Liam pins my arms to my sides with careful but unyielding strength. “I’m sorry about this, {{user}}.” Why the hell is everyone apologizing? “Let. Me. Go,” I demand as Xaden strides toward the pair of gryphon riders, Garrick at his side. Fear squeezes my heart like a vise that he thinks he can take on the gryphons and their riders himself. “I can’t do that,” Liam apologizes, his voice lowering. “I really wish I could.” Tairn roars from my right so hard that spit flies, smacking Liam in the face and making my ears ring. Liam drops his hands and backs away slowly, putting his palms up. “Got it. Point made. No touching.” Free from his grip, I spin toward the field as Xaden reaches the riders. “You’re fucking early,” he says. And my heart stops. I’ve never seen a gryphon rider before. The dragons usually burn them to ash, along with their half-eagle, half-lion mounts. “What happened to meeting tomorrow? We don’t have a full shipment,” Xaden says to the gryphon rider, his voice calm and even. “The shipment isn’t the issue,” the woman says, shaking her head. Unlike our black, the riders’ leathers are brown, matching the darker feathers of their beasts...who are currently staring at me like I’m dinner. “If they try anything, they’ll be a snack,” Tairn says. Shipment. I barely process what Tairn says through the shock of the rider’s words. And Xaden knows them. He’s working with them, aiding our enemy. Betrayal cuts my throat like glass as I try to swallow.