Page 24

Chapter 24

‘I have to come clean about something,’ Bastion said, clearing his throat nervously.

‘What?’ I asked.

‘You know that the griffin numbers are very low?’

‘Yes?’

‘They’re not as low as people think.’

‘What?’ I pushed myself up on one elbow. ‘What do you mean?’

‘People are … threatened by us. We’re fairly scary. But not all griffins want to be assassins when they grow up.’

I blinked. Not every witch made potions; some did runes, others did crystal-ball work, others became healers, and a few of us didn’t have a magical job at all. ‘No, of course not. That makes sense.’

‘Those of us that choose the warrior’s path are openly griffins. But those of us that don’t…’ He trailed of f.

‘Hide it?’ I offered. I helped to administer an underground circus for Other realm runaways so I knew all about the need to hide sometimes.

‘Yes,’ he confirmed.

‘What do they pretend to be? Wizards?’ I guessed.

‘No. The IR is next to impossible to fake. That’s why we’ve knelt to the Prime Elite. Emory hides us as brethren.’

The Prime Elite title made Emory more than just the Prime, the king of the dragons; the ‘Elite’ meant he was king of other creatures as well, including the griffins. Emory seemed to be a fair ruler but it had always perplexed me why the deadly griffins would want – or need – his protection. Now it made sense.

Brethren are offspring of dragons that haven’t bred true. They are more than human but less than dragons. They live longer and they have an extra helping of toughness that helps them survive the Other realm. Almost before they can walk, they have weapons’ training.

Hiding griffins as brethren was genius. The brethren are innumerable and they have their own deadly reputation; if a brethren killed someone, no one would think it odd .

‘But how do they cope with their deathly urges?’ I asked, frowning. ‘The brethren don’t kill that often, except to protect their families and dragons.’

Bastion levelled a serious look at me. ‘A lot of the hidden griffins become vets.’

Huh. ‘Putting an animal down… Is that enough to expunge the urge?’

‘Yes. So much so that there’s a rota. If all of the griffin vets in a certain place have curtailed the urge, they call in others. After Charlize was kidnapped, I called one of the vets and got her in.’

I closed my eyes. I had assumed he’d rung Shirdal to find out a target for assassination; instead, she’d been putting a poor animal out of its misery. When would I stop making assumptions?

Bastion cleared his throat. ‘But though the low numbers are exaggerated, our fertility issues are real. Griffins struggle to procreate. Although I have Charlize, there’s really no guarantee that I can have any more children.’

I wondered why he had started this conversation. I smiled. ‘Bastion, I don’t want children. I never have. I didn’t enjoy my own childhood, and I’ve never wanted motherhood – I don’t have the patience for it. Anyway, that ship has pretty much sailed. I’m forty-two and my ovaries are packing up for a tropical holiday. They’re done, and I’m okay with that. Some women are born to be mothers but I’m not one of them. Is that okay with you?’

‘You definitely don’t want children of your own?’ he probed.

‘Definitely not.’

‘Thank God,’ he murmured, kissing my shoulder. ‘Because I would try again if that’s what you wanted but—’

‘Nope,’ I interrupted firmly. ‘If I ever get maternal, I’ll borrow Charlize. How old is she, by the way?’

‘She’s twenty-three.’

‘And her mother?’ I asked cautiously.

Bastion looked emotionless. ‘She’s dead.’

‘I’m sorry.’ I touched his arm lightly.

‘Don’t be, she was a bitch.’ He shrugged. ‘The griffins have a compulsory breeding programme. I was matched with Dakota, but although we were genetically compatible we didn’t get on. She died when Charlize was about six months old. She went on a mission and never came back.’

‘That must have been tough.’

He hesitated. ‘I was glad,’ he admitted unhappily. ‘I know that makes me a bad person, but I got to raise Charlize without Dakota’s venom. My daughter is a good kid. She’s made some questionable choices in the past as she’s tried to prove herself, but I think she’s moving out of that now.’ Pride coloured his tone.

‘She’s been amazing with my mum.’

He smiled. ‘Like me, she likes protecting others.’

I shook my head wonderingly. ‘How did I ever get you so wrong?’

‘You were supposed to,’ he pointed out.

‘True. We can’t have everyone learning that Bastion is a good guy.’

His tone was serious. ‘I’m not a good man, not really. I’ve killed plenty of people, more than I can count. But now that I’m watching over you, you never need fear anything or anyone.’

His fierce protectiveness washed over me with a strength that took my breath away. He would kill to protect me; he would die to protect me. I prayed that my enemies wised up, and he had to do neither.