Page 49 of My Guardian Gryphon

“Dude, you’re an idiot. No one can get out of Sanctuary. Are you forgetting the Lamassu-witch powered shield that is failing to keep out the fucking Djinn and traitorous asshole Lycans?”

An angry snarl tore from Alek’s mouth. “Fuck.” He tossed his uneaten half of the omelet into the sink. The pottery plate smashed into a dozen pieces, and I cringed.

“What barrier?” I whispered. The only barriers I knew of were the blue shields that guarded all the buildings. They prevented Djinn from teleporting in and out, but they didn’t keep anyone from walking in or out.

“More got in?” Alek asked, ignoring my question.

“Five are dead. Riley found them this morning. Throats were cut. Not a single one looked like they’d woken up.”

“How did they get in the house without waking someone? The teleporting barriers are still functioning.”

“Riley can’t figure it out. The door was jimmied, but it should’ve made enough noise to wake at least one person in the house. They murdered the kids, too, Alek.”

Bile burned the back of my throat. “Why aren’t we told about what’s going on outside in the town?” I spit the words out, angry that I’d been kept in the dark. I knew the town worked to keep us safe. I even knew that lives had been risked when Protectors were sought out and people left town, but I didn’t know the town itself was under attack or that children were dying… “How could she keep something like this from us?”

“Your Oracle knows.” Alek turned to me, his expression stark and cold. “Rose didn’t feel it was necessary to burden the rest of the Sisters with the knowledge of the war that has slowly made its way to Sanctuary’s door.”

Jared released a heavy sigh. “This is why Sanctuary has moved every few decades for as long as long as I can remember. We’ve been in this town over a hundred years. That’s a record. The longest we ever stayed in one place before settling here was the thirty years we spent in the Appalachian Mountains.”

“We’re all too settled.” Alek agreed. “There are so many people with us now, so many families. It was too hard to keep moving. That’s what Miles told me once, so we built the town, built the castle, and then enchanted everything to keep it safe and hidden from spells.”

“Even spells can be beaten, and Xerxes is tearing holes in the town barrier one right after another. You know I’m the last person who would tell you to leave your mate’s side, but the safest place for her is back inside with the Blackmoors.”

“No.” I stood abruptly from the barstool and stepped toward Alek. “I’m not leaving you. If I go back, I’ll never get out again.”

“How did you get out?” Jared narrowed his eyes, scrunching the middle of his forehead, like looking at me funny would solve the riddle.

“I climbed out of a window.”

“There aren’t any windows except on the—holy fuck.” He shook his head. “You’re as crazy as he is, and you’re human. How are you not black and blue and/or dead?” He stalked toward her, but Alek stepped in between them, blocking his friend.

“Leave her be.” Alek’s deep voice vibrated through the room.

“We need to go. Once they realize she’s missing, your ass is grass, and you know it. We have to fight the enemy at our door. If she doesn’t go back now, there’s no way you can protect her. Calliope and Rose reported sensing at least three Djinn in town, and that was an hour ago.”

“I thought Harrison was powering the spell while he was here. Shouldn’t it be stronger?”

“He says there are witches on the outside poking holes in it faster than he can patch them. The girls are worn out. They’ve barely slept in weeks.”

Alek nodded. “I know.” He glanced at me with a look that broke my heart. “Gretchen, I have some shorts in my dresser you can put on. Why don’t you get dressed, and then we’ll figure out what to do next.”

Pain gripped my lungs. I couldn’t speak. After everything—after last night—he was going to send me back to my cage. Back to a life dictated by a prophecy that meant nothing to me. We were vessels for the Lamassu to return home, for all supernaturals to get the hell off this planet and go back to the Veil or whatever the hell they called it. Alek cared about me. I knew he did, but when worse came to worse, he was a supernatural, and I was a human. We weren’t the same. We’d never be the same.

“Gretchen?” He put a hand on my shoulder, rubbing the marks with his thumb. A prickle of energy skimmed across my skin where he touched, and my whole body shuddered, reminded of the connection between us.

“I’m going. I get it.” I pulled away from him and disappeared down the hallway. Alek and Jared continued speaking about the crisis in town. Alek asked who the people were that died, and I took a gulp of air, closing the bedroom door behind me, muffling their conversation.

I found a pair of drawstring shorts in his dresser, slipped them on, and gathered and tied them tightly around my hips. Shoes would be nice, but right now, I just needed to get out and hide, I could worry about my feet later. Once I got out of town, I could hide among other humans. No one would ever be the wiser.

It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was better than going back to the castle. Leaving Alek would rip out my heart. Still, I couldn’t go back. If I did, I’d never get out. They’d never let me in the library again. Probably never let me out of the basement quarters. It would be worse than before.

I couldn’t do it.

I wouldn’t.

Jared and Alek were arguing about what to do next. They weren’t paying attention to me. It would hurt him that I left, but it would be better, easier. We’d had our perfect night. It could be enough. I would survive without him. I hoped.

The window in the bathroom unlatched easily. I pushed it up and jumped to the ground. The dry grass crunch beneath my feet, but there was no thundering voice yelling at me to stop. Neither of them had heard me leave, because they weren’t listening for it. I could still hear their stressed voices discussing the dead family of Lycans.

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