Read Online The Golden Griffin (Book 3) by Michael Wallace - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michael Wallace
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near her mother, she sat down and leaned back until only her mouth and nose were above the surface. The brook swirled through her hair and over her body, washing away dirt and sweat and the thick odor of griffin that clung to her. She closed her eyes and let her mind drift away on the gurgle of the water that rushed past her ears.
When she rose, stiff and numb, but gloriously clean and refreshed, her mother was already on the riverbank, brushing her hair while the sun and breeze dried her body. When Daria regained the shore, Palina handed her the brush.
“So that boy was your flatlander,” Palina said as she dressed. “What’s his name again?”
“Darik. Don’t you think he’s handsome?”
“I suppose so, if you like that look. There’s something funny about their eyes, don’t you think?”
“I like his eyes. They’re pretty.”
“I thought you said he wanted you.”
“I thought he did,” Daria said.
The encounter atop the tower keep had confused her. Daria had no talent in reading people, and was so clumsy when it came to such matters that she had only just refrained from leaping into his arms. The last time she’d seen Darik she’d as good as told him that she wanted to throw him to the ground and take him. He had not seemed uninterested.
So why had he been so reserved this time? Was she wrong about his feelings? He’d promised they’d raise griffins together. There was no way to misinterpret that. In some families that was as good as a betrothal.
Maybe it was her lie to Darik, that silly bit about Palina trying to mate a white-crowned griffin with one of its wild cousins. The truth was, Daria hadn’t wanted to explain her mother’s absence, not just from Father’s tower, but from the battles in the Free Kingdoms. And, if Daria was honest with herself, she hadn’t trusted her mother to behave around a young man from the flatlands. With good reason, as it turned out.
“They’re different people,” her mother said. “Especially the ones from the khalifates. They are accustomed to cities and crowds and noise. And the people of the plains and valleys have thin, hot blood. He wouldn’t last long in the mountains.”
“Then I’ll live with him in the lowlands.”
Palina laughed. “You would melt like an icicle in spring, my daughter.”
Daria handed back the brush with a scowl, then pulled on her clothes. She laced her boots, still feeling grumpy. And yet she was afraid that her mother was right.
By the time the two women returned to the clearing where they’d nested for the evening, Joffa and Yuli were squawking with hunger and tugging at the tethers that kept them tied to a thick maple tree. They could easily break or tear the leather straps, but knew this would earn them a scolding.
The women turned the pair loose while they ate a cold breakfast of dried berries and deer jerky. The griffins returned about twenty minutes later quarreling over what turned out to be a goat with a bell around its neck, eviscerated by dagger-sharp talons.
“Joffa,” Daria said sternly. “I told you not to do that. And Yuli, aren’t you old enough to know better? I’m disappointed in both of you.”
Joffa looked momentarily ashamed, but quickly returned to squabbling with Yuli over the raw meat. They tore it limb from limb and gulped down legs, innards, even head and horns.
“Really? You can’t even act guilty about it?”
“They’re hunters,” Palina said. “You can’t deny them meat.”
“They don’t need to pluck it from someone’s herd, terrifying the poor shepherd at the same time.”
“It’s a small price for them to pay. We keep their skies clear of enemies. Besides, it might have taken all morning to hunt for venison. We don’t have the time.”
Palina was watching the griffins eat. Suddenly, she cocked her head, raptor-like, then snatched a steaming chunk of raw meat before the griffins could gulp it all. She bit off a piece and smacked her lips as she chewed.
“Now
When she rose, stiff and numb, but gloriously clean and refreshed, her mother was already on the riverbank, brushing her hair while the sun and breeze dried her body. When Daria regained the shore, Palina handed her the brush.
“So that boy was your flatlander,” Palina said as she dressed. “What’s his name again?”
“Darik. Don’t you think he’s handsome?”
“I suppose so, if you like that look. There’s something funny about their eyes, don’t you think?”
“I like his eyes. They’re pretty.”
“I thought you said he wanted you.”
“I thought he did,” Daria said.
The encounter atop the tower keep had confused her. Daria had no talent in reading people, and was so clumsy when it came to such matters that she had only just refrained from leaping into his arms. The last time she’d seen Darik she’d as good as told him that she wanted to throw him to the ground and take him. He had not seemed uninterested.
So why had he been so reserved this time? Was she wrong about his feelings? He’d promised they’d raise griffins together. There was no way to misinterpret that. In some families that was as good as a betrothal.
Maybe it was her lie to Darik, that silly bit about Palina trying to mate a white-crowned griffin with one of its wild cousins. The truth was, Daria hadn’t wanted to explain her mother’s absence, not just from Father’s tower, but from the battles in the Free Kingdoms. And, if Daria was honest with herself, she hadn’t trusted her mother to behave around a young man from the flatlands. With good reason, as it turned out.
“They’re different people,” her mother said. “Especially the ones from the khalifates. They are accustomed to cities and crowds and noise. And the people of the plains and valleys have thin, hot blood. He wouldn’t last long in the mountains.”
“Then I’ll live with him in the lowlands.”
Palina laughed. “You would melt like an icicle in spring, my daughter.”
Daria handed back the brush with a scowl, then pulled on her clothes. She laced her boots, still feeling grumpy. And yet she was afraid that her mother was right.
By the time the two women returned to the clearing where they’d nested for the evening, Joffa and Yuli were squawking with hunger and tugging at the tethers that kept them tied to a thick maple tree. They could easily break or tear the leather straps, but knew this would earn them a scolding.
The women turned the pair loose while they ate a cold breakfast of dried berries and deer jerky. The griffins returned about twenty minutes later quarreling over what turned out to be a goat with a bell around its neck, eviscerated by dagger-sharp talons.
“Joffa,” Daria said sternly. “I told you not to do that. And Yuli, aren’t you old enough to know better? I’m disappointed in both of you.”
Joffa looked momentarily ashamed, but quickly returned to squabbling with Yuli over the raw meat. They tore it limb from limb and gulped down legs, innards, even head and horns.
“Really? You can’t even act guilty about it?”
“They’re hunters,” Palina said. “You can’t deny them meat.”
“They don’t need to pluck it from someone’s herd, terrifying the poor shepherd at the same time.”
“It’s a small price for them to pay. We keep their skies clear of enemies. Besides, it might have taken all morning to hunt for venison. We don’t have the time.”
Palina was watching the griffins eat. Suddenly, she cocked her head, raptor-like, then snatched a steaming chunk of raw meat before the griffins could gulp it all. She bit off a piece and smacked her lips as she chewed.
“Now
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