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Keir was the last through. He glanced back in time to see the portal close so quickly it almost slammed shut, and couldn’t help thinking that it was too late to change his mind. He gambled every day as a hobby, but it was just money. He wasn’t in the habit of gambling with his life.

The sphinx’s nest was practically straight up.

Jack’s beanstalk , Keir thought, reminded of one of Evie’s tales.

“Well. There’s the quickest way to get there…” Killian offered.

“You mean flying?” Keir asked.

Killian nodded. “But the question is whether that’s the best plan?”

“Even if we hug the incline, she might see us,” Keir said.

“Or hear us,” Kagan added. “We have no way of knowin’ if she’s already heard us.”

“True,” Killian agreed, cocking his head to the side. “’Tis extraordinarily quiet. I hear no sound at all.” There was, in fact, not a single bird chirp. Not even the sound of an insect fluttering tiny wings or a lizard darting toward a fly.

“Me either,” Keir said before turning to Kagan. “What feels best?”

Kagan continued to look upward, studying the rugged ascent, much of which was smooth rock. “Without gear, it does no’ look scalable.”

“We could minimize the risk of flying,” Keir said.

“How?” Killian asked.

“One of us could fly, the other two could ride. Or hang on. It would minimize our presence. Three largish flying lions is harder to hide.”

He waited while Kagan and Killian processed that.

Finally, Killian asked, “Hang on to what?”

Kagan joined his brother in looking expectantly at Keir, who said, “Ah. I don’t know. A foot?”

“A foot?” Killian’s incredulity caused his response to be louder than it should be.

Keir reminded him about the prudence of shush by slapping a palm over his mouth.

Killian shoved Keir’s hand aside and whispered, “Okay. Quiet as a little mouse holding onto a foot. Whose will it be?” He looked at Keir. “Yours?” He looked at Kagan. “Yours?”

“How did you get eliminated from the pool?” Keir asked.

Killian looked straight up. “I’m no’ carryin’ you bloody beggars up there. I’m here to show solidarity. No’ give you a kiddie ride to dinner.”

“Dinner?” Kagan looked confused.

“Aye. Dinner,” Killian said. “No’ ours.” He glanced upward. “Hers. Seein’ as how we’re all three likely to be stayin’ here permanently in the bowels of that sphinx. No’ spendin’ my last hour carryin’ your tacos while you do yer levelest to drag me down.”

“You know,” Keir said to Killian. “You always were a drama queen.”

Killian’s mouth dropped open. “A what?”

“You heard me,” Keir said.

“I heard ye, but can no’ believe what I heard. Am I speakin’ to the grandstandin’ bugger sometimes known as the enforcer?” Killian voiced “enforcer” in a ridiculing sing-song and did a little dance while pretending to lift an imaginary skirt.

“Had no idea you were jealous of the fact that I’m employed,” Keir said. “But thank you for the slip-up and confirmation. I’ve always suspected you wear skirts when no one is around.”

“Haud yer wheesht!” Kagan said. “Mess about some other time.”

Keir and Killian stared at Kagan, having not yet gotten used to him being so outspoken and assertive.

“Right you are,” Killian said. “What do you want to do?”

“We’ll fly,” Kagan said. “All three of us. One at a time. I’ll go first. If she catches me… well, ‘tis kind of what I’m here for, I suppose. If that happens, say that damnable name out loud and go home.”

Without giving Keir or Killian a chance to reply, Kagan shifted and flew upward, staying as close to the rock face as possible.

He was concerned about the stillness of the air and the lack of sound because the air resistance necessary to keep a giant lion aloft means each flap of wings makes noise.

Whether it was loud enough to catch the sphinx’s attention, no one could know.

As soon as he was near the peak and could see the edge of the immense nest, he shifted to his biped form and grabbed handholds in the cliffside, hoping to make himself too small to be detected. He hung there for a while, listening for any indication that she might be aware of his approach.

Nothing.

He wasn’t even sure she was home.

That’s when he decided to make his move. When he pulled himself up onto the promontory that served as the nest foundation, he realized his worst nightmare was waiting for him.

A great crushing and sliding sound of stone was followed by the Sphinx sprouting a slick coat of tan fur and translucent wings as she came to life.

With lightning-fast agility she swiped at Kagan and caught him under a giant paw, but pressed so gingerly she managed to immobilize him without harming a hair on his head.

The size difference might be compared to that of a Rottweiler and a mouse.

Haunches on the ground, she cupped her paws on either side of Kagan, which allowed him to stand and face her.

Though his heart was beating immeasurably fast, to his credit, he showed no fear.

Nor did he react to the truly terrible smell of her breath, which was like a gale-force storm against his face.

“You’re not human, god, or fae,” she said, cocking her head to one side. “What are you?”

Kagan looked into the face of the sphinx, which was, as impossible as it sounds, beautiful and heart-stopping in its frightfulness.

The black-as-night pupils were vertical and stark against the pale gold of her eyes.

The skin on her face was hairless, smooth, and fair.

She wore no makeup, of course, but had full lips that were naturally a deep, rich crimson.

A fine mane of Titian hair fell in waves around her shoulders and curled slightly at the ends.

“Sephalian.”

“Sephalian,” she repeated as if trying the word on for size.

That was punctuated with a sniff. The sniff was a small thing to her, but to Kagan, it caused a movement of air akin to a storm at sea.

It momentarily threatened to blow Kagan from her grasp, but ended as quickly as it began. “I don’t know sephalian.”

“We’re a, ah, new species.”

“New species? Created by the gods or the Powers?”

“Neither. Fae queen.”

“Fae queen.” She seemed to be tasting the words as if she was imagining what it would be like to eat a fae queen. “You seem rather helpless. No fangs. No claws. Nor do you have size to protect you. Did you lose your way?”

“No.”

“Then you’ve intentionally climbed my mountain.”

“I wish I could say otherwise, but aye. ‘Tis true.”

“Why?”

“Could you ease your grip a bit. ‘Tis a tale that requires wind in my…” Kagan wasn’t able to finish the sentence before running out of breath. He gasped and sucked in just enough air to force out, “…lungs to tell.”

“A tale? I like tales. And solitude. Mostly. But it can get lonely here, you know. Visitors are scant.”

Kagan shook his head. “No. I did no’ know that. Perhaps travelers fear bein’ eaten?”

“Hmmm. Maybe,” she said, looking thoughtful, as if she’d never before considered that. She relaxed her paws just enough for him to breathe freely. “Go on with it then.”

“Alright. My intended has been abducted by the Sisterhood of Cardinals.” He stopped to make sure he wasn’t getting ahead of himself. “Do ye know who they are?”

“How could someone not know who Cardinals are? I caution you to refrain from being insulting.”

Until very recently Kagan hadn’t known a thing about them, but he was prudent enough to know it would not be in his best interest to argue the point. “Please accept my apology. That was no’ my intention.”

“What is your intention? And what is an ‘intended’?”

“An ‘intended’ is a future mate.”

“Is that a riddle? I also caution you not to riddle me. I don’t like that. One either has or has not a mate. How can a mate be a future mate?”

Since the sphinx fertilized her own eggs through parthenogenesis, meaning asexual reproduction, she was hardly an authority on mating.

Kagan, who’d been made wise as well as smart, since good judgment was often required of the court enforcer, called on that innate wisdom.

Choosing the quieter part of valor, he kept that tidbit to himself.

“It simply means I have no’ formally claimed her according to the fae convention of marriage.”

“Ah. I see.” When Kagan offered nothing more, she prompted, “This is the part where you begin your tale, Sephalian.”

While Kagan was faithfully reciting the details of the story of how the Cardinals snatched Esmerelda and were holding her hostage, Keir and Killian flew up the opposite side of the mountain, shifted, and hid behind a natural rock formation.

Thousands of years before, a nine-hundred-foot tsunami had pushed the boulder to the top of the cliff.

When the waters receded, it was left behind as a testament to nature’s raw power.

Keir and Killian were close enough to hear what was being said, but hopefully, not close enough to alert the sphinx to their presence.

When the tale reached its end, under the paw of the storied sphinx, she said, “My. What we have here is a dilemma.” Since Kagan didn’t know how to reply to that, he remained silent.

At length, she pulled her head back in a gesture that could mean she’d made up her mind about something.

“Tell you what. I like you, Sephalian. And even rarities such as myself like a good love story. There’s that, and there’s also the fact that I’m not happy about the Cardinals involving me and my eggs in this without consulting me first. So, this is what I will do.

I have to offer a riddle. I’ve a reputation to protect, you understand. ”

“I do.” Kagan nodded solemnly like he understood perfectly well.