“Do I need to be?” I ask, suddenly giving Cree the side-eye.
She smiles and holds her hands up. “I’m no threat to you, but you are the last Bond Wielder in this land; you have to have thought about how that will make people feel.”
I push a branch out of my way as we traverse through a thicker tree-filled part of the forest.
Damn, how far away is the food?
My stomach growls, the impatient sound punctuating my thoughts. Cree chuckles.
“It’s not too much further. We probably should have flown, but I didn’t know if you’d be up to it, and I like to walk,” she explains.
I think back to what she asked and her comment about me being the last person to possess Bond magic. I suspect that isn’t exactly the case, but that anyone with any kind of Bond magic is really good at hiding it. Saner comes to mind. She marked my neck with a supposed dead rune, and I didn’t give much thought to it at the time, but Lazza used that rune to pull me to him, and I’d bet my left boob that she was packing more Bond magic heat than she’d ever want people to know. I wonder for a moment about how many Bond users are in hiding.
“Word that you were the one to finally break the Vow will spread, and there will be Gryphons who are grateful, but there will also be Gryphons who see you for what you are,” Cree goes on, and her words call to an uneasiness in me.
“For what I am?” I question.
“Again, please know that I am not worried other than for you, but I think it wise to understand that the Gryphon people may not tolerate your presence. Those of us who know you will understand that you would never use your abilities against us. But there will be others who won’t care about that. All they’ll see is someone who could use their abilities against them, if they wanted to,” she explains.
I trace the silhouettes of the tree trunks for a moment as I think through what she’s saying. She’s not wrong. I do need to think about this and the fact that I’m not going to be everyone’s favorite gryphon. Then again, who is? I want to be smart about my presence during this sensitive transition, and the guys and I need to talk about the best ways we can do that.
“I worry about the same thing for my people,” Cree hurries to elaborate, probably picking up on my discomfort. “Will there ever be trust? Will the threads that unite us as Gryphons always be fragile? We’re not to blame for our heritage or the Ouphe blood running through our veins, and yet I cannot blame the Gryphons for seeing a threat in me because of it either. It’s a difficult path to walk, not unlike this one,” she jokes as we navigate around a cluster of boulders.
Something about them looks familiar, which is a weird thing to think about a grouping of rocks. I stare at them for a beat longer, wondering where the déjà vu feeling is coming from, but when no answers appear, I let it go and focus on Cree’s points.
“Honestly, I don’t have the answers. I hope that with time, we can all find a way to work together, and that includes the Ouphe who are in hiding, but it won’t be easy, and it won’t be immediate,” I confess. “I can only do what I can to make people feel safe and secure, and the rest we’ll just have to deal with if or when it happens.”
I spot a clearing through the trees about ten feet in front of us, and my stomach tucks a napkin into its shirt, ready to go to town. Thoughts of duda fruit and the yummy rolls from the Eyrie fill my mind, and my mouth starts to water in anticipation.
A buzzing sensation starts up on my skin, and I chuckle at how freakin’ excited my body is to eat.
Cree stops just before the edge of the trees and turns to me.
“I would like to thank you, Bond Breaker, for what you’ve done for our people. We’ve been waiting for a long time for this day, and because of you and your sacrifices, a new dawn is upon us,” Cree tells me as she presses her palm over her heart. Her face is split into a radiant smile, but her eyes say something else entirely.
My brow furrows as I try to pinpoint what has Cree so sad. Before I can say anything or respond in any way, she starts to move again, and we finally make our way out into the clearing, and I freeze in my tracks.
The clearing has tall unkempt grass spread across it, and in the middle is a familiar abandoned small stone cabin. It looks exactly like the clearing I was supposed to spread my gran’s ashes in. The one that had the invisible gate that brought me here. I’m so stunned by the sudden presence of this place that it takes me a moment to figure out how the hell we stumbled upon it.
I turn to Cree, completely shocked, and realize she’s talking. I blink the stupefaction I’m experiencing away, and her words start to resonate.
“You’ve done a great thing for us, and in return, I find myself obligated to do the same for you, Falon.”
Her words only add to the complete confusion I’m feeling right now. Why are we here, and what does it have to do with anything she’s saying?
“This won’t be easy, and you may not ever understand why, but know that I’m saving your life and the lives of your mates too. You’ll have to learn to let them go, because once you’re through, I’m going to use my gift, and this gate will never open for you again.”
“Cree, what are you—”
But I don’t get to finish that
