Page 18 of Secondhand Garagyre

“Ido not tell you this to earn your pity, or to make you feel sorry for me.Onlythat,Iam one of the few that can understand how you feel.Iknow of the bonds between twins.Ilayahanhas a twin sister.Whenmy mate died, her sister was never the same.Theonly reason she did not greet the sun is because of her mate.”

“What…what happened to her?” comes the hesitant question.

“AsIsaid,IlayahanandIwere both warriors in theLegionof theLight.Truthbe told, we were some of the most elite warriors in the entireLegion.Garagyre, my kind, are nocturnal…as were the creatures we hunted.Thesun is an enemy to us both.”

Ihesitate for a moment, uncertain how she will react to whatIam about to tell her, but an elbow nudges me, prodding me to continue.

Alow chuckle escapes me at her daringness before sobering.

“Demons.”

Chapter Twenty

LAITHOG

Theword is rippedfrom me, causing her unswollen eye to widen at my vehemence.

“Filthfrom below the surface of the earth.Ablight upon every being not of the underworld.Theyseek out all that is good, all that is pure, and they corrupt it.Theywish to envelop all the worlds in eternal darkness, to feed at their leisure.Humansare particularly easy prey.Yourspecies does not have any natural defenses.”

Raisingmy hand,Iextend my claws from my fingertips, making a visible point to her.Herhesitant nod spurs me forward. “Wewere winning.Betweenthe day walking species and others of my ilk at night, we were beating the demons back.Theygot no quarter as they gave none.Duringthe final battle,IlayahanandIwere cut off from the rest of theLegionin a purposeful move byRulzik.”

“Beforeyou ask,Rulzikis one of the demon generals.Anextremely old, powerful being from when the world was nothing more than a primordial concept the gods were toying with before they finished creation.Iknow not where the gods came from,butIknow that there are good gods, just asIknow there are evil gods.Rulzikwas created by evil.Heserved his master faithfully for eons, and was finally rewarded with the perfect mate.Ifpossible, she was far more viscous than he ever was…andIlayahanandIkilled her.”

Aquiet gasp is her only response.

“Ina last act of revenge,Rulziksuccessfully plotted to separateIlayahanandIfrom the rest of theLegion.Wewere overwhelmed, but we did not fall.Ifthere were two things my mate andIwere good at, it was fighting and fucking.”

Paisleysnickers at this and it makes me smile.

“Rulzikused his minions to create a diversion, while he approached, hidden from our eyes with cloaking magicks.”

Itake a deep breath, bracing myself for the next part.

“HebeheadedIlayahanin front of me.Ifelt her die.Feltas her soul was ripped from mine as it ascended to the afterlife.Watchedas her body turned to ash on the wind.Ido not recall what happened in the moments after that, but when finally came to my senses,Iwas surrounded by the corpses of countless demons, one of which wasRulzik.Ikilled that piece of filth, but it did not bring her back to me.Iquestioned whyIlived, when so many die with their bonded mate.Inmy grief,Iretreated from the world.Thatis, until a voice, laden with a familiar grief, reached out to me deep within mystoneslumber.”

WhenIlook down, much to my surprise, silent tears are running downPaisley’sface.Atrembling hand cups my jaw, her thumb whispering a caress against the ridges and scales found there. “Oh,Laithog.IknowI’vealready said this, and the words aren’tenough, butIam truly sorry for your suffering.Idon’t say this becauseIpity you, but becauseIfeel empathy for your pain.”

Shepauses, as if waffling with something difficult, before a glint comes to her beautiful eyes as she uses the hand on my jaw to tenderly pull my face down to hers and kisses me.

Chapter Twenty-One

PAISLEY

Idon’t knowwhat comes over me and makes me decide to kiss him.Ijust want to ease some of his pain.Thetormented expression on his face as he told me what happened to his mate shattered my already tattered heart.Iwould have to be made of stone to not of been affected by his story.

I’venever been in love soI’veno clue how devastated he must be.Inall the booksI’veread about fated mates, they go into such detail about how deeply bonded the two beings are.Asif they were two parts of one whole.Ifthe fictional bond is anything similar to the real life being before me…how does he function?

And…his other half was ripped from him by a being that cares for nothing except bringing about pain and destruction.Seekingonly to comfort him in one of the only waysIknow how,Ipull his face to mine and lightly press my lips to his, the caress a whisper of sensation causing awareness to ripple down my spine.

Hisentire body freezes as he allows me to lead in this dance.Imade the first move, and no matter the words he spoke to mein the library earlier,Ido not fear this male.Ithink he would sooner cut off one of his hands than harm me in any way.

Idon’t know howIknow that;Ijust know thatIdo.

Gatheringmy courage, mindful of his razor-sharp teeth,Iflick my tongue against the seam of his lips, a tentative query.Laithogparts his lips and kisses me back with restrained passion.Histongue gently plunders my mouth, sliding sinuously alongside my tongue, the sensation catching me by surprise.

WhatonEarth?

Histongue is textured!

---