Page 12 of My Guardian Gryphon

“There is something making you discontent. Making you desire more than what is possible.” Rose’s tone was like velvet, sweet and sugary and a damn trap if I’d ever seen one. “Who is it you desire?”

I still hadn’t gotten Alek to realize my affection or admit his own. I knew he cared about me. A man didn’t show up in a library to read for hours on end every day of every week of every month for years on end if he didn’t care. The Sisters gossiped that he was broody and rude, but he’d never been anything but kind and caring and protective toward me.

It was more than friendship, but I didn’t have anything to say to Rose right now. I needed a plan of action and I needed Alek on my side. If I said something without any confirmation that he wanted to be with me, I’d lose my only chance with him.

“No one,” I answered, breathing slowly, willing my heartbeat not to give me away.

“You cannot have children with any supernatural in town. It is impossible, and if you cannot have children with them, then you are not fulfilling your purpose.”

“Maybe I don’t want to fulfill my purpose, and if we can’t be with other supernaturals, why are you so afraid of Xerxes getting us? Our histories say we’ve been running for thousands of years. What does it mat—”

“It matters because Lamassu are the exception to the rule. Genetically, you are compatible with our species and with humans.”

There it was.

Another secret kept from us.

“Why?” I stood, moving to stand face to face with the Sentinel. Our protector. Our mother. Our jailer. Anger seethed beneath the surface of my skin, like molten lava waiting to burst free from the Earth’s crust.

“Because that is the way you were made.” The words were spoken so softly I strained to hear each one. The revelation sent a cold chill ricocheting down my spine. I couldn’t feel my feet, or my legs. I sank back onto the leather couch behind me and snapped my stunned mouth shut.

Made?

Rose turned on her heel and walked out of the room, her footsteps strangely silent on the hard stone floor.

I glanced at the Oracle Mother, weird to call her that, since she was barely five years older than I was. “M-made?” The word sputtered from my mouth. “Like we were a batch of cookies she whipped up? Am I the only one that feels this is unfair?”

“It’s time to grow up, Gretchen. We have a good life here. The Drakonae take care of us. Rose takes care of us. The whole town works to keeps Xerxes at bay so that we aren’t subjected to—”

“We’ve found two protectors in less than a year.”

“That was because our numbers were up, but then Arlea died. Cara had a stroke and passed away. Pythia passed as well. The loss of three adults was too much. My visions about the next Protector are sporadic at best, and rarely do I get any clarity in them.”

“What if it takes centuries to find the last two, and what really happens to us after the prophecy is fulfilled?”

“We will be free, Gretchen. Free of these visions that plague us, no one will hunt us, and no one else will have to die for us. We will be safe from Xerxes. That is our hope for the future, Gretchen. That is the legacy we want for all our children, for ourselves. You’re not the only one who would like to have a normal life…whatever that really means.”

She stood from the chair and bowed her head. “Please. Even if you were to love a supernatural, your lifespan pales in comparison. Would you put yourself through the pain of loving someone only to lose them when you grow old and die?”

“I would enjoy every moment I got. That’s what life is about. And life without love, the way we live it…I can’t do this.”

The Oracle’s blue eyes hardened, and her voice tempered sharply. “We love, Gretchen. We love each other, and we love our children. Our lives are not without love.” She made a growling huff of irritation at the end of her statement before leaving me alone in the room to stew in the guilt she and Rose had managed to stir to life.

I cared about my sisters. I knew they loved their children. And some of my sisters even created fantasy romance relationships around the men they chose to sleep with.

It wasn’t enough for me. Maybe it was for them. Maybe they were truly content with the status quo, but I wanted more.

I wanted Alek…even if we couldn’t have children.

Even if being with him was only a brief moment of bliss in his immortal lifetime.

It would be enough for me.

I could only hope it would be enough for him.

Chapter 5

ALEK

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