Ashen Weald by K. Vale Nagle

Author:K. Vale Nagle [Nagle, K. Vale]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781643920108
Publisher: STET Publishing, LLC

27

Saberbeak

Vosk was already in a bad mood on his flight back to Snowfall, and returning to find all of his pride awake and the traitor, Younce, in the middle of the nesting grounds did nothing to improve upon it. He flew down to shout at the insolent gryphon, but Younce backed up and Hatzel stepped forward.

He’d never seen his childhood friend look like this. He’d always thought of her as a small, weak gryphlet. Since her last visit to the taiga, years ago, she’d grown massive, not just in size but in muscle. Her fur and feathers were standing on end, adding more to her bulk. Even the tuft of fur on the end of her tail took the shape of a flame. The two jagged edges on her beak, more like egg teeth than anything else, had become long fangs. In her shape, he now saw her saberbeak father. The same beak Vosk used to nuzzle with his own had taken on a sinister look in the moonlight.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he asked.

“I heard everything,” she said.

At first, he didn’t understand. Then he saw Younce and Deracho behind her and knew. Deracho could track anyone across the mountains. They must have followed Vosk to his meeting with Ellore.

“I do what I do to save my pride,” he said. “They will cut off our wings if we don’t submit to them now. Surely you would do anything to save your own pride?”

Hatzel’s tail flicked back and forth. “Yes. And if your pride as a whole agreed to that, it might not be any of my business. But tonight, you agreed to let the rangers arrive with more infected game bound for the weald, for my nesting grounds. I will not allow that to stand.”

“You can’t stop me on my own pride lands,” he retorted. As he looked around the glacial amphitheater of Snowfall, he realized the extent to which he’d lost his pridemates’ respect. A few even looked with awe towards Hatzel.

She seemed to bask in the admiration of the taiga pride. “I’m not one for politics. Because we were once friends, I will give you this one chance: submit to me or I will kill you.”

He hissed a laugh to hide his fear and anger. “Do you think my pride will stand by and watch you murder me? Do you think they will let a weald gryphon rule them?”

His words were not answered by Hatzel but by his own pride.

“I would rather put a crown and harness on a goliath bird and let it rule!” Deracho shouted.

“At least the birds know how important food is. You let them infect Hoarfrost!” another taiga gryphon shouted.

“You let us fight the rangers on all fronts while you begged for eyrie scraps,” Younce spat. “You are a broken eyrie pet, not fit to lead a flock of frost chickens, let alone a pride of gryphons.”

Other gryphons chimed in. Three or four seemed inclined to come to his aid, but when one stepped forward and Hatzel turned to look at her, she stopped and backed away.

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