Page 58 of The Gargoyle in the College

“Hey!” I turn around and sneer at him. But his proud smirk grows. I hiss at him. “Stop that. You just want to tease me.”

“Probably. We’ll just give it a try, okay? If you don’t like it, we’ll stop.”

“Stopping mid-air?”

“Well, stop when we land as soon as possible and when you decide that flying isn’t for you.”

“You have to hold me tight.”

“You bet. I’m not letting my mate die. It’d be a shame.”

I take a breath. “Just so you know. I’m the one who doesn’t even dare to play those games in amusement parks.”

“Flying’s not like that anyway. We don’t have to do abrupt turns and dives if you don’t want to. It’s like riding a car, just that we’ll be in the sky.”

“Okay...” I close my eyes. “Maybe before I’ll change my mind.”

He wraps his arms tighter around me. “Let’s go.”

He jumps and so does my heart. I’m in the air and...

No, I’m not falling. But I don’t dare to open my eyes. I shiver as the wind gets stronger. Maybe that’s from his wings.

He kisses the back of my neck. “Open your eyes, everything’s fine.”

I hold on to his arms on my body. One of his arms wraps around my chest, one around my waist, which feels safe, except not really. He wraps his tail around me, which… I guess is safer thannothing. I open one eye, even though that’s no different from opening both.

I’m... in the sky... We’re above the city center, flying so high in the sky that the buildings are small dots. The lights from the city merge into blobs. I take a breath, which isn’t easy when he’s holding tightly onto me.

“Look over there.” He points at something while I scream. He groans. “Come on... I have two arms. There’s still one holding on to you. And trust me, of all things, you aren’t that heavy.”

I gasp, trying to steady myself. “Someone should invent a safety seatbelt.”

“For flying with a gargoyle who loves you? My arms and tail aren’t safe enough for you?”

“For flying with— Oh! Fuck!”

We are falling out of the sky, and we aren’t getting up there! Wing blows against my face as we drop. “Gisett! Fuck!”

He laughs and we are soon stabilized in the sky. “I’m in total control of this. Don’t worry. Just enjoy the view, okay?”

“You just said we don’t have to do the dives!”

At least he’s the one holding me instead of me holding onto him. My limbs are all mushy like jelly, which isn’t going to hold on to anything and I’d be dead soon enough.

He chuckles. “Is it that scary?”

“You have wings, I don’t. It’s always going to be scary.”

He flips over in the sky and puts me on him. “Does this feel better?”

I wrap my arms around him at once. It may feel safer with him under me, but we’re still in the sky, so that’s not safe at all. “Don’t let go of me.”

“I won’t. I want you to be able to enjoy the city.” he flaps his wings as we glide through the sky.

My heart keeps racing, and I can’t focus on anything other than holding tightly onto him. “This isn’t what I expected when I decided to be your mate.”

“I’m a gargoyle, so this.”

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