“How do you feel about seeing a little more of my world?” Jared asked her after they’d spent some hours soaring across fields of lavender, resting in an olive orchard. “There’s someone I know who’s good with old maps.”
“A shifter, you mean?”
She didn’t sound quite as scared anymore as she had before. Of course, that might change once she met Gareth, the chimera. But on the other hand, Chiara loved research and discovering the mysteries of the supernatural world—and there was no one more knowledgeable than the chimera.
“A chimera,” Jared said. “He’s the master of the council of elements. He knows a lot.”
“A chimera,” Chiara repeated weakly. Slowly, she shook her head, as if she still couldn’t believe that Jared wasn’t ever going to call her crazy for believing in shifters.
Then she took a deep breath. “Sure. Why not?”
Jared reached out and took hold of her hand, pressing it in relief. “I think you’ll like my world,” he promised. “It can be weird—but I promise it’ll never be as scary as what you went through before.”
Her smile was still a little wobbly, but she had that look on her face he’d come to know so well—a look of pure determination.
The same determination that had made her cross an ocean to search for a shifter artifact.
No, he was sure that Chiara could deal with anything the shifter world might throw at her.
***
They caught a plane that same evening.
They were both exhausted from the long day of flying, and they didn’t want to talk much, in case any of the humans around them overheard their conversation. Even though Jared had booked tickets in first class and the seats were arranged so that it felt as if they were in a little cocoon of their own, shielded from everyone else close to them, he didn’t want to risk anything.
After all, Zane had human lackeys now. Which was a worrying development, and one the chimera wouldn’t like.
He didn’t think that there were any spies on their plane—but still, it didn’t hurt to be careful.
r /> Also, it was good to spend a few hours relaxing, resting close to Chiara. They held hands as the constant, soft plane noises lulled them to sleep.
Once they’d returned to American soil, Jared shifted again. And then, with Chiara on his back, he soared. Blue sky stretched above them, sunlight warming his feathers as he brought his mate to one of the few places he truly considered home.
“Oh, my god,” he heard Chiara breathe when they finally approached the seat of the council of elements.
The mountain rose high before them. The summit was hidden in clouds.
Thanks to the chimera’s magical defenses, no humans had ever come close to the mountain.
And it would be good to be home, if only for a short while. He only hoped that Chiara would enjoy it as much as he thought she would...
He beat his wings, rising higher and higher, joy filling him at the sensation of the wind playing with his feathers. Above them, clouds had moved in front of the sun now, but Jared ignored them as he kept rising.
He could feel Chiara’s hands tightly holding on to his neck. She was a little tense, but she didn’t feel scared.
And then he dove straight into the clouds.
Chiara gasped. He sent a wave of reassurance through the fragile bond that had begun to form between them. Her own excitement came rushing back into him in answer, and his griffin’s beak opened in amusement.
Just as he’d hoped—she was seeing it as an adventure.
Warmth filled him. Maybe it would all work out after all. She’d changed her mind about him being a shifter, after all. And he didn’t doubt that she’d feel the same about Ginny, the mouse shifter, who was currently playing housekeeper for the chimera.
A second later, he broke through the clouds. The sun was shining down on them, warm and bright—and it was shining down onto the rugged mountaintop before them.
Stark, gray rock gleamed in the brilliant light, so close that Chiara cried out and tightened her hold on him.
Jared swerved a little, tilting his wings to slow down—and then he landed on an outcrop of stone that had appeared in front of them.