Chapter 30

“Iagree, that would probably be best,” Kieran said, as Natasha glanced up at him from where she stood by his side.

She had to admit – she was impressed by how well she was taking all of this in stride, even if she did say so herself. Maybe everything would catch up with her soon – finding out, after all, that both griffins and sprites existed on the same day was probably something that would take time to adjust to. But for now, she simply found herself nodding along with Kieran saying that they should listen to the sprite’s explanation for what it was doing in an attic.

Natasha was sure that soon she was going to have a huge freakout about all this… but right now, she was cool with it. It really wasn’t the time to have a weird breakdown – and anyway, she had to admit, she was burning up with curiosity. The huge freakout could wait until she’d found out what exactly was going on around here.

“Should we stay up here, or… can we move down to the sitting room, where there’s less dust?” Kieran asked after a moment. “Uh… where would be the most comfortable place?”

“The sitting room is acceptable,” Sieval said. “But you will have to take my rock with you. I cannot carry it myself, but I also cannot move from here without it.”

“Your… your rock?” Kieran asked, confusion creasing his brow. “What do you mean?”

“All sprites are bonded to an object,” Sieval explained. “Where it goes, we go. But we cannot move it ourselves. We need someone to carry it for us.”

“Oh!” Kieran said, his face clearing. “I remember hearing something like that. Sprites tend to stay in one place, where whatever they’re bonded to is – in the folklore stories, they protect the area where their bonded object is very closely.” He frowned again. “But how did your rock get into my uncle’s attic?”

“If you help me, I’ll tell you everything,” Sieval said. “But first, please help me find my rock. I’m not able to lift anything to go through the boxes to find it.”

Kieran nodded. “All right. It’s somewhere up here, then?”

“Yes,” Sieval said. “In a box somewhere, I think.”

“I’ll help you look,” Natasha said – she had a feeling that if she was doing something with her hands, it’d help delay the inevitable freakout. For now, however, she was surprised at how calm she felt, as she and Kieran began pulling the dust sheets off the piles of boxes, sneezing and coughing as years’ worth of grime went sailing through the air.

Kieran looked across at her as they searched, opening box after box and pulling out all manner of old toys, trinkets, clothes, and various other items.

“Um. You doing okay?” he asked, as she pulled out what seemed to be an endless stream of old Christmas lights from one box. “I imagine this is… well, it must be a lot.”

“I think so?” Natasha said, hoping that it was true. “I mean… it is a lot, but right now… I don’t know. I think I’m more curious to find out what’s going to happen next than anything else. It’s like I’m reading a storybook, and I really want to get to the next page or something.”

Kieran let out a low laugh as he went through a box of old clothes. “That’s perhaps the best way to think of it for now. I admit, I’m kind of curious myself. Of all the things I thought we’d find up here, I never expected a sprite.”

“Would ghosts have been better?” Natasha asked, which prompted a small laugh from him.

“I don’t know, honestly,” he replied after a moment. “At least Sieval seems friendly – who knows what ghosts might have been like?”

As he spoke, he pulled up an old, wooden box from the bottom of the larger cardboard box it had been packed away in, where it had been sitting beneath piles of clothes. Immediately, Sieval shimmered to his side, its eyes wide, its skin glowing with an unearthly blue light.

“My rock,” it breathed, sounding delighted. “You found it! It’s inside here!”

“In here?” Kieran asked, opening the lid of the wooden box. Inside, there was indeed a rock – shiny and black, like obsidian. Aside from its beauty, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about it – but, Natasha was coming to appreciate, there was a lot more than met the eye about seemingly ordinary things.

“Yes, yes, that’s it!” Sieval seemed overjoyed, clapping its hands lightly together. “Now that it’s been found, I promise I’ll tell you everything. Please, take me – and my rock – downstairs. We may speak there in more comfort.”

Sieval was right about that, Natasha thought, once the three of them were seated on the sofa chairs in the sitting room. Her nose was running and her eyes itching from all the dust they’d disturbed during their search, but at least the air down here was clearer, and the afternoon sunlight was streaming through the tall windows, unlike the dark stuffiness of the attic.

Kieran had placed the rock in its wooden box on the coffee table in front of them, and Sieval’s eyes kept traveling back to it as it spoke.

“Thank goodness you came up to the attic at last,” it said, once they were all seated. “I was beginning to think I’d never get out of there. I tried so many times to tell people to come up and help me, but no one ever did.”

“Wait… so is that what all the banging and thumping was about then?” Kieran asked, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead. “You were trying to attract someone’s attention to come and help you?”

Sieval nodded. “At first, I tried calling out – but that only seemed to frighten people. There were people who came here, young people, with loud music and smoke-making sticks, but whenever I called out to them, asking them to come and help me, they always ran away. I didn’t understand why. I only asked them for help.”

Natasha couldn’t help but feel her heart clench at the look of deep sadness that crossed Sieval’s face as it recounted the story. Nonetheless, she couldn’t imagine how the teenagers who’d come up here for their secret party must have felt, suddenly hearing unearthly cries for help coming from the attic. No wonder the house had gained a reputation for being haunted!

“But how did you – and your rock – even come to be here in the first place?” Kieran asked, shaking his head. “You clearly knew Uncle Henry, if you knew he’d died. Did he bring you here?”

“Yes,” Sieval said. “But it was an accident. I used to live by a pond, deep in the mountains. That was my home. It was a place Henry had used to come sometimes – he flew deep into the mountains quite often, and I saw him flying over my pond. But one day he landed to drink from the pond – I didn’t mind that. I’m not possessive. But then he started picking up rocks from around the pond, including mine. At first, I didn’t know what to say when he put my rock in his pocket – as you know, we sprites are shy. But then he took my rock back here with him, and of course I had no choice but to come too. Where a sprite’s bonded object goes, it can’t help but follow.”

“Oh,” Kieran said, looking as if Sieval had given him a revelation. “I remember – Uncle Henry loved collecting weird and interesting rocks. It was just one of what my parents called his little eccentricities – and he was pretty eccentric, I have to admit. I mean, he lived up here all alone for so many years. He was really reclusive by the time he got old.”

“Yes,” Sieval said. “He said he didn’t want company. But he seemed to like mine.”

“Oh… so he knew you were here then?” Natasha asked, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer. “You were, uh, friends?”

Sieval nodded. “Yes, I suppose that’s the word for it. When it became clear he wasn’t going to take my rock back to the pond on his own, I showed myself to him. But that was only after months of living here with him, staying invisible. And by that time… I suppose you could say I’d grown rather fond of him. He used to make a sound – he had a large thing, and it would make sounds, such lovely sounds –”

“Great Uncle Henry played the cello,” Kieran told Natasha, turning to face her with a slight grimace. “But… not very well, I don’t think. At least, I remember thinking it sounded terrible when I was a kid. But then, he used to wake me up at five a.m. with his playing, and I guess nothing sounds very good at five a.m.”

“I liked his sounds,” Sieval said, sounding a little defensive. “But as I said, I had come to be a little fond of him. So after I explained the situation to him, when he said he would take my rock back to the pond… I asked instead if I could stay here with him for a little longer.”

“So he wasn’t such a recluse after all,” Natasha said. “Not if he had you for company.”

“He was a kind man,” Sieval said. “And I was happy to stay with him. He did say, however, that he would take me back to my pond before he went away. But then, in the end… perhaps he forgot…”

Kieran shook his head. “No – it wasn’t that.” His voice was soft and sad, and Natasha had the sudden urge to reach out to him. “It’s just that he died quite suddenly – and he wasn’t at home at the time. My parents told me he’d come down the mountain to buy some supplies before he disappeared back home, but he collapsed suddenly and was taken directly to the hospital – we never had the chance to say a proper goodbye to him ourselves. It was sad – my mother especially was really upset about it. But I had no idea he’d had a sprite for company all this time.” Kieran swallowed heavily, his eyes looking wet. “Have you been stuck here ever since then?”

Sieval nodded. “Alas, yes. After Henry was gone, some people came to look through his things, to pack them away… they put my rock in a box, and then took it to the attic. I have been there ever since, unable to move since I must go wherever my rock goes. I had been hoping someone would come into the attic so I could speak with them and explain my situation, but you are the first who ever has.”

“It must have been my parents who packed your rock away,” Kieran said, shaking his head. “I know they came to do some cleaning up and repairs, before they got distracted by other things. I guess they had no way of knowing one of the rocks in Henry’s collection was, uh, bonded to a sprite. I’m very sorry that you’ve been stuck in the attic for so long because of that. They didn’t know, but it still must have been a very hard time for you, not being able to go home.”

Sieval nodded. “It has not been pleasant, I’m afraid. I have longed to see my pond again.”

“Then… is there any way that we could take you back there?” Natasha asked, looking from Sieval to Kieran. “I know it wasn’t your parents’ fault, Kieran, but if there’s any way we could make up for it – as much as it can be made up for – then we’d like to do it.”

She knew Kieran would feel the same way as she did without having to ask him. Of course he would want to put this right. Sieval needed to go back to where it belonged, after all this time.

“Of course,” Kieran said, the moment she finished speaking. “You said that your pond was in a remote part of the mountains, but I’m a griffin shifter, just like my Uncle Henry was. So I can definitely fly you and your rock back home – if you can give me some guidance, I’d be happy to take you. Today, in fact. I only want to put things right after everything you’ve been through. And to say thank you for keeping Henry company during his final few years. He became such a recluse and didn’t really have much contact with us or the outside world – but it’s a comfort to know he did have company after all, Sieval. Thank you.”

“You are very welcome,” Sieval said quietly. “I admit, I hadn’t considered that a shifter could be good company until I met Henry. But he was a quiet man, except for when he made his sounds. But now I think it’s time for me to return to the life I had by my pond.”

“I can help you with that,” Kieran said determinedly. “Natasha, if you wouldn’t mind holding on to Sieval’s rock, I’ll fly us all to your pond right now, before the light goes. Do you think we have time, Sieval?”

“Oh yes, I should think so,” Sieval said – and Natasha could virtually see it radiating with joy, the blue glow of its skin shimmering in the sunlight. “For a griffin, the flight should be short. I remember it was in a glade in a small valley, and there was a large mountain – the largest one – to the north.”

“I think I may know the spot you mean,” Kieran said, his face brightening. “My uncle used to take us there sometimes when we were out flying. If it’s the place I’m thinking of, anyway. But if it is, then that makes things a lot easier. Looking for a pond in that wilderness would have been like trying to find a needle in a haystack otherwise. But let’s hope it’s the place.” He paused, shaking his head. “I used to go there all the time as a kid! And I never knew a sprite lived there at all.”

“Well, we are quite shy,” Sieval said modestly. “But now that you mention it, I recall that often children would come to play at my pond, many years ago. I usually went into my rock when they were there – but it was very intriguing to watch them. Perhaps one of those children was you.”

“That seems like it’d be pretty likely,” Kieran said, blinking. “Wow.”

He looked a little stunned, and Natasha couldn’t say she blamed him. If she’d been the one finding out her childhood playground had been inhabited by an invisible sprite, she’d probably be even more surprised than he was now.

But then, if sprites are as shy as Sieval says, then who’s to say some of the places I grew up didn’t have sprites living there after all? Seems like there’s always been more to Girdwood Springs than meets the eye…

“Let me go into my rock – you can carry me quite easily then,” Sieval said, standing.

As Natasha watched, Sieval shimmered again, and then vanished completely. She looked down at the rock they’d extracted from the box, just in time to see a pale blue flash of light pass over its surface – so she assumed Sieval had, uh, taken up residence inside.

“Umm, just so we’re clear,” Natasha said as she picked up the rock – which was surprisingly warm – in her palm, “you were saying just now that you want me to ride you out to Sieval’s pond?”

“If that would be okay,” Kieran said, cocking his head. “You’re okay with heights, aren’t you?”

“Uh. I guess so.” Standing, Natasha followed him out to the entryway, and then out the front door. “I mean… I’ve never had a problem with them before, but then, I’ve never flown on a griffin’s back before.”

“Oh, you did, just before,” Kieran said, throwing her a grin. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already!”

Natasha laughed. “No, no, I definitely haven’t. I guess I was too busy being shocked at what was happening to think about it much then – this time I’ll have my full wits about me, so I may have time to think about how far off the ground we are!”

“Maybe so,” Kieran said, “but you know I’d never let any harm come to you, Natasha. I wouldn’t have suggested it unless I knew it was completely safe.”

Somehow, in her heart, Natasha knew he was telling the full truth. And she knew she’d never doubt his word again – now that they’d gotten past the awkward part, she found she completely believed every word he’d told her. He’d obviously shown her pretty convincing proof of him being a griffin shifter, but she even believed him about them being fated mates, which was something she’d never really contemplated before. And to be honest, she hadn’t really thought about forever, either!

But he did say he wanted to spend this month getting to know me better… and honestly, he’s a griffin! How many men back in the big city can say that?!

Well, possibly some of them, Natasha thought, if what Kieran had told her about there being more shifters around than she thought was true.

But that doesn’t matter,she thought, as she watched Kieran shift once again, turning from the tall, broad, unbelievably hot guy she couldn’t wait to kiss again into the massive, powerful form of the griffin. I don’t want any of those guys. I only want him.Not bad for something I thought was only going to be a vacation fling!

Carefully zipping Sieval’s rock away in a pocket of her jacket, Natasha climbed aboard Kieran’s back when he crouched down on the ground, looking back over his shoulder and crooning encouragingly at her.

His body was warm and his feathers soft as she held on tightly to his back – and then, with one swoop of his massive wings, they were airborne.

Natasha had to hold back a disbelieving laugh as they soared through the air, the chilly currents of the air rushing past her face. She’d been worried that this time, now that she was more aware of her surroundings and the fact that this most certainly was not a dream, she’d be terrified of falling – but no. For being several hundred feet off the ground, Natasha felt completely safe where she was on Kieran’s back, looking at the world below as it passed beneath them.

The air up here somehow felt crisper and cleaner, the sunlight brighter and clearer. The green of the forests and the blue of the mountains with their snowy white peaks were somehow even more beautiful from up here – it was as if they were in a private world, made just for them, the only ones who would ever see it.

And to think, I almost missed out on all of this…

It seemed ridiculous that it had taken almost sliding to her possible death to get this… but then, she supposed, it wasn’t every day a guy told you he’d stood you up for your date because he was a magical creature whose powers were currently not quite in working order. Natasha had a feeling that once everything she’d experienced today caught up with her, she’d have quite a lot of thinking to do… but for now, she’d decided, she was simply going to enjoy the ride and let go in a way she hadn’t been able to after years of being, if she was honest, kind of a control freak.

Hard to think I can control everything in my life when I’ve just found out sprites and shifters exist… oh, and that I’m apparently the fated mate of a griffin!

Instead of being terrifying, however, Natasha had to admit the thought was kind of… freeing.

Or maybe that was just because it was hard not to feel free when she was riding on a soaring griffin’s back.

After a while though, Natasha could feel Kieran beginning to descend, and she knew the exhilarating ride was almost over. Kieran swooped down in a wide circle, the trees looming up below them, but Natasha knew he knew what he was doing, and she didn’t experience even a moment of fear as he folded his wings, coming in to land through a small gap in the trees, which Natasha could now see was formed where they were growing around a large pond of clear, still water, fed by a trickling waterfall that tumbled over rocks furred with moss and ferns.

It was a beautiful spot – just the kind of place that a sprite from a fairy tale would live, she thought as she slid down from Kieran’s back, her hand resting over the pocket where she’d placed Sieval’s rock.

Looking around, Natasha had to admit she was completely enchanted. The sun slanted through the tree branches that drooped over the limpid pond, the ground dappled with light and shadow. The babble of the water was smooth and peaceful. It was more than beautiful – it was idyllic.

“Wow,” she murmured, as she made her way to the pond. “I have to admit, if I was a sprite, this is definitely the kind of place I’d live.”

“I used to love coming here when I was a kid,” Kieran said, once he’d shifted back into his human form. “Especially on hot days – it always felt so much cooler here, and we could wade or go swimming in the pool. It’s pretty deep out in the middle, and the water is cold. It was amazing after a long, hard flight… or a flight that seemed long when I was a kid. Now that I’m grown it doesn’t seem so bad. And I have to admit, I’ve really missed flying. It seems ridiculous I haven’t done it for so long.”

“Oh – and you shifted just fine before,” Natasha said. “Even though you couldn’t earlier. Do you think your powers are working again now?”

Kieran looked thoughtful. “I think so,” he said after a moment’s pause. “My griffin certainly seems happier, that’s for sure. Maybe I really did just need to confess to you, and to start taking my griffin’s concerns more seriously.”

“Its concerns?” Natasha asked, blinking.

“I’ve been neglecting it,” Kieran said, as he came to stand next to her, looking around at the beauty of the area. “It was right about that. And maybe it was just trying to get my attention by acting out. I can’t say I enjoyed what it was doing, but… maybe it had a point. You try to suppress part of your nature and eventually it’s going to start rebelling.”

Natasha thought that made sense. “So… what do you think you’re going to do now?”

“That’s a good question.” Kieran laughed. “But to be honest, I think… well, being back here has awakened a lot of memories in me. And my parents and I have always meant to do up Great Uncle Henry’s house. Maybe… maybe it’s time I started seriously looking at a new direction in life.”

Natasha nodded, chewing his words over in her mind. “A new direction, huh?”

Is that what I should be thinking about too?

These last few days had been a revelation for her. And even if she still didn’t fully understand what it meant, she knew being a griffin’s mate definitely hadn’t been in the life plan she’d drawn up when she was fifteen years old and had been religiously sticking to ever since.

But is that such a bad thing?

Shaking her head, Natasha put the thought from her mind. There would be time for that later. Right now, it was time for Sieval to go home.

“So,” she said, taking its rock from her pocket, “should I just put this down by the pond?”

“I guess so – hopefully this is the right place,” Kieran replied.

Together, they made their way to the edge of the pond, before Natasha leaned down, placing the pitch-black rock down gently at the water’s edge.

“There you go, Sieval,” she murmured, hoping it was a comfy place for it. “You’re home.”

The rock shimmered again, just as it had back at the house – a flash of blue passing over its surface. And then, Sieval was standing beside them, looking around, its enormous eyes wide with joy.

“My pond,” it murmured, voice suffused with happiness. “I never thought I’d see it again.”

A lump rose in Natasha’s throat as she watched Sieval wandering around its pond, a look of wonder and joy on its face.

“My home,” it murmured, bending down to touch the drooping ferns and run the tips of its fingers over the soft moss that covered the rocks by the pond. “I enjoyed my time with Henry, but… this is where I belong. I cannot thank you both enough for finally returning me here.”

“I’m just sorry that it took so long for us to figure out what was happening,” Kieran said ruefully. “It can’t have been nice, being trapped alone in the attic for so long.”

“It matters not,” Sieval said, turning to them with a smile. “A sprite’s lifetime is very long – I still have plenty of time.” It paused, seeming almost to hesitate. “But I admit… during my time with Henry, I came to appreciate company perhaps more than I thought I would. In limited amounts, anyway. Would it be too much to ask that… that occasionally you come to visit me here? Would it be something you might do?”

“Of course.” The words were out of Natasha’s mouth before she could stop them. But as soon as they were, she realized it was a promise she couldn’t really keep – not unless she were to make some big changes in her life.

Big changes. Bigger than the ones I’ve already made?

Perhaps these were questions for another time. Right now, she thought, she still had a month of vacation time – and a griffin shifter, who was also her fated mate, to get to know.

“I’d like that too, Sieval,” Kieran said, nodding. “Now that I’m back here, I realize how much I’ve missed it. It’d be a pleasure to come and visit you.”

Happy gratefulness flickered across Sieval’s face. “Then I will thank you for that. And for returning me to where I belong. And now… I’m afraid it has been a while since I experienced sunshine. I feel that I must bask.”

And with that, it shimmered once more, before, Natasha assumed, it returned to its rock in order to bask in the sunlight that filtered through the trees.

“Well. This definitely isn’t where I saw today going when I woke up this morning in a really, really foul mood,” Natasha said, shaking her head. “I don’t know when all of this is going to hit me but… well, I’m going to make the most of it before it does.”

“It’s not bad news though, is it?” Kieran asked, turning to her with concern.

“No, no. It’s just… a lot,” Natasha said, laughing. “And to be honest, I think I’m kind of hungry, too. Maybe I’ll be able to think more clearly on a full stomach.”

“Sounds reasonable.” Kieran flashed her a grin. “Luckily I know a place – I didn’t get to go yesterday, I had to cancel at the last minute. So maybe I should go grab something there. Maybe we could even go together.”

Natasha laughed at the mischievous tone in his voice. “Hey, are you asking me out on a date?”

“Maybe so.” Kieran joined in on her laugh. “I mean, if you’re interested.”

“You know, I just might be,” Natasha replied, raising an eyebrow. “And you know, after that, I think I have some apple pie back at my place that a very generous person gave me – but after a chili dog and fries, I don’t know if I’ll be able to eat it all by myself.”

“You don’t say,” Kieran said softly, raising an eyebrow. “Well, in that case, lead the way.”