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But he’d also been alone, suffering the effects of chronic pain, disconnected from all meaningful relationships except with his brothers-in-arms, and living his life on the outskirts of society.
Now, his life felt complete. He held a woman tight to his right side and he knew she’d stand with him no matter what happened in the coming days, weeks and years. She was that kind of woman.
He felt blessed beyond understanding and grateful beyond words.
He began his descent to the village of Juniango, his warrior eyes slowly searching for any sign of Invictus activity. Along Main Street, he saw several members of the Troll Brigade standing guard. Because dawn hadn’t yet arrived, there were still a number of fae and vampires out, a few of them drunk and others finishing up some last minute shopping before being housebound the rest of the day.
He landed near the local pub, the Trollhead Inn, and carefully released his hold on Yvonne and Sandra. He didn’t let go of either of them completely because for the uninitiated flight could cause dizziness.
Yvonne, especially, listed on her feet. “I’m so sorry, Mastyr, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“You’re not used to flight. Let’s go inside and have a pint. And if we need to, Sandra and I can spend the day here, in the inn.”
She glanced up at the sign. “The Trollhead.” She put a hand to her chest. “Am I home? Am I really home?”
Sandra was much steadier on her feet and left Griffin to join Sandra on her other side. She slid her arm around Yvonne’s waist. “Come on. Let’s have a drink then find out where your family is.”
These words, however, caused the troll to put both hands to her face and burst into tears once more. Sandra, the good woman that she was, dipped down and surrounded the much shorter troll with both arms, holding her close.
While the women were speaking softly to each other and now weeping together, the door to the Trollhead opened. Griffin immediately stepped in front of the women, then lowered his knees and shoulders ready to face whatever opponent would come at him. He’d been sparring for so long with conscienceless freaks that this habit wasn’t going to disappear any time soon.
What met his gaze, however, was the long leather, sleeveless coat of the Camberlaune Guard, thigh boots and leathers. And the red hair of one of his brothers-in-arms. “Owen?”
Owen stared at him unblinking for several seconds. “Griffin, holy fuck! I saw you last at Wayford. We thought you were dead! Where the hell have you been, you ugly bastard?”
The next moment, Owen’s beefy arms surrounded him and the crushing tightness of the man-hug made his eyes burn and his throat ache. His thoughts had been all for the women, getting them to safety, and seeing if he could restore Yvonne to her family.
The last
thing he’d expected was to run into a friend out here in Juniango.
When Owen pulled back, he slapped Griffin on the shoulder. “Damn, you’re lean, but I see you’ve still worked out.”
Yeah, he’d worked out, wielding weapons against the Invictus in practice sessions for the past year. He didn’t say that. Instead, he explained where he’d been then gestured to Yvonne and Sandra. “We could use a drink.”
Owen pulled him inside and called out to the troll bartender. “Four pints, Virginia. We’ve got some celebrating to do over here.”
“Coming up, Big Guns.” His nickname fit. Owen had a pair of massive biceps and played it up constantly. He’d left off wearing the woven Guardsman shirt as well, following Mastyr Ian’s lead who headed up the Camberlaune Guard.
All four of them sat at a table. A moment later, Virginia brought brimming mugs over and passed them around.
Owen took a drink then got on his phone, ready to alert the rest of the Guard, but Griffin shut him down. “Don’t. I know for a fact Margetta has a spy network in Camberlaune and I don’t want anyone to know where we are. You good with that?”
Owen stared at him for a long moment. “Sweet Goddess, Griffin. Are you shitting me?”
He shook his head slowly. “I picked up a lot of information from the camp, but I’m not saying another word to you or anyone else until I speak with Mastyr Ian.” Griffin took a long swig.
Owen’s expression grew serious. “He’s been hunting for the Ruby Fae this past month. We’ve hardly seen him. She’s somewhere in the Dauphaire Mountains. Wait. Why are all three of you smiling at me? Oh, shit, you’ve seen her.”
Griffin nodded. “And we’re hopeful she escaped tonight. But you’ll probably know more about that over the next twenty-four hours.”
Virginia returned to the table to join in the conversation, then settled her gaze on Yvonne. “Wait a minute. I know you. Aren’t you Eva’s mother, the one who disappeared? Why it has to be decades now.”
Yvonne set her pint down and put both hands to her chest. She looked suddenly frightened, her lips pinched. “I am.”
Griffin watched her swallow hard. He understood. She was afraid she’d be hearing bad news.
Virginia put a hand on her shoulder. “Eva lives around here, you know. She has a farm about ten miles east. And she just had another baby about a year ago, a little girl.”
