by Karen Lynch
Seamus looked at me with a smug expression. “I told Niall you had it bad for the lass. He said she was too young and sweet to interest you. We made a friendly wager, which he just lost.”
“You don’t have proof he’s into her,” Niall argued. “He just might not want your ugly mug around her.”
Seamus snorted. “You do realize we’re identical twins.”
“I’m still better looking.”
I shook my head at them, used to their sibling banter. “Are we playing this hand or not?”
“Sure.” Seamus exchanged a look with his brother. “Let’s make this more interesting. Best hand gets to train Sara tomorrow.”
“Seamus,” Chris said with a note of warning in his voice.
I set my cards down, trying to ignore the heat rising in my chest. Seamus and I had been friends for years, and I knew he was only baiting me for fun.
“I have a better idea. Let’s duel over it.”
Seamus stared at me for a moment before he shook his head. “I like all my parts right where they are.”
“Good, that’s settled.” I picked up my cards.
No one mentioned Sara again, and the four of us had an enjoyable evening. Seamus and Niall would have played poker all night, but I left at ten to take a walk around the grounds, something I did most nights before I retired.
I was walking back from the river when Celine intercepted me. Most women I knew would have pretended it was a chance encounter. Not Celine.
“Have you been avoiding me, Nikolas?” she asked in a husky voice as we walked back to the main building.
“I’ve been busy since I got back,” I replied without answering her question.
“So I see. I hear you’ve been working with Tristan’s granddaughter. How sweet of you to help that unfortunate girl.”
She stopped walking, forcing me to stop out of courtesy. Her lips curled into a smile. “Why don’t you join me in one of my training sessions this week? The other trainees would be thrilled to work with the great Nikolas Danshov.”
“I’ll see if I can fit it in. I’m sure the boys would rather have you as a trainer though.”
She laughed and put a hand on my shoulder. “I think the two of us could give them a lesson they’d never forget.”
My Mori shifted angrily, not enjoying her closeness. It need not have worried. There was only one female whose touch I wanted, and nothing would change that. Soon everyone else would know it too, and Celine would have no choice but to end her futile pursuit of me.
“Nikolas, I was hoping to find you out here.” Tristan strode toward us, his shrewd gaze sizing up the situation. “I wanted to talk to you about a job.”
I frowned, stepping away from Celine. “I’m not taking on new jobs right now.”
He stopped and greeted Celine before looking at me again. “It’s in Boise, and it’ll take less than a day. Why don’t we go to my office so I can tell you about it?”
I nodded, and we bade Celine good night. She smiled graciously because she was a warrior first and foremost, and she understood the importance of our work.
“Is there really a job in Boise, or did you just say that to give me an excuse to leave?” I asked as the two of us entered the building.
Tristan chuckled. “There is a job, but we could have discussed it tomorrow. You looked like you could use a rescue.”
I followed him into his office. “I guess I owe you one. Tell me about this job.”
Chapter 20
“You busy tomorrow?” I asked Chris when he sat with Tristan and me at breakfast the next morning.
“Nothing I can’t reschedule. What do you have in mind?”
“We have a warlock selling bad spells in Boise,” Tristan said. “Nothing too dangerous, but three people have been hurt using his magic. I’d like you two to have a kind word with him before it gets out of hand.”
Chris shrugged. “Sure. I’m up for a day trip. But why didn’t you get the Boise team to talk to him?”
Tristan smiled. “The Boise team is fairly young, and you two have more experience dealing with warlocks.”
“Good morning, gentlemen.”
“Morning,” the three of us answered as Celine laid her tray next to mine and took the seat beside me.
Celine said something to me, but I was distracted when I sensed Sara’s arrival. I glanced around, but she wasn’t in the room yet.
We’d had a great session yesterday, and I looked forward to spending today with her. This morning, I planned to take her back to the lake because she’d enjoyed it so much the last time. After lunch, we were going to spend a few hours on her studies. She’d learned a lot from her friend Remy, but there was so much she didn’t know.
“Nikolas?”
I looked at Celine, who looked a little annoyed that I’d been ignoring her.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you had given any thought to joining me in one of my training sessions.” She leaned in. “I’m sure Chris wouldn’t mind working with Sara one afternoon this week to free you up.”
Chris’s smile was full of mischief. “I’d love to teach my little cousin a few tricks.”
Movement behind him drew my eyes to the door, just in time to see Sara’s back as she hurried from the dining hall.
I stared after her. Sara didn’t skip breakfast. Was she ill?
She’d looked okay when we parted ways yesterday, but I hadn’t seen her since. Had I pushed her too hard in training? Maybe I should have gone to see her after dinner.
“Excuse me.” I stood and picked up my tray, ignoring the surprised faces of my breakfast companions. I dropped my tray in one of the bins and turned toward the door.
My eyes fell on a side table piled high with baskets of muffins and pastries, and I snatched up a blueberry muffin wrapped in plastic. I’d seen Sara eating these all the time back in New Hastings, so I knew she liked them.
Something told me she had gone outside, so I left by the main entrance and looked around for her. I didn’t see or feel her, but she couldn’t have gone far. Knowing her love of the woods, I started toward them until I picked up her presence off to my right, in the direction of the river.
The sight of her sitting on the riverbank, with her forehead resting on her knees, which were drawn close to her chest, caused my stomach to tighten. She looked so small and lost against the backdrop of the foaming water, and all I wanted to do was take her in my arms and comfort her.
She didn’t look up when I approached, and my steps faltered when I felt pain coming through our bond.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She started in surprise, but she didn’t answer.
I walked over to stand beside her. “You left without eating, and you can’t train on an empty stomach. These are your favorite, right?”
Her head tilted back, and she stared at the muffin I held out to her. “Thanks,” she said quietly, taking it from my hand without looking at me.
“Are you going to tell me what is wrong with you?” Something had upset her, and I wished she felt like she could talk to me.
“I’m fine.”
I sat beside her. “I think I know you well enough to know that is not true.”
“I didn’t sleep last night and I’m tired,” she said thickly, still not meeting my eyes.
“Is that all? You sound upset.”
I could sense she was distressed, and I didn’t believe it had anything to do with a bad night’s sleep. Frustration gnawed at me. I hated seeing her like this and not knowing how to help her.
She lifted her head to stare at the river. “Not getting any sleep messes me up.”
Maybe forcing her to use her power on me yesterday had affected her more than she’d let on. She’d told me once that using her power weakened her, and I’d seen the effects of it when she’d healed Roland. She’d looked okay when we parted ways, but she could have been hiding it. Sara was very good at keeping things to herself.
“
Perhaps we overdid it yesterday in training,” I suggested.
She nodded. “Maybe you’re right.”
What she needed was a day out. She’d been here a month, training almost every day. The one time she’d gotten a day away, she’d been attacked and spent the night in the medical ward. And I’d been pushing her in training. She needed a break.
“We’ll skip training today. Is there anything else you want to do instead? We could take that trip to town.”
There was a short pause, and I thought she was going to say yes.
“I think I’ll eat my muffin, and then I’ll go take Hugo and Woolf for a walk.”
I felt a small pang of disappointment, but I pushed it away. Her needs were all that mattered. She was upset and being with the hounds comforted her.
I got to my feet. “Just as long as you don’t do anything to tire yourself too much. I’ll see you later.”
I walked a few steps before she called, “See you, and thanks again for the muffin.”
“Anytime,” I called back with a smile.
Free from my plans for the day, I found Tristan and told him I’d visit the warlock today instead of tomorrow. Chris and I drove to Boise and found the warlock’s residence that had been hastily vacated. Warlocks had a lot of tricks up their sleeves, and this one apparently knew when someone was looking for him. We spent the next day and a half tracking him down and getting him to clean up his mess.
It was a day longer than I’d planned to be away from Sara, and I caught myself speeding more than once on the drive back to Westhorne. It still amazed me how my life had changed since I met her. A few months ago, I’d thought nothing of being on the road for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. Now I could only think about getting back to her.
We made it back in time for dinner. I checked in with Tristan to let him know the warlock problem was resolved, and then I headed for the dining hall.
Sara and Jordan were leaving just as I entered, and Sara gave me a small smile. She appeared to be in better spirits and no longer upset by whatever had been bothering her yesterday.
After dinner, Chris and I went to the arena to spar. We fought for an hour before Chris lowered his sword and declared he’d had enough.
He rubbed his shoulder. “We need to find a better way for you to work off some of that aggression.”
“What aggression?”
Chris snorted. “You’ve been wound up for two days. I thought being back here would improve your mood, but my aching shoulder says otherwise.”
I started to shake my head and stopped because he was right; I was wound up. Every minute I spent with Sara strengthened our bond and intensified my need to be with her. It was a constant struggle to be what she needed and not reveal my true feelings for her. Being away from her had been hard for me and my Mori.
“I can guess your mood has something to do with my little cousin. You two on the outs?”
“No. She just needed a break.” I told him about our training session two days ago when I’d tricked her into using her power on me. “I think I pushed her too hard.”
Chris whistled. “You are a braver man than I am. I heard what she did to that lamprey demon.”
“It was a risk, but a worthwhile one. She can’t fight or use a sword yet, but she has this powerful weapon inside her. She’s afraid of using it because she thinks she’ll hurt one of us. Now she knows how to call on her power and how to control it, and she doesn’t have to be afraid of harming us.”
“I’m impressed.”
“She is impressive,” I agreed.
“I’m talking about you. Who knew you had a trainer hidden inside of you all this time?”
I laughed. “Only for her.”
“Trainees everywhere will be sad to hear that,” he quipped as we walked to the door.
I followed him outside and came to a halt when I saw Sara and Sahir walking quickly toward the menagerie.
“Where’s the fire?” Chris called.
“The young griffin we got in today is in distress, and Sara is going to help me with her,” Sahir replied.
Griffins were intelligent creatures, but also vicious when they felt threatened. I’d watched one rip apart a dozen poachers that had stupidly tried to raid its nest after I’d warned them to stay away. A young griffin could be even more dangerous if they were frightened.
“Griffin wrangling? Another one of your talents, Cousin?” Chris said.
“Griffins can be very dangerous when they are cornered. Sara is not going in there unprotected,” I said firmly, walking over to them.
Sara frowned at me. “She’s just a child, Nikolas.”
I stepped between her and the menagerie. “That child could easily rip a grizzly bear apart with her claws.”
She raised an eyebrow. “So could the troll you thought was going to kill me.”
Sahir stared at us. “Troll?”
“I’ll tell you about him later,” she said. “Let’s take care of your griffin first.”
“Not without us,” I said.
Sara huffed and rolled her eyes. “Fine, but you better not frighten her. You two can stay by the door unless the vicious griffin attacks me.”
Chris snickered and leaned toward me to whisper loudly. “I think she’s gotten bossy since she came here. What have you been teaching her?”
Scowling, I pushed him away and followed Sara into the menagerie. I took up a position near the door where I could watch her and jump in if necessary.
Chris didn’t speak when he stood beside me, but his tight grip on his sword told me he was worried too despite his joking.
Sara and Sahir moved toward the cages. She stopped to pet the hellhounds and called a greeting to the wyvern from a safe distance.
My whole body tensed as Sara walked past the cages toward the center of the building. At the same time, I couldn’t help but be amazed by her composure and her lack of fear. You would think she was approaching a baby bird that had fallen from its nest, not a creature that could kill a man with one swipe of its powerful paw.
Despite the instinct that screamed for me to pull her away from this new threat, I did nothing but watch her. I didn’t understand the effect Sara had on creatures, but I had to trust she knew what she was doing.
She stopped and looked up, and my gaze followed hers to the small griffin perched in the rafters of the domed building. The griffin’s feathers were filthy and dull, and it had a bare spot on its neck where some of its feathers had fallen out. Judging by its size, I guessed it to be no more than four or five years of age.
“Wow, oh, wow,” Sara said in an awed voice, staring raptly at the griffin.
“Sara, this is Minuet,” Sahir told her in a soft voice.
“She’s incredible.”
He nodded grimly. “She won’t be that way for long if we don’t get her down from there and get her to eat something.”
“Right, sorry. I’ve just never seen anything like her.” She walked over to sit on the floor with her back against the bars of an empty cage. “Sahir, could you stand with the others so you don’t frighten her?”
He stayed where he was. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m just going to talk to her for a bit.”
I took a step forward when he left her and walked toward us.
He shook his head and held up a hand to stop me. “She’ll be okay,” he whispered confidently.
Sara’s soothing voice filled the room. “I hope you don’t mind me keeping you company, Minuet. I bet it’s pretty scary and lonely for you here. I know how you feel. I miss my family, too.”
The griffin shifted restlessly but made no move to leave her perch.
“Minuet, would you like to hear a story about a girl who got lost far away from her family?” Sara asked softly. “Kind of like you, I guess. It has a happy ending, I promise.
“The girl’s name was…um…Mary, and one day she disappeared, and none of her friends or family knew where she’d gone. They all thought she was
lost to them forever. But what they didn’t know was that Mary was very sick, so sick she almost died, and some good faeries had taken Mary home with them to heal her.
“For a long time, Mary lay in a deep sleep while the faeries worked their magic on her. And then one day, she woke up and found herself in the most amazing place she had ever seen.
“Mary was lying in the softest bed you could ever imagine, surrounded by walls made of vines and pretty flowers. Then the vines moved and in walked the most beautiful red-haired sylph who told Mary they had healed her.
“Then she shocked Mary by telling her that she was actually half faerie, which was why the faeries had saved her. She took Mary outside and gave her the most delicious food and drink, then took her on a walk to show her a place so beautiful it brought tears to Mary’s eyes.
“Mary and her new friend talked for a long time, and the sylph told her this was her home now if she chose to stay. Mary looked around her and knew she might never feel as safe or as content as she did at that moment. She could have that forever if she gave up her life in the human world and stayed in Faerie.”
I should have been watching the griffin, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from Sara’s face as she described her time in Faerie. The joy in her eyes when she remembered the experience caused an ache to start up in my chest. In Faerie she had been safe and pampered, and she never had to worry about the dangers of this world. Was I selfish for wanting her here with me instead of in that beautiful, safe place?
Movement from above drew my attention, and I sucked in a sharp breath as the griffin stepped off the rafter and flew in a small circle before descending to land near Sara.
I raised my sword and took a step toward Sara before Chris grabbed my arm.
“Look at the griffin,” he whispered. “It’s not upset.”
He was right. The griffin stood quietly, watching Sara with interest. But there was nothing threatening in its stance.
Sara went on with her story as if there wasn’t a griffin standing a few feet away. I tried to listen, but all of my attention was on the creature. It looked calm now, but griffins were unpredictable. If it attacked, I’d only have a second to reach Sara.