Erin still felt lightheaded over an hour after they’d ridden the platform up to the mainland. A little short of breath, too. I wonder how high up we are? she thought more than once during the walk into the tiny harbor town for a meal before heading out. With a burst of sudden energy, she kicked a rock in her path and grinned at how easy it was to send it flying. She could do anything she wanted in Emerrane, instead of watching everyone else do it for her in the waking world. She stifled an exultant laugh at the thought. She found herself hoping this lucid dream would last forever. Perhaps it would; it was already nearing her longest record so far.
Wrath seemed oddly withdrawn and remained calm once her cage was loaded onto a wagon drawn by six hefty horses. Her eggs, each wrapped tightly in a thick blanket, rested in a set of trunks beside her, and she continuously made burbling noises at them. Erin wanted to ask about the beast, and finally got her chance when Koben invited her and Leslyn to sit on either side of him on the wide driver’s bench. With a snap of Koben’s reins, the wagon began to roll, headed to their next destination down a long dirt road that meandered steadily uphill through endless fields of sheep and other grazing animals.
“She’s so quiet now,” Erin began. “I’m a little worried. Did you give her some kind of calming medicine?”
“Ha!” Koben shook his head. “Of course not. She just knows she’s been foiled—don’t you, my lovely?”
Erin looked back over her shoulder to see Wrath staring balefully at the man.
“You’ll love the Aerie,” he assured the beast. “Safe hunting and nesting, and plenty of strong cockerels to choose from. My Romo is an excellent prospect, if I may say so.”
“You’re talking to her like she actually understands,” Leslyn noted.
“She does,” Erin said.
Koben grinned at her. “That’s right! griffins are extremely intelligent. They can understand our speech quite well if raised by hand.”
Face warming at his approval, Erin couldn’t help but continue. “She’s definitely domesticated, or was. Her master probably died at sea, since her color and type are so rare on this continent.”
“Right.” The blond man’s smile had faded somewhat, and a brow was rising to make up for it. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”
To her credit, Erin didn’t change her outward expression, but inwardly she cringed hard enough to make her ribs hurt. She’d literally quoted from some of her own messages from weeks before, when the chat was hopping over her newest spoilers about the griffins and their regional traits.
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Assuming she was meant to be playing the part of a nobody, there were probably a lot of things about Koben and the griffins that she shouldn’t have known. Or should she know it after all? How much griffin lore was common knowledge?
It didn’t really matter, she realized. As a foreigner to Nilvar, it was probably safest to hide her knowledge from Koben and everyone else besides Des—er, Leslyn, or she’d risk getting herself or Leslyn into more trouble, and possibly ending the amazing dream early.
“I heard it from the crew,” she lied. “I’m just so curious about her!”
Koben’s smile softened. “Of course you are. You’ll love the surprise I’m going to reveal at the Aerie.”
“The eggs are hatching soon,” Leslyn deadpanned, staring straight ahead at the road.
Erin squawked and leaned across Koben to slap Leslyn’s arm. She regretted it an instant later when she realized that even she hadn’t known that, so it definitely wasn’t on the wiki when Desmond read through it. There was no way he could have known. His startled glare, almost as hawk-like as Wrath’s, made her wither with shame.
“You’ve both been around griffins before, then?” Koben guessed.
“No,” Leslyn snipped, narrow eyes still pointedly focused on Erin. “I only know my brother’s griffin, but I’ve been around lots of other animals. I can tell by Wrath’s behavior that they’re ready. She’s talking to them so they’ll know her voice when they hatch.”
“They’ll be here any day now,” Koben agreed. “What would you say if I offered you the chance to claim one of her keets? You’ve earned it. Wrath would have cut down each and every one of us if you hadn’t helped to capture her.”
Leslyn held Erin’s gaze for another moment, then finally released her and turned away with a sullen, “I’ll think about it.”
Erin listened hard for any trace of enthusiasm in her uncle’s voice, but it just wasn’t there. It didn’t make any sense. Sure, he gave up his veterinary degree three years back, but he’d always been an animal-lover.
Seriously, though, why is he so reluctant? It’s not fair. She caught herself in the middle of a jealous frown, and remembered that it was only a dream. People she knew were never exactly true to their real selves in her dreams, and Desmond was clearly no exception.
Koben nodded sagely. “You’ll come around once they hatch. At any rate, it’s going to be quite the special event. The Queen is expected to show for the assigning of the keets.”
The Queen? There was a tingle in Erin’s feet that would have thrilled her in the waking world, but for some reason made her a bit queasy now. She had seen many flashes of the redheaded Queen in her recent dreams, but never found out what her role in the story would be.
Erin patted her messenger bag, feeling for her tablet, but was only slightly comforted by its presence. What she wouldn’t give to be able to ask the chat for theories!
She glanced at Koben, who was still busy watching the road ahead and making heroic efforts at small talk with Leslyn. It seemed safe enough, so she nonchalantly unfolded the solar charger on the seat next to her, hiding it with her body. Perhaps there would be a few uninterrupted hours for her tablet to charge. Her hope was impossible, but something kept nagging her to do it anyway.
There were times that she could swear it sounded like an actual voice.