Page 93 of Grotesque Love

Pulling Ari against me, I let her bury her head in my neck as I whisper against her hair. “I’m sorry.”

She sputters and coughs a little as she gasps for air. Tears stream down her cheeks as her small fingers dig into my back, holding me close.

Peppering her with kisses, I touch her as if to reassure myselfshe’s real and unharmed. “I’m sorry it took me so long. I’m here now.”

“Jas?” she croaks as she presses her lips against mine softly, arms coming around my neck. “Jas!”

Something hard hits me on the back of my head and I realise Carver has come around. I push Ari aside carefully so I can deal with her sick fuck of a step-father.

Carver stands with a crowbar in his hand, blood running down his face and dripping into his eye as he bares his teeth at me.

“What the fuck are you?”

“What does it look like, Lord Clifton?” I offer him a lazy grin as I spread my wings wide, taking up all the free space in the cavern. His gaze snags on my fangs.

His eyes widen and there’s this unhinged madness about the man that makes me cautious.

“Gargoyle.” He laughs, throwing his head back. It’s a manic sound that bubbles up his throat. “The Clifton curse. It’s real.”

I don’t know what the Clifton curse is, but I know he will never lay another hand on Ari. I will break every finger in his hand before he comes even a step closer.

“I’m a grotesque, you moron,” I hiss as he throws himself at me, swinging.

The steel tool hits the side of my head with more force than I’m expecting, but the idiot still hasn’t seemed to register that I am not human. I am not made of skin and bone. I am magic and mayhem. He charges, taking another swing and we grapple.

Folding my wings back in to avoid accidentally hurting Ari, I wrestle with the pathetic man. His third attack manages to chip my shoulder, barely a graze but Ari starts screaming for me, which seems to urge Carver on, energising him.

He is relentless in his next barrage of hits, smashing and swinging, only landing blows when I reign myself in to make sure Ari isn’t hurt in his attack.

What I don’t count on is Ari jumping on his back and clinging onto him like a limpet.

Carver isn’t expecting it either, and as she wraps her braid around his neck and pulls, using her body weight against him, it throws them both backwards onto the floor.

He thrashes for a moment, trying to escape her but she holds on, determined, and for a moment I just watch as she keeps her legs wrapped around his waist and her hair around his neck.

Freeing my wings again, I land on his chest, using my wings to keep my full weight off them but it’s enough to stop him from squirming and fighting her.

“You’re doing a good job, love,” I praise when her eyes meet mine over his shoulder. “A little more and he’ll pass out.”

She gives me a small nod and pulls tighter, the silvery blonde braid cutting into his neck as he gargles and his face turns red, and then slowly purple. Veins bulge in his head, and his eyes get wide and panicked before they shutter and close.

All the tension drains from his body as he loses consciousness, and when I’m convinced he’s out for the count, I help her untangle her braid from his neck and roll him off Ari.

She sits up and pushes her hair off her sweaty face with a laugh. A second later, the tears are flowing again and we both move at the same time.

Cuddled together on the bloody floor, I squeeze her tightly. “I’m so proud of you, little dove. My little fighter. A survivor.”

“I knew you’d come for me,” she says between sobs.

“Always.” I promise. “Love, we will always be there for you.”

SAX

“Fire!” I yell as we fly through the corridor, following Jas’ trail of destruction. There are splintered doors, smashed glass and torn paintings everywhere. But the chaos leads us to the secret passage hidden in a wall, leading underground.

I should have known Carver had hideaways in the house. TheClifton family had been committing treacherous acts for far too long to not have ways of hiding their proclivities. My chest tightens as I think about what sight is about to greet us, and I know Mal is the same because he’s practically pasted to my back as we follow the passage into a cavern.

Jas and Ari are locked in an embrace on the floor, his wings and tail wrapped around her, cocooning them. Shielding her. This is a room filled with death. There are body parts decaying in containers. Blood congealing on the walls. The floor. The altar. Tools, like knives and saws are rusted with old blood, hanging on hooks. And candles are everywhere, as if the orange glow could hide the evil.

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