A traumatic event in his childhood keeps Tuxtax from being able to shift into his were-griffin form. Ashamed of his looks and terrified of rejection, he spends his life in seclusion, with his sister Eleuthereia and centaur friend Rixa as his only connections to the outside world. Even though Tuxtax yearns to be with the elfin soulmate he had met before the accident, the vanth’s insecurity and self-doubt keep him from reaching out.<br><br>But now Rixa needs his help. Tuxtax joins his friend on a desperate rescue mission to save the centaur’s pregnant soulmate, hoping that the quest will give him a chance to overcome his insecurities and prove himself. Their rescue mission leads him back into the land of the elves, where Tuxtax must confront his past and the fears that are holding him back.<br><br>The further Tuxtax travels, the louder he hears his soulmate’s call. Can Tuxtax find the courage he needs to return to his soulmate and reclaim the man of his dreams?

Cupid's Ax

“What are you doing?!” he roared, embarrassed.


“Elves are allergic to metal,” Em explained, sliding the remains of the belt from the loops and handing him back his kilt. “Take it off—take all of it off! Your earring, your necklace, your belt loops—all of it!”


“I can’t let him go,” he whimpered.


“Then I’ll do it. Keep still, all right?” she tugged the earring free as gently as she could, then gathered all of the metal into her hands and walked towards the lake.


“Did I kill him? Is he dead?” Tuxtax asked in horror, clutching his limp soulmate to his chest.


“No,” a merman said, slithering towards them with his long black shark-skin tail.


Tuxtax gasped in horror as the merman approached. Trying desperately to remain calm, he asked, “Can you heal him? Are you Arnath?”


“Cold Iron is poisonous to Alec. Em is going to take your ax to that island over there so it won’t poison him.”


Chapter 18