dropped the subject, she wasn’t sure when she’d get him to open up again.

  “Let me turn the question back on you, then. Why do you think it’s so important for us to fight?”

  Korinna tilted her head back to see the sky above the city. “Because… it’s how this all started. People viewed us as heroes for what we did. Because I don’t want our people to think that we’re going to sit back and let others do the fighting for us now. I want them to know that we are their first line of defense.”

  Galenos chuckled and shook his head. “You care too much about what other people think about you. If you’re just trying to make them like you, you won’t make a very good leader.”

  She lowered her head, feeling the sting of his words cut too close to the truth. Yes, she wanted people to like her. When she ran the farm, she made personal sacrifices so her people would be happy. What was wrong with that? Shouldn’t a leader put her people first? If the people wanted her to be the warrior duchess, as she’d heard them call her, then she didn’t want to hang up her weapons and sit on her laurels.

  He put his hand under her chin and tipped her face up to his. “It’s alright, I know your heart is in the right place. Public opinion is fickle, but I’ll always love you for trying.”

  She smiled up at him and kissed him, but the sting didn’t go away completely. She’d have to think about her need for public approval when she had the time. She fell silent for the rest of the walk home.

  Fortunately, they were almost back to their neighborhood. Her energy was flagging again by the time they reached their front door. She leaned on Galenos heavily to keep from stumbling as she climbed up the steps and went inside.

  The house was dark, so she expected all of the staff to be in bed, but when Galenos lit a lamp, they found Aristia curled up in a chair waiting for them. The girl sprang up, wide awake, and ran to them with a cry.

  Korinna opened her arms and comforted the girl with a warm embrace. “Why are you still awake? It’s late, you should be in bed.”

  Aristia gave her a final squeeze and stumbled back into a shaky curtsy. “I’m sorry, m’lady, I was scared of the monsters and I didn’t know if you—if you would come home.” She looked back and forth between both of them. “Are you hurt? What can I do to help?”

  Galenos gave her a reassuring smile. “We’re both fine, just tired. You should go back to bed, we can take care of ourselves for now.”

  Aristia shook her head vehemently. “No, I can’t sleep anyway, so let me help. Do you want something to eat? I can see what my mother left for you in the kitchen.”<
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  Korinna looked over at her husband, who shrugged, leaving the decision up to her. Well, if it would make the girl feel better, she wouldn’t refuse her help. Besides, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten, and the mere mention of food made her stomach ache with emptiness. “Something simple, please. I couldn’t handle anything rich.”

  Aristia bobbed her head and hurried off to the back of the house.

  Galenos still held onto Korinna’s arm, keeping her on her feet. “Can I help you up to your room?”

  Korinna shook her head. “No, just get me to the nearest couch. I’ll sleep downstairs if that’s alright.”

  He eased her onto a couch in the sitting room, one with a pleasant view of the garden so she could hear the fountain. Even though he was just as exhausted as her, he took the time to arrange a mountain of pillows around her and brought three different blankets to keep her warm.

  Finally, she had to push him away from fussing over her. “Stop, if I get any more comfortable, I will meld with the couch and never rise again.” She smiled at Aristia, who was carrying an armful of various dishes into the room despite the request for something simple. “Are you hungry?”

  Galenos hesitated. “I ate earlier, but I can sit with you while you eat, if you want.”

  “No, I think Aristia will keep me company,” she said with a wink. No doubt the girl had brought a few treats for herself along with Korinna’s supper. “Go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He must have been falling asleep on his feet, because he kissed her good night without any argument and left the room.

  Korinna turned back to the table full of food and nodded to Aristia. “Well, I think you’re going to have to help me eat all of this. There’s way too much just for me.”

  Aristia grinned and pulled a chair up to the table. “Thanks, m’lady. I’ll stay with you all night, if you want me to.”

  Korinna looked at the dark sky outside and wondered just how many hours of night were actually left, but she nodded. She didn’t mind the company and if she could make the girl feel better, she was glad to have her nearby. She reached for a meat pasty and nibbled on the corner. The flaky crust was the best thing in the world in that moment, even cold.

  ***

  Korinna and Aristia both did their best to eat everything, but there was still a platter of candied fruit and a wedge of hard cheese left staring at them on the table. Korinna leaned back on the couch and grimaced. “You’d better just put the rest away,” she said, resting a hand on her overstuffed stomach. “If I try to eat any more, I won’t be able to sleep.”

  Aristia gathered up all of the dirty dishes in an expert balancing act and whisked them out of the room again.

  Korinna pulled the softest blanket up around her shoulders, leaving the other two by her feet where she could grab them if she changed her mind later. She didn’t think she would, but sometimes just her feet were cold enough that she wanted the extra layer. When Aristia came back, she’d ask her to turn down the lamps, and then she expected to drift off quickly.

  But Aristia rushed into the room and flung open the outer window. “M’lady, something is wrong. Are the gryphons coming back again?”

  Korinna’s eyes fluttered open. “What? Of course not. You don’t need to be afraid anymore.”

  Aristia tilted her head to one side as if she were trying to hear something with only her left ear. “No, it’s not the gryphons. He’s calling something else this time.”

  Korinna struggled to sit up and see if there was someone outside, but she knew Galenos had left the guards stationed at the door, so they would catch anyone malicious lurking around the house. “What are you talking about? Is your bad ear giving you trouble?”

  Aristia turned around to face her, her eyes wide with fright. She clutched at her left ear. “No, it’s…” She crossed the room and knelt in front of Korinna. “Can I tell you a secret? Do you promise not to tell anyone else?”

  Korinna frowned. “If you still have pain in your ear, then you need to talk to a healer. I won’t keep a secret that’s harmful to you.”

  Aristia squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “No, no, the healers can’t help me with this.” Her eyes flew open again and she grabbed Korinna’s hands. “But maybe you can. I think you can hear them, too. Not the normal kind of hearing, but something else. Do you sense them?”

  The girl seemed to be babbling nonsense. Korinna wanted to pull away, but she forced herself to squeeze her hands reassuringly. “No, I don’t hear anything, dear. Sometimes, our minds play tricks on us, especially when we’re very emotional or tired, and I think you’ve had a long day—”

  A cry broke through her mind, stopping all thought. A primal scream, full of terror and anger, in a voice so twisted that she barely recognized it. Sungold was in pain and calling for help.

  “There!” Aristia pointed out the window. “And all of the others, too, right? I heard you call them here earlier, to stop the gryphons. But now he’s doing something to them, something bad. You have to make them stop.”

  Korinna stared blankly. When she reached out, she could hear the other marewings crying out as well, Nightshade and Skyfire and all the rest. But try as she might, she couldn’t sense what was disturbing them so much, this “he” that Aristia kept talking about. All she knew was how it was affecting them.

  She closed her eyes and reached out, trying to soothe Sungold across the distance, to get her to calm down. But for the first time since she’d caught her, Sungold fought against her. Whatever was happening had terrified the marewing beyond the point that she would listen to her rider.

  Through their connection, the fear began to leech into Korinna, clenching her insides into a knot. Her heart pounded and it seemed as if there wasn’t enough air in the room. She gasped, struggling for breath.

  “No, don’t!”

  Aristia gripped Korinna’s hands even tighter, and the connection broke. She opened her eyes and saw the girl staring as if she could see into her very soul. She took another breath, this one deeper, steadying herself.

  “You can’t fight him directly,” Aristia warned. She put a gentle hand on Korinna’s belly. “You’re already worn out. If you keep pushing yourself, you could hurt your baby.”

  Korinna gaped in surprise and curled around her stomach protectively. But how could this girl know so much about what was happening? “Do you know what’s wrong with the marewings? How can we help them?”

  Aristia got up and went back to the window. “I don’t know. I was hoping a mage could help me learn more about all of this. I’ve been trying to figure it out my own, but now…” She shook her head. “It’s too late. He’s driven them mad, and now they’re going to lash out.”

  Korinna pressed her hands over her ears, trying to block out the marewings’ screams from her mind, but the feeling of terror was creeping back over her again. “I don’t understand what’s happening! What is this?”

  “Wyld magic.”

  Images flashed through her mind of Varula Soma dancing as stranglevine grew over the city and an ogre rushed to attack her from the darkness. She shook her head. “No, that’s impossible. We banished the priests. And wyld magic doesn’t do anything to marewings… does it?”

  Aristia threw a sharp look back over her shoulder. “How else did you call them here? Were you trained in some other kind of magic?”

  Korinna shook her head. “No, I don’t know any magic. I thought they heard me just because I knew them. They’re sensitive to emotions, some kind of empathy.”

  “Then why do I hear them, too?” Aristia pointed to her left ear. “I’ve never met a marewing in my life, or a gryphon, or any other kind of monster except that bug they said was making everyone dance. But I heard every part of the battle like it was going on inside this house.” Her eyes glistened in the lamplight, like she was about to cry, but she clenched her jaw and glared out the window again. “One of those priests came back, and he’s using wyld magic to cause all kinds of
trouble. It has to be a priest because he’s so strong and he’s gathering the magic in some kind of ritual. I can hear the chanting.”

  Korinna curled up tighter, feeling numb from the shock. She’d feared wyld magic for so long, she’d never thought that she’d use it herself. Did all marewing riders use some small amount of wyld magic just to control their mounts? Was that the secret? She couldn’t imagine it to be true, and yet she’d already had her worldview shattered once. There was so much that she didn’t know or comprehend.

  Then she realized something Aristia had said: she could hear chanting from the priest. She strained to listen, but she heard nothing beyond the sound of marewings in distress. They were growing louder and more frantic as if they were reaching a breaking point.

  Then another sound, one not in her mind, drew her gaze to the window. Alarm bells were ringing out across the city. Torchlights were flickering to life again, breaking the peace of the nighttime.

  Korinna leaned forward, but she didn’t think her legs would hold her up if she tried to stand again. “What’s happening?”

  Loud thumping down the stairs made her turn again. Galenos came into the room at a run, dressed in his armor again.

  “The marewings are going wild,” he said with a grim expression. He held his hand out to stop her from rising. “Stay inside and bolt the windows. I’ll go investigate what’s happening.”

  Korinna stared up at him, frozen to her seat. This whole thing felt like a scene from a nightmare—had she fallen asleep without realizing it? “Be careful,” she gasped out. “Do you think… one of the Varulan priests is back?”

  Galenos frowned at her suspiciously. “What makes you think that?”

  Korinna shot a look at Aristia, but the girl shrank back, shaking her head. She gestured vaguely. “All of the strange behavior, between the gryphons and the marewings—I just wondered if it could be caused by wyld magic.”

  “I can’t worry about the cause right now,” Galenos said with a dismissive shake of his head. “Don’t fret over things too much, it’s not good for you. Just stay safely inside and try to get some rest.” He bent over and kissed the top of her head, then looked at Aristia. “Remember what I said about bolting the windows.”