Isobel no longer cared about Marcus and me. Her only worry was to stop us from reaching Rafael first. And from what chewed through my guts, she’d succeeded. But I’d never been one to heed the obvious.
“Mounts up,” I told them.
“But—it's too dark to see,” Vali protested.
“The onlys ways to stop them,” I snarled, “is tos gos after them.”
The Dragona’s mouth opened, and then closed again, before she offered her leg to Kiko.
“Can you beat the parasites?” Marcus asked.
“I don’ts know,” I spat.
“You should go back to Cara. She can help you.”
My wings were damaged, but healing. I could fly. My gut spasmed, but there was no doubt in me. “No,” I said. “I’ms goings after Riley.”
Marcus didn’t try to dissuade me. Maybe the guy was smarter than he looked. “Iskar just mentioned,” he said, “that Gryphons see very well in the dark.”
My eyes narrowed as I stared at him. “This iss the voice ins yours head?”
“Iskar was a scientist and a scholar before he was inserted into me.”
Fucking hell. Phantom Gryphons. Just what we needed. When I didn’t answer, Marcus straightened and sheathed his sword. He handed it, his significant knife collection, cloak, and clothes to Kiko.
Her mouth hung open, but she closed it with a snap. She wrapped the sword and knives into the clothes, and tied the cloak around it.
“I’lls takes thems.” Vali folded her talons around the bundle.
Kiko climbed up onto Vali, just as Marcus fell to his knees. His features contorted and his body writhed. It looked incredibly painful, but as I had bugs gnawing their way through my insides, I had difficulty appreciating his anguish.
Still, the sounds coming from him were impressive examples of attempted stoicism. He uttered a strangled cry when the feathered wings sprang from his shoulders. Feathers also sprouted from his face and neck, where they blended to fur, and then, halfway down his torso, to gleaming scales.
Within moments, what crouched amid the trees was a creature I’d only ever seen from a distance. It was smaller than a Dragon, but looked as though it could do serious damage with its powerful hooked claws and sharp beak.
Gryphons were elusive and not something that ever associated themselves with the underworld. I’d always considered them arrogant do-gooders.
Sort of fit Marcus, to be honest. But despite our differences, he’d come to save my scaly hide.
Dammit. Why had he done that? First Rafael, and now Marcus. For a guy that didn’t need saving, I’d managed to accumulate do-gooders eager to do so.
I didn’t want them. But it seemed I had them anyway.
Marcus shook his wings, blinked an amethyst eye at me, and tilted his hooked beak upward.
“C-come.” he clacked his beak, and launched himself into the sky.
31
Rafael
I stood by the window and watched Riley sleep.
I couldn’t wait much longer. Her life essence was flaring and subsiding as the crystal dust—or rather, the need for it—left her body in a shambles. But she would require her rest for what was to come.
Healing always sounded like a gentle process, but this would not be. From what I already sensed, I agreed with Lucas—I needed to find the Dragon in Riley to save her.
Considering the state of my healing talent, it was a hit-and-miss prospect.
