On the Subject of Griffons

by Lindsey Byrd

  “You’re a rotten liar, Lady,” Aurora told her. Then she kissed her the way Kera longed for her to, and held her tight. “Is it done, then?”

  “It’s done. The overseer will see to everyone’s arrests, Travers has been sent away forever, and the wraith’s call is over. Anyone still alive who was sick will slowly feel better. They’re all going to be all right.”

  Before Aurora could say anything else, Aiden tugged at Kera’s trouser leg. She shifted so she could look at him, and he scaled her like a tree. Aurora rolled her eyes as Kera helped hoist her son up. She settled Aiden on her hip and grinned at her son, relishing his voice as he chattered at her. He chattered and flapped his hands as he told her about his day. “I went flying! I went flying on Sarisse and Miss Aurora held me, and we touched the clouds, and I wanna go again, can we please, can we?”

  Faith cheerily gave a tale of her own, telling Kera how she and Aiden went swimming and built a sandcastle. Some of the beavers had come over to inspect it, and then she and Aiden had caught fish and eaten them over a fire. The night had been so quiet they hadn’t even needed a fire ring; the griffons had watched over and protected them the whole while.

  Their enthusiasm was unbelievable, their excitement addicting. Kera let herself enjoy the moment. She set Aiden down and chased him along the lake’s sandy beach. She splashed water at her daughter and picked errant leaves from Faith’s hair as Aurora straightened Aiden’s shirt. She held them both, and loved them both, and wished them all the happiness in the world.

  “Are you ready to go home?” she asked Aiden as he pet the baby griffon, giggling as they purred and chirped at once. Their fluffy tail swishing back and forth as tiny talons flexed and bent.

  “Yes,” he replied. He didn’t hesitate, nor let himself get too attached to the pretty creature curled against his body. “I miss everybody.” Kera hugged him close. She hadn’t dared to think too much about Cirri, Marcus, Junior, Kerri, John, or August. She longed to see each one of her children, missing their precious faces and wanting to hold them all safe in her arms. “Can I still play with Faith?” he asked though.

  “Anytime you’d like,” Kera promised. There was a lot she and Aurora needed to discuss, but that promise she had every intention on keeping. Aiden seemed more than content with that, and he stood up, holding the baby griffon under their front legs as he went to tell Faith what she said. The baby’s back legs dragged along the ground as he walked. Raslidor and the other griffon, Sarisse, were observing the proceedings with interest, grooming each other and clearly relaxing without much concern.

  Aurora settled into place at Kera’s back once Aiden had gone, pulling Kera so her spine rested against her breasts. Kera melted into the embrace, tilting her head so it leaned on Aurora’s collarbone. “I missed you,” she admitted softly. It had only been a day of separation, but it felt like too much.

  “Me too,” Aurora whispered back.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  “I’m a mess.”

  “Still.”

  Aurora shifted her arms and kissed the top of Kera’s head. “Things’ll be different when we get back to Ship’s Landing.” Life was always different in Ship’s Landing. There were classes and hierarchy, prejudices and poor judgment, cruelty that had no place in the world, and all of it was centered in a few city blocks.

  Kera took Aurora’s hand in hers and stroked her thumb over Aurora’s knuckles. “I want you to live with us at the Ivory Gate.” The arms around Kera’s body tightened. The breath against her ear hitched. Kera kept talking, eager to speak her mind. “The Traverses were responsible for your child’s pain. You have no home of your own. We have room aplenty. When I spoke with the overseer, he agreed to release Morpheus’s pension to me. The Ivory Gate will be mine, and I will have the means to pay for it and our family.”

  “Our family,” Aurora echoed.

  “You and Faith and my own children. Our family.”

  Aurora’s mouth fell open, her embrace loosened just enough for Kera to turn and meet her eyes. “I want to see you every day. I want to hold you. I missed having you by my side at Hame Argyll. I do not want to feel that way again. I do not want to be apart from you. And should this affection die . . . then it ends. But I have no desire to push you away or leave you alone when it is in my capacity to continue to hold you close if that’s what you wish for.”

  “I’m not what your neighbors will want to see. What your family will want to see. I slept with your husband,” Aurora reminded her uselessly.

  Kera had thought about it for some time. She’d had three hours of flying time to think about it. Three hours of Raslidor eavesdropping on her thoughts and offering occasional bits of advice. Three hours to come to terms with what exactly she even wanted from Aurora. If she had only wanted temporary relief, or if she wanted something far more permanent.

  Her sister . . . would need convincing. Ciara had been furious with Mori when the affair had become known, and she’d had nothing nice to say about Aurora in all the days since. They had never met, but reputation alone would mean Ciara had an opinion set in stone. But stone could be eroded. It could be smoothed out. It could be shaped and warped into a new image.

  Given enough time, Kera knew full well that her sister would come around and accept their arrangement and their decision. She would support her. Kera wished Gale were still alive too. Gale not only would have supported Aurora, but she would have happily spent her days chatting to her about all of the things they had in common. She would have relished the bravery that Aurora so easily displayed and begged for stories and advice.

  “You would have loved my little sister,” Kera told Aurora. Aurora’s lips twitched. It was not an answer to her concern, but somehow she felt as though Aurora understood. Perhaps, like the griffons, they were starting to understand each other’s true thoughts and intentions. “I will manage my family. I will handle the neighbors. I will bear that burden, if you will do me the honor of bearing mine. Please . . . I want you to stay with me.”

  Aurora flushed again but nodded in response. “Okay,” she said slowly, accent thick. “Let’s give it a try.”

  Kera kissed her, and looked forward to doing it every day in the future yet to come.

  The next day, Raslidor escorted them to the edge of the Long Lakes, accepting hugs and kisses from the children and nuzzling both Aurora and Kera politely. They sat crouched, happily digging their talons into the ground. The talons Raslidor had freely given during their time at the Long Lakes had already started to regrow. Fresh black claws peeked out amongst fur-coated feathers. It would take time, but soon each claw that was shed would return like they had never lost it.

  Kera was allowed to keep her talon knife.

  She thanked the griffon, down from the bottom of her heart. There were not enough words to express her gratitude, but Raslidor merely told her that they would like to see her again. That she and her family would always be welcome to join them at the Long Lakes. They were even encouraged to take a handful of feathers with them for good fortune in their lives. Faith and Aiden both promised to return, and Kera imagined they would have many, many adventures when they grew older. She hoped they enjoyed them all.

  Riding Najah’s horses back to Mount Maladh, Kera found the return journey took more time than they’d anticipated. Faith and Aiden both longed to run about, and neither Kera nor Aurora had the heart to stop them. They watched over their children, instead, as they took turns chasing each other, their laughter and joy worth every delayed moment on the road.

  Both children were ecstatic with their health, and they clung to it with the steadfast determination of the formerly ill. They told jokes and teased each other. Faith tickled Aiden’s sides, and he called her his sister just as she called him her brother. They were family. At the end of all their travels, they had become a family.

  It took almost a week to arrive at Mount Maladh, but once there, Najah very nearly burst with glee. She threw them a party, and they bathed and joined
her for the feast. Najah sat at the piano and played beautiful music for them, and Kera took Aurora by the hand and taught her how to dance. She led and Aurora followed. They counted the beats together, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, and Kera told her she had never seen anyone so beautiful in all her life.

  Kera ran her hands over the smooth gown Najah had lent Aurora, grinning when Aurora arched into her touch. No one was looking at them, and Kera took it as all the incentive she needed. She pulled Aurora after her, and found an alcove where they could hide themselves away, giving herself permission to continue feeling the curves of Aurora’s hips and the swell of her breasts. They cupped each other’s faces and traded tender kisses, stopping only when Najah indelicately informed them that they had a room quite available for them. Aurora blushed furiously, and Kera did too, but she took it as the invitation it was and quickly led her partner up the stairs.

  It would take time to reach the Ivory Gate, but they had time. So they spent their evening touching and loving one another. They slept curled in each other’s arms, Aurora whispering that there was nothing to fear, the wraith was gone. Kera still kept her knife by her bedside anyway, and they didn’t talk about it. They didn’t have to. Aurora understood, and Kera loved that about her.

  She truly did.

  Some days later, Najah made them promise to return as soon as they could, and Kera begged her to visit them at the Ivory Gate. They returned one of her horses, but the other Najah gave them as a gift. Victor was fed, happy, and just as well rested as they were when they prepared him for the journey home. He’d been well taken care of, and he nuzzled them as they saddled him once more.

  All of them were ready for consistency to return.

  By the time they reached Ship’s Landing, news had already spread about the Traverses’ arrests. In fact, there was a palpable difference in the air. People recognized Kera. They recognized Aurora. They all stopped and stared, whispering as they watched their party return. Some even started cheering, and it was so absurd and ridiculous, Kera couldn’t help but urge her horse on just that much faster.

  Crowds started forming soon enough, people thanking them as they went; some women even waved their handkerchiefs obscenely. Aiden scrunched his nose at it all and asked Kera, “Why’s everyone acting funny?”

  To which Aurora shortly replied, “Because they have nothing better to do.”

  It made Kera laugh the rest of the way to the Ivory Gate, even though it took far longer than she had hoped and the crowds showed no signs of stopping. Hurriedly, Kera led Aurora to the stable, managed to get the horses into their stalls, and brought the children inside. They locked the door behind them and shared a look of total unabashed humor.

  They couldn’t enjoy the peace for long.

  Kera barely had a chance to catch her breath before she heard her name being called. She looked down the hall and was swept immediately into her older sister’s arms. Ciara latched on to her and Kera realized she was crying. She was calling Kera’s name and pulling back so she could inspect her face and throat. Exclaiming, “Oh God, what have you done to yourself?” as she fussed.

  “I’m quite all right,” Kera promised.

  “Aunt Ciara!” Aiden cried out, always keen on getting attention of his own. Ciara traded targets immediately, picking up her nephew and tossing him in the air, catching him and snuggling him as he giggled and shrieked in delight. “Oh, Aiden! Aiden! You’re all right!”

  Aurora and Faith stood awkwardly in the foyer, but Kera took their hands. She led them through to the den, where she set them both on her sofa, only vaguely aware that Ciara was following her. Her sister sat down across from them and smiled so brightly, tears in her eyes. “They’re calling you a hero!” she announced. “A hero! The overseer has told everyone what you did! What you’ve been through! It’s remarkable! You saved the city!”

  It wasn’t how Kera would have phrased it, and she said as much to Ciara. She’d never set out to the Long Lakes to save the city. Her sister didn’t care. She always took pride in anything Kera did, no matter what it was. Ciara glanced at Aurora and paused only briefly before returning her attention to Kera. “Please, you must tell me everything,” she insisted.

  Kera sat with her hands folded neatly in her lap. Aurora, to her left, gave her strength to speak. Her newly proclaimed daughter, on her right, silently offered support where she could. Kera would have preferred to have this conversation with a little less excitement, but there was no stopping hurricane Ciara. She wasn’t interested in waiting for later, she wanted to hear it now.

  So, with her family piecing itself together and her home finally secure, Kera smiled, and she told the story of how she saved her children, and how she found love.

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading Lindsey Byrd’s On the Subject of Griffons!

  We know your time is precious and you have many, many entertainment options, so it means a lot that you’ve chosen to spend your time reading. We really hope you enjoyed it.

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  There have been endless iterations of this book since I first started writing it, but this version could never have existed if it wasn’t for my best friend, Alex, who read and reread this story time and again, listened to me talk about characters for hours, and who was endlessly supportive through every step of this process. Words cannot express how grateful I am for you, your presence in my life, and the friendship you’ve given me. Thank you, Alex, I couldn’t have done it without you.

  I also want to thank my husband. Wes, you are the most inspirational person I’ve ever met. I have rewritten this acknowledgment so many times, trying to figure out how to express on paper exactly what you mean to me. Perhaps the only words that feel right are these: I found you, and with you I am found. I love you more than anyone will ever know, and I can’t wait to face our next adventure together. Thank you, mun. I’m with you no matter what.

  Lindsey Byrd was brought up in upstate, downstate, and western New York. She is a budding historian of law, medieval, and women’s studies and often includes historical anecdotes or references within her works. Lindsey enjoys writing about complex and convoluted issues where finding the moral high ground can be hard to do. She has a particular love for heroic villains and villainous heroes, as well as inverting and subverting tropes.

  Twitter: twitter.com/TheLindseyByrd

  Tumblr: tumblr.com/blog/lindseybyrd

  Email: thelindseybyrd@gmail.com

  Goodreads: goodreads.com/LindseyByrd

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