The Hidden (Shadowed Wings Book 1)

by Ivy Asher

  Nadi nods and rises from her grass-cushioned seat. “Whatever you feel is right, child. Support will be here for you when you are ready.”

  And with that, I’m picked up on a breeze and unceremoniously thrown out of the city, the large stone doors slamming shut behind me. I crash into the wall opposite of the arched double doors and crumble to the ground. I glare at the stone entrance, my cheek pressed against the cold stone of the floor.

  Well, fuck you too.

  I’m painfully aware that I’ve spent far too much of my life since coming to the Eyrie lying on the floor, tired and pissed off about something. I’m over it. I trace the symbols on the door with my eyes, riding their angles and swirls with my gaze. I get lost in the way that some of them flow into each other, while others stop abruptly and sit solitary and disconnected. I’m not sure how long I lie there staring at the stone doors, but suddenly my name trickles toward me through the dark. I spot a floating orange light in the distance, and I glare at it.

  “If you think I’m going to help you with shit after you just threw me out, then your essence isn’t as wise as you think it is,” I tell Nadi and push up from the ground.

  My muscles are stiff, and the coolness of the dark hallway nips at my skin. Fuck. How long have I been down here?

  “Falon?” a deep voice questions, and then it and the light rush toward me. “Falon, what are you doing down here?” Ryn asks as he bends down and runs his concerned gaze over me.

  “You have a dead Ouphe city inside your mountain,” I tell him, gesturing to the stone doors as I sit up.

  “Yeah, we know. The Ouphe abandoned this place a couple hundred years ago,” he tells me, and then he helps me to my feet.

  “Apparently, they want to move back in.”

  “What are you doing down here?” Ryn asks me again. He reaches up and pushes strands of hair out of my face, and I have to stop myself from leaning into his palm.

  “Some kid, who wasn’t a kid, tricked me down here, and then Nadi showed up with all this you are our last hope bullshit, but then she threw me out when I said I’d think about it. Also, I’m pretty sure I heard the walls singing at one point; has that happened to you?”

  Ryn stares at me as I ramble, his smoky gray eyes bouncing back and forth between mine, his look becoming more and more worried. My stomach takes that moment to growl its dissatisfaction over everything that’s happened. I clamp my hands over it.

  “Falon, you should be resting. Have you even eaten anything since you woke up?”

  “I was going to, but then…” I point at the door, and Ryn narrows his eyes at me.

  “Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”

  I open my mouth to argue that I’ve been in bed for a week and that I’m not tired, but I realize that’s not the case at all. I suddenly feel like the opposite is true and that I haven’t slept in a week. Ryn guides me down the short hallway and up the flight of stairs. I keep checking my surroundings, disoriented because this looked different when I was making my way down here.

  “Corse,” Ryn calls to a guard as we make our way to the hallway where I first spotted the giggling ghost toddler. “Grab a few plates from the kitchen and have them brought up to Z—I mean, Falon’s room.”

  The guard nods and marches off in the direction of the kitchens while we head the opposite way.

  “Please,” I chastise Ryn.

  “What’s that?”

  “You could say please. You know, ask nicely for something. Use manners.”

  “What do you mean?” Ryn queries, and I scoff.

  “Of course you don’t know what I mean,” I grumble and wave the point of my conversation away.

  “No, really, I do want to know what you mean,” Ryn presses, and we’re back at my room in no time.

  “Do gryphons not have words that express gratitude when you ask someone to do something and they do it?” I ask, turning to see Ryn’s face.

  “We just nod,” he answers with a shrug, and I laugh.

  “So you never need to soften the blow of being bossy with a please or a thank you?”

  “No, I am second in charge, and what I say or ask for doesn’t need to be softened; it just is,” he replies. “Where you come from you have to be soft?”

  “Sometimes yeah, but I think it’s more of an acknowledgement that someone else doesn’t have to listen to you, but you’re grateful that they do. Does that make sense?”

  “No,” Ryn answers immediately and ushers me toward the bed.

  “So I would say, ‘Hand me that skin of water, please,’ and it would mean you don’t have to hand me that skin of water, but I’d be grateful if you do.”

  “Or you could just say, ‘Hand me that skin of water,’ and know that the person you asked will do it and that’s that,” Ryn argues.

  “Well, that’s easy for you to say though, because you have power as the second in charge,” I mock. “So people have to listen to you. But what if you didn’t have that authority?”

  “Then you’d get the skin of water for yourself.” He looks at me, his gray gaze puzzled, and I can’t help but smile.

  “Okay fine, manners aren’t for gryphons, I concede the point,” I offer with my hands up in surrender.

  “Giving up so easily, Falon? And here I was thinking you were a fighter,” he teases, and I laugh.

  “Oh don’t you worry, Altern, I’ll get a please out of you before I leave, just you wait and see.”

  Ryn’s eyebrows drop, and his gaze grows troubled. “What do you mean before you leave?”

  I run my eyes over his face, unsure of the emotion I’m seeing there. Worry? No that doesn’t seem right.

  “Zeph promised that when we got back here, he’d take me home. So I’ll probably be leaving in a couple days,” I explain, and Ryn’s features go steely with anger.

  “Did he now?” Ryn responds, but it feels more like a condemnation than a question. He backs away from me and stomps toward the door.

  “Where are you going?” I demand.

  “To speak with Zeph.”

  “Oh no you don’t!” I command and scramble to put myself in his way. “I want to go home. It’s time. I’m grateful for what I learned about myself and Pigeon, but I don’t belong here.”

  “I don’t have time to discuss this with you, but you will stay here until I’m back.” Ryn slashes his hand out in a gesture that clearly communicates that he thinks his word is final.

  “The fuck I will,” I growl at him and move forward to crowd his space even more. “Where are you going?” I ask suddenly and then shake my head to clear it of curiosity. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going home, and there isn’t shit you can do about that.”

  Ryn stalks forward until my back is pressed against the door. Pigeon sits up inside of me, and I have to fight not to roll my eyes at her. “I have an assignment. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks. And I promise you, Falon, you will be here when I walk back through these doors. Zeph will ensure it. He has just as much at stake in all of this as I do.”

  “And just what the fuck does that mean?” I demand, pushing at his chest to try and give myself some space. He doesn’t budge.

  “I don’t have time to explain it right now. Just stay here until I get back.” His intense stare drops from mine, and he takes a step back.

  I’m once again punched in the face with the feeling that I’m missing something here, and I’m fucking over it. “No,” I answer, and his steely gaze shoots back up to mine, his irises a now furious bubbling mercury. “I don’t know exactly what is going on here, but I’m not a complete fucking idiot. You and Zeph are hiding something that has to do with me, and yet neither one of you have the balls to tell me what’s up,” I rage at him. “I’ve been lied to my whole life apparently, which is probably why you two assholes think you can get away with it, but I’ve officially hit my limit of bullshit. I don’t care what is going on, and I am leaving. I don’t want to be involved in your world or your little war anymore. I have a life to get b
ack to and the mystery of my existence to solve. So you can just fuck o—”

  Ryn’s lips are suddenly on mine, and he swallows down the rest of my angry rant. He cups my face and tries to pull me closer to him, but I shove him away, breaking the kiss.

  “What the fuck, Ryn?” I demand as I try to ignore the heat unfurling inside of me.

  His gaze is molten, and the need suddenly radiating off of him calls to my own. He doesn’t answer my question with words. He just cups my face again and slams his lips back down to mine. I breathe in his hunger as he coaxes me into a response, kissing my top lip and then my bottom, encouraging me to open for him.

  His lips feel so fucking good against my own, and with Pigeon flashing me encouraging images of gryphon porn, I relent and open up to Ryn. I snake my tongue out to tease his, and he growls into my mouth. The kiss deepens and starts to morph into something else entirely. It feels more like a claiming than a lust-filled exchange, but he’s so fucking good at it, I don’t even care.

  His tongue teases and swirls with mine, and I pass all control over into his expert hands. He cups my head, his thumbs resting on my cheek bones and guiding my head in whatever direction that allows him to claim my mouth how he wants. I moan as he presses me into the wall next to the door, and then he reaches down, never breaking our kiss, and lifts me up so he can grind into me. I wrap my legs around his thick torso and roll my hips against the erection begging to be freed from his pants.

  Ryn grabs my ass and encourages me to do that again, and we both moan at the delicious friction when I do. Need fills our kiss, and I tug at his shirt and grind down on him, wanting more. I pull his shirt up and off, forcing our lips apart, and he does the same with my top. I reach down to untie his pants, but the perplexed look on his face makes me pause.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask breathlessly.

  “What is that?” he demands and gestures to my chest.

  “It’s a bra.” I chuckle.

  “Make it...go away,” he commands, and I can’t help but laugh.

  If I weren’t so fucking horny, I might make him figure it out on his own, but I am, so I reach down and untie the laces in the front that keep the binding in place. Ryn watches hungrily, transfixed by what I’m doing, and as soon as the laces are free, he pushes my bra off my shoulders and bends down and sucks hard on a needy nipple.

  “Fuck yes,” I encourage and run my fingers through his light brown hair and hold his head right where it’s at.

  He flicks at my nipple with his tongue, and it shoots sensations straight to my clit. I moan as he continues to do it while simultaneously reaching around and squeezing my ass hard. Now this is the kind of manhandling a girl can get down with. He sucks hard on my boob and then pops off and turns his attention to my other rock hard nipple. He growls as I tug at his hair to pull him away, but I’d rather he sucked on me while he was fucking me, and I’d prefer that he start fucking me right now.

  The door to the room flies open. “Corse said you requested food. I thought I’d bring it up and check on…” Zeph freezes as soon as he spots us, and I watch his features morph from concerned to furious. “What in rutting fairies do you think you’re doing?” he bellows at Ryn, who takes a step away from me to get in Zeph’s face.

  Zeph drops the tray of food to answer Ryn’s challenge, and the smell of meat and bread waft up from the floor to remind me that I’m still starving.

  “You told her you were going to take her back home?” Ryn demands, his fists balling up as he squares off with Zeph.

  Zeph looks past Ryn to me for a second and then refocuses on his second in command. “I did,” he answers tersely.

  “So, what? You send me away and take her back when I’m gone? Was that the plan? Is this urgent assignment even legitimate? Or do you just need to get me out of the way so you can rid yourself of her and the connection?” Ryn accuses, and I don’t miss the flash of hurt in Zeph’s eyes before he masks it with anger. He doesn’t answer Ryn’s question, and Ryn rounds on me.

  “Tell me you’ll stay until I come back.” He steps into me and cups my face. He has desperation in his eyes, and I have no fucking clue why. “Tell me, Falon, vow to me that you will stay here until I get back.”

  Ryn gives me a little shake, pulling me from my scattered thoughts, and Zeph growls in warning behind him. My eyes snap to Zeph, who looks like he wants to rip someone’s head off. I don’t know if it’s his anger or Ryn’s desperation that spurs me on, but I look back to Ryn, my gaze searching. I can practically see the please in his eyes even though he doesn’t voice it.

  “Okay,” I tell him, and as the word leaves my lips, Ryn bends down to taste it.

  He kisses me just enough to leave me panting. He pulls away, and my hungry gaze traces his every muscle as he bends over and snatches his shirt from the ground and storms past Zeph, bumping his shoulder aggressively as he leaves. I wait for Zeph to respond, but he just watches me, his chest heaving and weighed down with anger. I stand there shirtless, pissed that he interrupted and irritated that I just agreed to be here for who knows how much longer.

  Zeph takes a step toward me and then stops himself. He seems to be warring about something internally, and I just stand there and try to decipher the emotions flitting through his features. Heat, anger, confusion, and resolve flash across his face so quickly I almost can’t track it. A plate crunches beneath his boot as he takes another step, and the sound snaps Zeph out of whatever trance he’s in.

  “Get your own food,” he snarls at me and then stomps out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

  The closing door hits a plate and sends it sliding into the wall. A turquoise piece of duda fruit bounces off the sliding plate and stops just shy of my foot. I stare at the door for a beat, not sure what the fuck just happened. Well, it looks like another night of self-entertainment is in the cards for me, I grumble to myself and kick the turquoise piece of fruit away from me. Fucking confusing and volatile gryphons. I run my fingers through my hair and let out an exasperated sigh.

  What’s a girl gotta do around here to get some ass?

  16

  “Wait. He just walked in? What did you do?” Tysa asks, her eyes wide with shock, and her hands covering her mouth.

  “I just stood there. What was I going to do? They had a pissing match about something, and Ryn just left. Here, hand me that bolt.”

  Tysa looks around until she identifies what I’m pointing at and hands it to me. “Oh come on, Falon, not even you can be that unobservant. They had a pissing match, but you have no idea what about?” She rolls her eyes at me.

  “If you’re insinuating it was about me, then you’re way off the mark. They can barely even look at me without the contempt dripping from their eyes. Just look at Zeph if you don’t believe me. He’s been avoiding me at all costs the past couple weeks. That is not the actions of someone who is interested.”

  Tysa snorts, and I stop what I’m doing and glare at her.

  “Oh, Moro hit on you that way?” I challenge. “He sniffed your neck, promised to take you back where you came from, and then avoided you like the plague?”

  She smiles and fingers a lock of her almond-colored hair. “No, he made it clear he wanted to claim me right away.”

  “See, exactly. I’m not even trying to lock anyone down; I’m just trying to scratch an itch. I thought Zeph or Ryn would be excellent back scratchers, but in the end, they just leave me itchier and then act like I have some kind of disease.”

  “Who has a disease?” Moro asks as he walks out of the back of the house to where we are.

  He kisses Tysa sweetly, and when they pull apart, they share a look of such complete devotion, I have to look away. I rub at my chest and the ache I suddenly feel there.

  “No one has a disease. Falon’s just having some trouble getting her rut on,” Tysa tells her mate, and I chuck a dirty rag at her.

  Moro catches it and keeps it from hitting his mate, and I give him an exasperated look. I tighten the last
of the bolts on the tank I’ve spent the past couple weeks constructing. And clap my hands once.

  “Alright, I think that should do it. Go see if it works,” I announce, and Tysa starts hopping around excitedly before rushing toward her house.

  I cross my fingers and give Moro a here goes nothing look. He smiles at me, and then we wait. Tysa screams, and a beaming smile creeps over my face. She comes running out of the back of the house and right into her mate’s arms. He laughs and swings her around a couple times before setting her down. I let out an oomph as Tysa catches me in a solid tackle hug, and we both start laughing as we crash to the ground.

  “You did it! I can’t believe you actually did it!” Tysa squeals. “Moro, we have hot water just like they do in the stronghold!”

  “I told you I could do it, but it’s good to know you didn’t believe me,” I tease, and Tysa wraps me up in another hug.

  When she told me the trade that she wanted from me for the clothes, I wasn’t sure how hard it would be to pull off. But Tysa introduced me to their metalsmith, Mison, and he said he would make all the tools and things I needed if I agreed to get hot water to his house too.

  “The rest of the row is going to be so envious, I’m telling you, Falon. When they hear that you pulled it off, they’ll all be looking to trade for you to do the same thing for their houses,” Tysa tells me, and I shrug.

  I start packing up the few tools I was able to explain to Mison well enough for him to make, and give the tank and pipes one last look to make sure nothing is leaking or has come loose.

  “You are coming tonight, aren’t you?” Tysa asks me as I finish up my inspection.

  “I wasn’t planning on it.” The last thing I want to do is to go to some stuffy event with a bunch of people who can barely stand the sight of me.

  “Oh come on, Falon, it will be fun! The seasons only change three times a year, and this celebration is the best. Everyone drinks and dances all night in thanks to the warmth and all it gave us, and to welcome the cold. Which will be so much easier to manage now that we have hot water!” She squeals with excitement again, and I can’t help but laugh. “I still have that other dress I made you that you haven’t worn. It would be perfect for tonight.”