Page 23 of Gryphon’s Fire

Hands once more clasped behind his back, Jaakobah leaned forward. I had a feeling his nose was just shy of the barrier. “I’m sure your late mother’s birth flight would be very interested to know where her murderer is holed up.” With a deep and completely disingenuous sigh, Jaakobah shook his head once more. “If you are that concerned about your flight and this…council you dabble with, then you could always return, Keir. I’m certain I can convince the flight that you’ve seen the error of your ways, that your time away has given your mind a chance to heal and that you are ready to aid my leadership. The transition would be so much smoother if I were bonded to an heir of the Montenegro line.”

Lazarus’s grip became just shy of painful. I ignored the warning and asked, “Why would I ever agree to that?” I was afraid I knew the answer. Unfortunately, Jaakobah did not disappoint.

With an even heavier sigh, Jaakobah leaned back, rocking on his heels. “I’m afraid there is but one heir remaining. Saraphina is young, but I believe the flight will understand that bonding with her will help stabilize the situation and help quell any doubts and concerns other gryphon flights might have.

“Also, with you by my side, I’m sure that together, we can convince your grandmother’s flight that Eldon’s actions were those of a sick individual. We’ll get him the help he needs. They might offer leniency.” Jaakobah shrugged. “Then again, they might still ask for Eldon’s head. I’m afraid his fate might be beyond even my influence.”

I wanted to rip and tear this charlatan apart. I wouldn’t need Lazarus’s help. I would rend Jaakobah’s flesh from his bones. I would tear his feathers out and strip him of his lion’s fur. I would⁠—

“A generous offer,” Lazarus said, his voice exceedingly calm. “Perhaps you could give Keir some time to consider. After all, he is now the leader of the Magical Usage Council. Even if he wanted, Keir could not simply leave his post. That would be…disingenuous.”

“Of course,” Jaakobah answered, as if his proposition and Lazarus’s response were perfectly reasonable. “But I would not wait long. Time is of the essence and if Keir opts to remain here, amongst the ruins of the Magical Usage Council, then I will need to act where his sister is concerned.”

“Understandable,” Lazarus answered, again sounding unnaturally agreeable. “I am confident the situation can be rectified within a few days.”

“Excellent.” Jaakobah clapped his hands together, as if pleased with the situation. “I do hope you come to a rational decision, Keir. I have missed our little…discussions.” Jaakobah’s gaze raked up and down my body, the look anything but clinical. “I have also missed your other attributes as well.”

I growled low, my lion half coming to bare. “You have never been privy to my attributes.” I had never trusted Jaakobah enough to entertain more intimate activities.

“Sadly true, but I have imagined them in the privacy of my bed.”

Bile crept up my throat, scorching my esophagus as I fought down the vomit. The very idea was repulsive.

Lazarus’s arm snaked around my middle, his palm possessively spread across my abdomen as his chin rested on my shoulder, our cheeks touching. The sickness permeating my stomach changed with the flutter of butterflies.

I could feel the heated whisper of Lazarus’s breath as he lasciviously chuckled. “How interesting, and…unfortunate for you, Jaakobah. I assure you, whatever your imagination has construed, the reality is far better.” I felt the pinch of Lazarus’s teeth against my earlobe when he pulled back. The soft touch of his lips offered an unnecessary apology for the pain.

My cheeks heated. Flushed and red, I tipped my chin up, refusing to lower my gaze. I was rewarded when red creeped up Jaakobah’s neck, coloring his ears. Unlike the blood rushing to my cheeks, Jaakobah’s increased blood flow was due to jealousy, not arousal.

A muscle in Jaakobah’s cheek twitched and any pretense of congeniality fled. “Seven days, Keir. A week is far more generous than you deserve. Do not disappoint me again.”

With those spiteful words, Jaakobah transformed back into his gryphon form. Stomping the ground, Jaakobah tore the earth asunder before taking flight. I stood there, Lazarus’s chest to my back as I watched Jaakobah’s figure become smaller until not even a speck of him remained on the horizon.

My nightmare was gone. For now. But that was the thing about nightmares. They had a way of coming back no matter how hard one tried to avoid them. Eventually, everyone had to fall asleep again sometime.

Ten

Lazarus

The audacity. The pure, unmitigated arrogance! Smoke filled my lungs and streamed through my nostrils, coloring the area around me with every exhale. Figurative fire burned within my belly while literal fire built within my lungs. It had taken every ounce of restraint not to set that fire free. Watching Jaakobah burn would be sweet satisfaction. I calmed the inferno within by promising myself that one day I would make that vision a reality.

“That went well,” Keir facetiously said. “In the span of less than ten minutes we learned that Jaakobah plans on blaming Eldon for my mother’s murder and believes I will agree to a bonding with him to potentially stop the fallout and protect Phina. Not bad for a few minutes’ work.”

“You are not bonding with that deceitful creature,” I said, my voice more growl than cordial conversation. Where had the confidently spicy wyvern who’d successfully gotten under Jaakobah’s skin gone?

“No, I’m not. I entertained the notion for less than two seconds—two seconds too long. Bonding with him would be a temporary fix. Giving Jaakobah the legitimacy of having a Montenegro by his side would only escalate his power and influence, eventually worsening the situation.”

My body instantly relaxed. “You sound certain.”

“Oh, I am,” Keir quickly answered. “Each success adds fuel to Jaakobah’s self-delusions. The more often he wins, the more he views himself invincible. He’ll keep reaching, leaving bodies in his wake as he climbs the ladder of leadership.

“My previous flight is the first steppingstone. Jaakobah will only be satisfied for so long before he sets his sights on something else, on another flight that he can assimilate into the one he holds domain over. It will be a never-ending grab for power, one I cannot allow others to suffer the consequences of. No. Jaakobah needs to be stopped here and now.”

A surge of pride sang through me, filling my chest and easing my breathing. How could Keir’s former flight be blind to such wisdom? “A very insightful observation.”

Keir shrugged as we walked through the above-ground door leading down into the compound. “It is the logical conclusion,” Keir answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

“You would be surprised how few among us contain such logic.” I’d seen it a thousand and one times. The knee-jerk reaction to solve the immediate problem without considering future consequences.