with a snarl. “No, a thousand times no.”
“Evan, then?”
“I do not trust him.”
“Who, then? Duncan, perhaps?”
“No.”
“Why not? He seems like a nice guy and he’s Dalvahni.”
Grim roared.
“What?” Sassy widened her eyes. “Is there a supernatural dating website you think I should try? ‘Single fae female seeks male companionship. Werewolves need not apply.’” She gave him an innocent look. “I’m sure werewolves can be perfectly nice, but once a month you’ve got to lock them up or they eat the neighbors. And then there’s the hair. I imagine they shed something awful.”
Grim scowled. “Do not toy with me, Sassy. This is no laughing matter.”
“Oh, I agree. I think I know what this is really about. This is about Gryff.”
Grim’s hulking form stiffened. “Who told you?”
“Dell.” She inched closer to him. “He seems to think you blame yourself for Gryff’s death.”
“I am responsible.” Grim looked away. “Had I returned to camp as I should have, Gryff would be alive.”
“Tell me what happened. Please.”
Grim’s marred face twisted and for a moment, Sassy feared he would not speak. When, at last, the words tumbled out, his voice was a rusty grate.
“We . . . were in the mountains of Telthar Dune,” he said. “The djegrali had ravaged a nearby village. We caught and slew a dozen of the demons. The rest fled into the hinterland. We gave pursuit. They led us a weary chase, but we caught them and dispatched them like the others.” Grim raised a gnarled, gloved hand to his brow. He was shaking. “We were weary and decided to make camp by a river. I left Gryff to tend to the fire while I went in search of something to eat. My . . . special gift made me the better hunter, you see.”
He stopped.
“Special gift?” Sassy asked softly.
“I can merge with animals and our senses become one. I mind-melded with an eagle—the eagles of Telthar Dune are big as dragons. Together, the eagle and I brought down a large buck.”
He fell silent again.
“Go on,” Sassy urged. “What happened?”
“I gutted and dressed the deer and hung it in a tree,” Grim said. “Then I went wind-riding again.”
“You rode the eagle?”
Sassy’s imagination soared, picturing Grim sailing through the air on the giant eagle.
“Nay, better. I was the eagle. We were joined, mind to mind. Flying is . . . like nothing else. I lost track of time. When I returned to camp I found blood and a large number of ogre tracks. Gryff’s sword lay in pieces on the ground.”
Sassy held her breath, picturing the gruesome scene and Grim’s despair. “And Gryff?”
“The Dalvahni are hard to kill, but we die if beheaded.” His shoulders slumped. “I . . . found Gryff’s head at the water’s edge. His dragon scale necklace was lying in the muck. His body I never recovered.”
Grim’s eyes grew distant. “I burned what was left of him and went in search of the ogres. It took me days to find them in the mountains, but I hunted them down and killed them. Their leader was one of the morkyn, the most powerful caste of demon. I saved the djegrali for last and slew him. Slowly. I have not ridden the wind since.”
“As punishment? It wasn’t your fault.”
“Yes, it was.” He threw back his head with an anguished roar. “My selfishness killed Gryff. Together, we were formidable. If I had not tarried, he would be alive.”
“Or you both could have been killed.”
“But Gryff—”
“Would want you to be happy. If things were different and you had died . . .” Sassy faltered at the unthinkable words. “If you had d-died, would you want Gryff to be unhappy for squillions of years?”
“Three thousand,” Grim said. “Gryff died over three thousand years ago.”
Sassy blinked. “O-k-a-y. Three thousand years. Would you want Gryff to be miserable that long?”
“Of course not.”
“According to Mose, now that I’ve been fairyfied, I’m pretty much immortal. Do you want me to be miserable for an eternity?”
“I would die to keep you from being hurt.”
Sassy smiled. “Well, there you go.”
She reached up and untied the ribbons at her left shoulder, then the ribbons on her right. The gauzy fabric clung to the curves of her breasts. The slightest wiggle and the whole thing would slide off.
Grim’s yellow eyes flared, and his mask of ugliness dimmed. “What are you doing?”
“My goodness, Grim, isn’t it obvious? I’m trying to seduce you.”
“Sassy, I warn you, do not—”
Sassy shrugged. The gown slithered to the floor and pooled at her feet, leaving her in nothing