Page 60 of A Single Thread Of Hope

“Are you… Wren, are you real right now?”

She scooched back on the bed, though Cydon stayed asleep. “Are you actually here? With me?”

I reared back, equally as confused. “I am asleep.”

“But are you dreaming about me, here? In Tech Duinn?”

Where in the ancestors was Tech Duinn? Could this be real?

“I am in a castle with you. I don’t recognize it, no. I assumed my mind was making up places you could be.”

She launched herself at me, hugging me so tightly that if this wasn’t a dream, I might have suffocated. “Griff! My god, Griff! I never thought…” She pulled back and stared at me as if I was a mirage. “Is everyone okay? The babies?”

I nodded. “They are okay. Sad.” That was an understatement. I didn’t tell her that I wouldn’t know how they were at this moment, since I’d flown off like a hatchling throwing a tantrum.

Grief flashed across her face. “Me too. Griff…” She rubbed her face against mine again. Her features started to get hazy, the edges of the room fading. Panic flitted across her face, and she gripped my fur. “Tell them I’m trying to come back to them. Back to you. I’m going to try for the Weighing—” She was gone as quickly as she’d appeared.

My brain scrambled around to make sense of my dream. Was it just that? The delirium a Gryphon went through when he lost his mate? I’d seen it with my grandparents. My cousins. My parents. As Gryphonkind died out, I’d seen that delirium over and over again, and could almost track its progress as my loved ones lost themselves to the madness.

But this? It felt different.Ifelt different. But was there a reason for that? Because she was human and not Gryphon? Or was it because her soul hadn’t passed over?

There was a third possibility, but I rejected it immediately. I knew for a fact she was my mate. I knew it in my very soul, half of which belonged to her.

But the fact remained that I wasn’t succumbing to the madness. I was wild with grief, but I wasn’t going on murderous sprees.

I needed more information. There was only one thing left to do. I had to go back, to ask the others.

Teron, we need to return home.

The grumble that reverberated through my brain was expected.About fucking time.

I landedin the courtyard of the compound and watched dogs scatter away. There wasn’t a Valkyrie around, and I was seriously pissed about the lack of security, being able to just land from above without seeing a single interception.

It’s time to hand back the reins. I promise, I’ll tell them everything you told me about Wren and the dream. We’ll figure this out.

I made a disgruntled noise, but let myself shrink away, until I was once again merely a presence in the back of a meat suit.

Teron snorted. “Don’t talk about yourself like that. And I’m more than a meat suit.”

Erus ran through the courtyard, straight into Teron’s arms. He hugged him tightly, and guilt gnawed at me. I’d added to their grief, to their stress, at one of the most difficult times of their long lives. I was a bad flight leader.

“Fuck, you’re back. We were worried,” Erus said, stepping back, his cheeks flushed.

Teron reached out and patted his shoulder. “I’m sorry we worried you. We just needed to sort out our heads,” Teron covered for me. We were one, but sometimes I didn’t deserve him. “Is everyone okay? The babies?”

Erus nodded. “They’re fine, though I think they miss her too. Even at this young age, they know she isn’t here.” He turned and led the way back into the house. “Guys, Teron and Griff are back!”

He’d picked up the nickname from Wren, though I wasn’t mad. For so long, I’d been the Great Gryph, and then just the Gryphon. When Wren had named me, it was the first time I’d had a name in centuries.

The guys appeared one by one, and they all looked like shit. I could feel Teron’s anxiety. He was a healer, and I’d ripped him away when they’d needed him most. I hoped I was bringing them good news, not just more pain.

Demke appeared. An old friend, to both me and Teron. We respected each other, but the look on his face told me how disappointed he was in me. “It’s good to have you back.” There was a wealth of things unsaid, and he was more subdued than Iwould have expected. He kept things close to his chest, but his grief was there written across his face.

Teron just nodded. Néit and Milo appeared with the babies, and Teron moved toward them quickly, his eyes giving them a once-over, searching for any signs of illness or problems. He could probably work out their weight just from their size.

To me, they still looked perfect. Tiny little copies of their mother. My young. And I’d just abandoned them. I was a terrible mate.

We were both going through it. We’re going to be better now, and that’s what matters.

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