Summoner 21, page 32
The headmaster took a breath, and I studied Arwyn’s face as tears welled in her amber eyes. I’d never seen the professor look so overwhelmingly joyful, and I vowed to do all I could to keep her that way for the rest of our lives.
“Gryff, do you promise to honor and love Arwyn with all of your being for the rest of your natural life?” Sleet asked me. “Do you pledge to uphold and treasure her as your own, in sickness and in health, until you take your final breath?”
“I do,” I confirmed.
“Arwyn, do you promise to honor and love Gryff with all of your being for the rest of your natural life?” Sleet asked the redheaded healer. “Do you pledge to uphold and treasure him as your own, in sickness and in health, until you draw your final breath?”
“I do.” Arwyn nodded, and the tears she’d been holding back finally spilled down her cheeks.
“Then, by the power vested in me, I am happy to pronounce you husband and wife.” Headmaster Sleet smiled at the both of us, and then he gestured for us to come together. “Gryff, you may kiss your bride.”
I swept Arwyn into my arms and kissed her more passionately than I’d ever kissed her before, and my heart felt like it was going to explode from pure joy. My wife laughed as more happy tears finally streamed down her face, and even though a few of the drops landed on my tongue as we kissed, I didn’t even mind.
Arwyn Hamner was finally my wife.
Sleet’s words during the ceremony had been correct. Even though Arwyn and I had been brought together purely by chance, we’d been destined to wind up in this exact spot, and I felt unbelievable gratitude toward whatever force had set this union in motion. Arwyn brought out the best in me and inspired me to be the greatest man and summoner I could be, and I vowed to do all I could to be the best husband and father to our child.
“What’re you thinking about?” I asked my crimson-haired wife when we parted.
“Nothing,” she mused as she stared into the distance over my shoulder, but then she turned her attention back to me. “It’s just a strange feeling, being this happy at a time when things are so confusing and unpredictable. This wasn’t what I’d been expecting for my wedding day, but somehow, it’s exactly what I’ve wanted all along.”
“I’m so happy,” I replied, and I planted a feather-light kiss on her forehead.
“Me, too,” she whispered.
We kissed again, and once we parted, I turned my attention back to Sleet.
“Thank you, Headmaster, for everything,” I thanked Sleet, and I placed my hand on his arm. “I really appreciate you officiating this ceremony for us.”
“I was more than happy to be here for you on your special day,” Sleet replied, and even his eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Trust me, this lifted my spirits nearly as much as yours, so I feel like I should be doing the thanking.”
We all laughed at that, and then Arwyn glanced over at the clock. Despite the sky remaining the same vivid shade, the time had passed by at a rapid pace, and though I was no longer tired, I couldn’t speak for the others.
“I didn’t realize how late it was,” she said. “Of course, I knew this was going to be a late affair, but I wasn’t paying much attention to the time.”
“It sure does fly when you’re having fun,” Sleet noted with an amused twinkle in his eyes. “That being said, I should return to the Academy. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, and I’d like to give the two of you some time alone to enjoy your wedding night before you’ve got to get back to our mission. “
“Thank you, sir.” I nodded at the renowned storm mage. “Please, let us see you out. I would feel a lot more comfortable letting you walk out into the night if I watched you leave.”
“I brought a carriage with me, but I appreciate your concern, Gryff,” Sleet said in an appreciative tone. “Your care means a lot to me.”
“I’m not taking no for an answer, sir,” I laughed, and the white-haired headmaster finally agreed to my terms.
“Alright, Mister Gryff.” He shook his head as he laughed. “I’ll allow you to escort me to the door, but the moment I leave, you’re the sole property of your wife’s affections, do you understand?”
“I think I can handle that.” I winked at my crimson-haired wife, and then I gestured toward the door.
The headmaster, Arwyn, and I filed out of the fourth-floor room, and then the three of us descended to the first floor.
The entire mansion was completely silent, and I did my best to remain as quiet as possible to keep from disturbing anyone. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally rouse one of the children, especially since their mothers all needed a good night’s sleep.
Once we reached the foyer, Sleet, Arwyn, and I exchanged a round of embraces, and after one last goodbye, the headmaster fastened a mask around his face and turned his hand on the doorknob.
However, the moment Sleet opened the door, we were suddenly startled by a man attempting to catch his breath.
“Fuck!” I nearly recoiled in shock, but after a moment, I recognized the young man as Conor, the water mage from the fight against the fire-eye, only it was clear he’d been through a lot since the last time I’d seen him. His eyes were sunken, his cheekbones were more pronounced, and there was a thick sheen of sweat on his forehead that made his dark curls glisten. His mask hung around his neck like an industrial-strength necklace, and I could see the inside of the covering was just as wet with sweat as Conor’s face.
“Conor?” Sleet asked in a concerned tone. “What are you doing here? Are you alright?”
“Headmaster… Sleet,” the mage greeted the renowned storm mage through ragged breaths. “I’m so glad I found you. I was told you’d be here, but I was worried I wasn’t going to find you in time. I’m alright, but the Enclave isn’t.”
Suddenly, the sound of an alarm rang out so loudly that my ears ached. I jumped in response, and my stomach plummeted to the floor.
“What’s going on?” Arwyn wondered as her body tensed up.
My arm instinctively reached out around her shoulders, and I drew my new wife close to me for protection.
“No… it can’t be.” Sleet’s face blanched until it was nearly as white as a sheet. “That alarm… no, it cannot be true.”
“What’s the alarm for?” I asked, but my question wasn’t acknowledged.
Sleet appeared as if he was moments away from losing consciousness, but Conor managed to steady the older mage before his legs could waver.
“Unfortunately, it is, sir,” Conor gulped, and then he finally turned to Arwyn and me. “The alarm has never gone off before, but for good reason, Mister Gryff.”
“It doesn’t sound like a rift alarm.” I frowned as I tried to comprehend what exactly the water mage was implying. “What makes this one so special?”
“It signifies something that has never happened in all of the history of the Enclaves,” Sleet answered, and he fixed his stormy white eyes on mine. “Our worst fears have come true, Gryff. A monster has managed to enter Varle.”
Chapter Seventeen
The sense of dread that coursed through me was stronger than any I’d ever experienced before, and all the bliss I’d just experienced faded away almost as if it had never been there in the first place.
I almost didn’t want to believe the words for myself, but all it took was one look at the older storm wizard’s face to see this was no joke.
There was a monster in the Enclave.
Sleet’s statement was correct. Our deepest fears really had come true.
“T-That’s impossible,” Arwyn whispered before I could. “The xanyarstone keeps the monsters at bay. Protection against monsters is the mineral’s sole purpose--”
“Trust me, Arwyn, I know,” Sleet stopped her. “This is far more horrendous than I could have imagined. That alarm was created as an unlikely precaution in the event the impossible were to come true. It was never meant to ring out, especially in the middle of the night.”
Varle, along with all of the other Enclaves throughout Mistral, were surrounded by tall, thick walls of a material known as xanyarstone. The white-gold bricks were impenetrable and had a certain property about them that made it impossible to be broken through by magic or monster. The walls and heightened security were the sole reasons civilians flocked to Enclaves in the first place. If there was no protection for the city, monsters could enter at their leisure and render the Enclave just as dangerous as any village in the Wilds.
We needed to find a way to get the monster out and seal off Varle before it was too late.
“We need to get going,” I announced. “If monsters can get past the xanyarstone, the civilians in the city are sitting ducks. We can’t leave them defenseless.”
“I’m coming with you,” Arwyn insisted, but I shook my head.
“Arwyn, if something were to happen to you and the baby--”
“Gryff, you cannot ask me to stay behind,” the crimson-haired professor cut me off with a fiery intensity. “I know you’re only looking out for my wellbeing, but I was appointed a Guardian just the same as you. I can be of use--”
“I know you can,” I acknowledged, and then I softened my voice and my features. “Trust me, Arwyn, I know how amazing you are. I won’t hold you back, but I would ask if you won’t stay behind, you’ll at least hang back and use your magic as a healer to help any civilians or troops who find themselves in danger. I don’t want you in the middle of the battle if you don’t have to be.”
Arwyn considered my words for a moment, but her auburn eyebrows were creased together so tightly, I was afraid she was going to strain her face from the effort.
“Miss Hamner, you must make your decision quickly,” Sleet urged her. “We cannot waste too much more time.”
“I’ll do it,” she said, and then the beautiful mage glanced at me. “Heal, I mean. It’s my best talent, and if I can keep others safe, I’ll take to that position with no complaint.”
“Gryff, what’s going on?” Crystyn called out as she practically flew down the stairs. “Why is an alarm crying out in the middle of the night?”
My aunt was clad in a dark-green jumpsuit, and even though I could still see a hint of sleepiness in her hazel eyes, her bandolier was fastened perfectly, and her shiny caramel-colored hair looked like it had been perfectly styled. Even her deep under-eye circles had lightened up considerably. I was glad she’d given herself a moment of self-care, but I was a little disappointed all of that was about to be undone by my next statement.
“A monster’s broken through the walls of the Enclave,” I revealed, and the look of shock that painted my aunt’s features was enough to make a lump form in my throat.
“Maker,” she cursed. “How is that even possible?”
“We don’t know,” Sleet replied to the Guardian with a weary expression. “All we know is we have to go straight away. Crystyn, if you could join us--”
“Of course, Marangur,” my aunt affirmed, and for a moment I was taken aback by how intimate her tone toward the storm wizard was, but I didn’t linger on the thought for too long. “Headmaster, I need to retrieve my crystals from upstairs,” I announced when I realized I wasn’t wearing my bandolier.
“Hurry, Mister Gryff,” Sleet advised me, and his stormy-white eyes fixated on the window beside the front door.
I scrambled up the stairs as fast as my legs could carry me and raced into my room so quickly I was amazed I didn’t leave scorch marks on the floor. I quickly swapped out my dress shirt for a plain, casual one I’d discarded earlier on the floor, and I had just enough time to kick off my dress shoes and fasten my bandolier before a mess of bodies flew through the bedroom doorway.
“Gryff, what’s going on?” Nia demanded, and her piercing blue eyes flashed even in the darkness of the room. “What’s all the commotion downstairs? Did I hear Sleet’s voice?”
“Yeah, what is that alarm?” Cyra chimed in as she wrapped her arms around herself, and even from my vantage point on the edge of the bed, I could see her chocolate-brown skin was covered in goosebumps.
“There’s a monster here in Varle,” I explained as I threw my boots on. “We need to leave straight away.”
“A monster--” Layla began, but Nia cut her off with a single look.
“You can explain on the way,” the elementalist addressed me, and she quickly pulled her ashen hair back into a ponytail. “We need to go.”
“Dressed like this?” Layla retorted. “There’s no way I’m strutting up to a monster in only my nightie--”
“Go change, but you have literally thirty seconds at the most,” Nia replied in her most maternal yet straightforward voice. “I would suggest you run.”
“What about you?” Cyra wondered as her dark eyes trailed over Nia.
“I’ll be fine.” She shook her head. “I have a pair of boots downstairs--”
“Nia, take a moment and throw something warmer on,” I advised her. “I know you can hustle just as quickly as Layla, so don’t force yourself to run out in the middle of the night in just a nightdress.”
“Fine,” Nia decided, and without another word, my ashen-haired wife bolted from the room with Layla and Cyra in tow, which left only Freya, who had yet to say a word.
“You look like you haven’t gone to sleep yet.” I observed Freya’s normal day clothes. She was clad in a soft sweater and a pair of simple trousers, and her golden-blonde hair fell over her shoulders in tousled waves.
“Someone had to help Arwyn dress for her wedding.” The hawk-princess offered me a lovely smile. “I was so excited for you and my sister-wife that I couldn’t yet fall asleep.”
“Well, you did an amazing job with her,” I complimented my wife. “Freya, if you need to stay behind--”
“I will be coming with,” Freya announced decisively. “As a newly-appointed Guardian of Mistral, I want to help you and my sister-wives in any way possible, please.”
“Of course,” I replied. “It wouldn’t be a proper fight without the warrior princess of Hawk Clan at my side.”
“You flatter me, my husband,” Freya giggled, but the moment between us ended when Nia, Cyra, and Layla reappeared in the bedroom.
Each of the mages were clad in more battle-ready attire and no longer looked like they’d just risen from slumber.
“Ready!” Nia announced, and I took one last moment to glance around the room.
“Wait, who’s going to stay behind to watch the children?” I realized. “We can’t all leave--”
“I’ll stay behind,” Erin’s voice rang out from the hallway, and I peered past my women to see the orange-haired mimic with Vahla right beside her. “That’s what I’m here for, remember? Guardian adjacent.”
“I can stay behind as well,” Vahla offered in her native tongue, much to both my surprise and Freya’s, and the younger hawk shifter’s face reddened as all eyes fell to her. “Someone needs to keep an eye on them, and Erin shouldn’t be left alone to deal with them on her own.”
“Thank you both,” I said, and then I turned to the rest of my women. “Let’s go. I think we’ve kept everyone waiting long enough.”
We sped down the stairs at lightning speed, and Crystyn, Arwyn, Sleet, and Conor practically twitched in impatience. Arwyn had somehow found the time to slip out of her wedding dress and into more casual clothing, and her hands trembled at her sides as I joined her. I reached out and threaded my fingers through hers for reassurance, and my crimson-haired wife’s posture relaxed.
“Shall we?” Sleet prompted us, and the headmaster was met with varying sounds of agreement.
“Be safe,” Erin called out from the top of the stairs. “All of you, please come back to us in one piece!”
“We will,” I assured the orange-haired pilot. “Hold down the fort while we’re gone.”
Without another moment of hesitation, the other mages and I filed out into the scarlet-tinted outdoors, and as we hustled down the drive, Crystyn passed a mask over to me.
“Protection from the air,” she explained, and then she swiftly donned a mask of her own.
“Thanks,” I said gratefully, and then I fastened the mask over my face. It was a more intense version of the protective covering we had to wear in the Shadowscape, and I was surprised by how easy it was to breathe in it. Our normal gas masks were cumbersome and a little awkward, but these new and improved ones were almost nice. They were surprisingly light-weight, almost to the point where I could hardly feel it.
The rest of my team placed their masks on as well, except for Freya, who shifted into her hawk form straight away. No matter how many times I witnessed the warrior princess shapeshifting, I never got tired of seeing it, and a faint sense of pride ran through me as Freya flexed her impressive talons.
“Wait, where’s Ashla?” I realized. “I didn’t see her back there--”
“I think she might still be at the Academy,” Arwyn gasped with enormous eyes. “She told me she was staying late to finish up some work with the research team.”
“If Miss Ashla’s there, I’m sure she’s safe,” Sleet assured us in a calm and even tone. “She’s a clever mage, and I know she’ll be able to find a way to get to where she needs to be.”
“You’re right,” I said. Ashla was extremely clever and resourceful, and I didn’t need to worry about the ice mage remaining safe, but that didn’t stop me anyway. These were stressful times, and I wanted to be certain all of my women were protected.
“She’ll be fine,” Arwyn agreed. “Ashla’s always been incredibly capable, and between you and me, I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of her ice magic or that axe of hers.”
