Mated to the Griffin (Elemental Mates, #5)

by Chant, Zoe

  They’d loved him so much.

  “What happened?” he asked when he finally drew back.

  His father had drawn close as well, wrapping one arm around his shoulder and one around his mother. He, too, was crying, and his eyes were full of both joy and pain as he looked at Jared.

  “You’re our son,” he said, his voice shaking. “Jared... You survived. You returned to us.”

  “You were the statues,” Chiara said in wonder.

  Taking a deep breath, Jared took a step back, then reached out to draw his mate tightly against him. She rested a hand against his back in support.

  “Your mate is right,” his father said. “Our line of griffins is an old and proud one. For thousands of years, we have guarded a great secret.”

  “We guarded the Light,” his mother continued, a disbelieving smile on her face as she watched Jared and Chiara. “It is a great honor, and a great duty. For thousands of years, the element of light has hidden itself away. A long, long time ago, it sealed away the Darkness that wanted to destroy all life. We have kept our secret hidden since then. We had to.”

  “We knew that one day, the light would have to return. It would find a new champion when darkness woke. A new master of the light to fight against this terrible threat.” His father swallowed as he looked at Jared. “But despite our knowledge, we were not prepared. We did not think that Darkness would wake during our lifetime. And when it struck out at us, we could see only one way to save you.”

  “We sent you away,” his mother said, her voice trembling. “We knew the dragons would keep you safe when we couldn’t. And then we did what was our duty. A great and terrible duty.”

  “Protect the Light at all costs,” his father murmured. “Keep it safely hidden until the moment comes and it chooses a champion to enter this fight. We sealed the cave to protect the Light—and we were sealed inside with it as its guardians.”

  “You were turned to stone to guard it?” Jared felt horrified as he looked at the tear tracks on his mother’s beautiful face.

  She looked so young... As if no time at all had passed since they’d chosen to seal the cave.

  She laughed through her tears. “That was the easy choice! A choice I gladly made. But to send you away... even though that was the only way to keep you safe...”

  “It broke our hearts,” his father said. “I’d rather have died for you, if it meant that your mother and you could flee. But the Darkness is an enemy like no other.”

  “There’s no escape from it,” Jared said softly. “I know. I’ve seen what it has done to the fire dragons who thought they could be allies. It taints them. It twists everything it touches.”

  “It was the only way.” His father’s eyes were gleaming as well. “Can you ever forgive us?”

  “You’ve tried to protect me,” Jared said, his voice cracking. He had to raise a hand to wipe at his eyes. “Of course. Of course! I would have done the same thing, if that’s what it took to save my mate.”

  “Hey,” Chiara said, nudging his shoulder. “Don’t I get a vote in that as well? Don’t you ever let someone turn you into a statue to protect me. Don’t you dare!”

  She was smiling, although her eyes were wet as well. Through the bond, he could feel her awe and relief—and her overflowing love for him.

  Chiara knew what this meant to him. She was the only one who’d ever seen deep into his heart—that part of him where he’d hidden the pain and the uncertainty of not knowing what had happened to his parents.

  She pressed her hand to his shoulder, gentle and supportive. She felt nothing but happiness for him—even though she hadn’t talked to her own father in ages.

  But maybe they could fix that now.

  They’d defeated Zane. They’d found his parents. And they’d found—

  “Wait a minute,” Jared said out loud.

  He reached out for the amulet he’d worn since he’d been found as a baby. It was glowing gently in his hand, giving off a soft light.

  A light that pulsed with the rhythm of his own heart. A light that still filled him, glowing within him with a new and shocking power.

  “There is no fifth dragon.” Jared felt dizzy when he abruptly realized what it all meant. “There was never a new elemental dragon.”

  “You are the new champion of the Light,” his father said proudly. “The light has chosen you, Jared. For the first time in thousands of years, the light has a new master.”

  “The element of light.” Chiara sounded awed—and then she smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

  “It couldn’t have chosen a better person,” she whispered fiercely. “Congratulations, Jared!”

  Jared was still shaking his head in disbelief when he felt the lights subtly dim.

  Even though his powers were new, the sudden sense of darkness had him spin around immediately. He held out his hands to defend Chiara from any threat—but this time, the darkness wasn’t coming towards them.

  This time, the shadows creeping along the floor rushed towards where Zane was still unconscious on the ground.

  Like a swarm of rats, the shadows fell upon him until Zane was completely covered by the twisting cloud of darkness.

  Jared could feel it now. There was an awful, thin sound in the air, barely audible, as horrifying as the screeching of metal.

  Instinctively, he drew on his new powers—and when he stretched out his hand, a shield of light burst into existence, separating them from the seething cloud of shadows.

  But the shadows ignored them. They continued to tighten around Zane, a strangely oily mass of black so dark that it seemed to swallow all light that touched it. Then, just like that, it vanished, as if it had never been there.

  And with it, the body of Zane was gone.

  “Damn.” Jared took a step forward. “They did the same thing with Steele. I would have loved to ask Zane some questions...”

  “He’s defeated. His power was broken. There’s nothing he can do now,” his father said calmly. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is—”

  “What matters is that we’ve finally got you back,” his mother finished, and even through her tears, her eyes shone with the warmth and endless love he still remembered, even after all these years.

  Chapter Twenty-Three: Chiara

  Chiara could barely believe what had happened, but through the mate bond, she could feel Jared’s overwhelming joy and disbelief.

  He’d thought that he’d lost his parents—instead he’d found them.

  Wistfully, she thought of her own dad, who hadn’t talked to her since she’d abandoned her old life to hunt werewolves and aliens.

  At the time, she’d been hurt by his refusal to understand her. There had been moments, lonely and in pain, when she’d thought that she’d be better off alone.

  But that wasn’t true. She missed him—she missed him badly. And absolutely nothing was worth abandoning your family.

  I need to see him. I miss him so much.

  “You okay?” Jared asked softly when he at last turned away from his parents to look at her.

  She found herself looking at him fondly. If there ever was a day when he deserved some alone-time with his parents, this was it. After all, they had so much to catch up on.

  Half a life lived apart...

  “I’m fine.” She laughed softly, her own heart still blazing with joy and the memory of the strange, beautiful light. “More than fine. Really.”

  Jared’s mother watched them with a wistful look on her face. “Look at him, all grown up. He’s even found his mate. And we weren’t there for any of it...”

  Chiara’s heart ached for her. It had to be hard to miss so much of your child’s life.

  But what mattered was that they were back now. They had all the time in the world to get to know each other.

  And with some luck, there’d eventually be grandkids for them to spoil...

  “Let’s take off,” Jared suggested. “We need to tell the chimera
about what happened. If he doesn’t already know.”

  “Oh, he doesn’t know about us,” his father said. “The Light has been kept a secret, even from the most powerful of dragons.”

  “But now that it’s no longer a secret—will you come with us?” Jared’s voice sounded tense.

  As Chiara looked around at the many boxes containing treasures, the statues and paintings, she realized that this mountain must have been the griffins’ home for most of their life.

  “We’ll come with you,” his mother said warmly. “Of course we will. We won't abandon you again. I promise.”

  “I know,” Jared said, reaching out to gently, lovingly touch her hand. “I know.”

  ***

  Together, they made the trip back to Sky Home.

  It was an incredible sight to see the two griffins soaring next to them. Instinctively, they seemed to have settled into a formation—Jared with Chiara on his back flying at the front, and his mother and father to both sides of him, protecting his wings.

  But with Zane defeated, there was no further attack, and they made it back to Sky Home in no time.

  It felt like the trip back to the chimera’s home was much shorter—but now that Jared’s body still seemed to subtly glow with the power of the light contained inside him, maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise.

  In any case, Chiara was perfectly happy where she was, safe and comfortable on her mate’s back, soaring through a bright, blue sky, the sun warming her face.

  She was almost disappointed when they reached Sky Home. She could have kept flying for hours, just to feel Jared’s powerful body all warm and alive beneath her, carrying them both through the sky without effort.

  But he was right—the chimera had to know. And then, at last, maybe they could enjoy some peace and quiet somewhere.

  And she could call her dad...

  The cave where the council of elements resided was lit brightly when they entered.

  Jared and Chiara walked in first, his parents behind them.

  It wasn’t hard to see where the unexpected light came from. The formerly so-mysterious fifth plinth—the plinth of light—was illuminating the entire cavern. The familiar symbol of the triangle with the lines pointing upwards was pulsing with brightness, silver light filling the cave.

  As they approached, the light grew brighter. Then, after a quick burst of white brilliance, it began to dim until it shone only as brightly as the symbols on the other plinths.

  Instead, it was Jared’s amulet that was glowing now, bathing the two of them in light.

  Startled, Jared reached out to finger it, then shrugged. Through the bond, Chiara could feel his amusement.

  His element clearly preferred dramatic entrances. But then, given how the chimera usually announced himself, Chiara couldn’t fault the Light for wanting to make a strong impression.

  “Griffin,” the chimera’s voice came booming out of the darkness at the back of the cave. “I see you have solved the puzzle. And I see you have brought strangers to the council...”

  “They are no strangers,” Jared said, his voice echoing. “These are my parents.”

  There was a moment of stunned silence. Chiara smiled, wondering if anyone had ever managed to surprise the chimera before.

  “Explain,” the chimera finally growled.

  Before Jared could speak, his parents stepped forward.

  “My name is Dean Griffey and this is my mate Marianne. We are Guardians of the Light,” his father said proudly. “An old line of griffin shifters, who have protected the element of light for thousands of years. There was an old prophecy that one day, Darkness would return. At that time, the Light would find a new champion.”

  “The Light chose Jared,” Marianne said. “Our son. And with its power, he defeated the shadow dragon who’d come after him.”

  “And he freed us,” Dean added. “To protect the light, its hiding place was sealed. And we were turned into stone, to guard it eternally—or until a champion was chosen.”

  “There is no fifth elemental dragon.” Chiara smiled at the darkness swirling before them, the shadows rapidly turning from the form of a dragon’s wing to that of a lion’s head, then the brief slither of a serpent’s tail. “But there’s a new elemental griffin. The griffin of light.”

  “The griffin of light,” the chimera echoed thoughtfully. For the first time in her life, Chiara heard awe in Gareth’s voice. “Five to fight the one. Light to fight Darkness. This changes everything...”

  “We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” Marianne said. She smiled at Chiara. “We hoped it wouldn’t come in our lifetime. But now that it has, we know it couldn’t have chosen a better champion.”

  “They’re right.” Chiara still felt giddy with everything that had happened.

  So many things had happened at once. And there was so much they still didn’t understand about their enemy.

  But what mattered was that Zane had been defeated. They’d deal with everything else life would throw at them day by day.

  “Zane is gone,” Chiara continued. “Jared defeated him. Zane was unconscious. We thought we had him. All the darkness was gone from his body. He looked strange—there was no color left, like he’d been bleached by the sun. But then shadows returned and swirled around him, and when they vanished, his body was gone.”

  “Darkness took him, the way it took Steele.” The chimera sounded displeased, his growl echoing through the cave. “I would have liked to interrogate him. Who knows—with the taint of darkness gone, he might have realized his error, like Braeden. Damn those shadows.”

  Jared’s parents took another step forward. “We would like to stay for a day and talk with you, if you don’t mind,” they announced. “We think there is much to discuss.”

  “Much to discuss, indeed,” the chimera grumbled—and then, just for a moment, one of the shadows showed the outline of a dragon’s wing again, making an inviting gesture. “Come. Let us share what we know about this prophecy and our enemy.”

  “How about we go for a coffee instead?” Jared murmured to Chiara.

  She released a deep breath.

  Now that the hard part was over, she definitely felt her body catching up with her.

  And after the terrifying moments in the cave, her body wanted to sit down, have a five-course meal involving lots of fried chicken and ice cream, hold Jared close—and most of all, she wanted lots and lots of caffeine.

  “Sounds great,” she said with deep relief.

  ***

  Ginny, bless her, had apparently dealt with her own anxieties about their trip to find the non-existent fifth dragon by baking three different cakes and preparing a giant pan of lasagna. There was also a pot still simmering that filled the kitchen with the fragrant and mouthwatering scent of a rich curry—and she was roasting an entire chicken in the oven at the same time.

  On her laptop on the kitchen table, a helpful YouTube cook was still waxing poetically about the curry they’d just created together.

  A wave of affection washed over Chiara as soon as they entered.

  This was what she wanted to have again.

  No more working day and night with only enough energy for takeout. She wanted a place like this, warm and welcoming, where she and Jared and their friends could come together to eat, drink, and talk.

  And Dad. I wish Dad were here now...

  Ginny cried out in shock when she turned around and found them right there in her kitchen. Only a second later, Chiara found herself hugged by the usually so-shy mouse shifter, Ginny holding her tightly while she laughed.

  “You made it! You’re back!” Ginny was beaming from ear to ear when she released Chiara, and then Jared got a long hug as well. “I’m so glad. You don’t know what it’s like, always having to worry about my friends.”

  “Sorry,” Chiara said, laughing helplessly when she felt joy bubble up inside her again.

  Ginny was right. They’d made it back alive, and that was reason enoug
h for happiness.

  They were alive, Zane was defeated, and even if her dad wasn’t here to look at her the way Jared’s parents looked at him, at least she knew that he was alive and well.

  They could fix things. Maybe it would take a while—but it could be fixed.

  “Well, I hope you two are hungry, because I’ve been busy all day in here—and cake never looks quite as nice if you freeze it.”

  Still beaming, Ginny ushered them to the table. A few minutes later, it was groaning under the weight of the dishes placed on it.

  “And now,” Ginny demanded, eyes gleaming, “tell me everything!”

  ***

  It took a long time to tell the entire story. Even so, when they were finally done, Chiara was surprised by the dent they’d managed to make in the feast Ginny’d prepared.

  There was still enough left to feed an entire army, of course. Privately, Chiara thought that she’d happily volunteer to eat nothing but Ginny’s chocolate cake for the entire next week.

  By the time Jared’s parents finally made it into the kitchen, looking visibly tired after their long conference with the chimera, Chiara was feeling a lot better.

  Watching Jared and his parents together was a sight that made her heart ache with feelings. Jared’s mother couldn’t take her eyes off her son—and once or twice, Chiara saw Marianne’s eyes fill with tears of joy again, as if she still couldn’t believe that she really had her son back with her.

  Meanwhile, Dean was visibly proud of Jared’s accomplishments. He wanted to hear all about his friends and his work for the council—and about how he and Chiara had met.

  “I’ll be back in a few moments,” Chiara said finally, resting her hand against Jared’s shoulder in reassurance.

  He gave her an encouraging nod. She knew that he could feel her restlessness through the bond.

  She needed to know how her dad was doing.

  Maybe they couldn’t fix things until they were actually face to face, until she could explain about the shifter world. But right now it didn’t matter what he thought of her and her wild theories. She just needed to hear his voice. To know that he was doing okay.