Page 68 of Incurably Cupid

When Mesmer lifted Selio again and sent himtwenty feetthrough another stone wall, I decided it was time to intervene.

“He's going to kill him,” I muttered.

“You think?” Mordecai gawked, visibly regretting every sarcastic remark he’d ever said to my mate.

I smirked. EvenIknew you didn’t mess with gargoyles. Strength, stamina, durability—they were nearly invincible in their stone form. And apparently, theyreallydidn’t like it when someone hurt their mates.

Selio staggered, looking dazed for the first time.

Mordecai and I seized the opportunity, blinking forward and slamming our glowing hands against him. I poured every bit of magic I had left into it. Mesmer stayed beside us, still in his stone form, watching like a sentry. His breathing was deep, his expression still furious. His hands brushed my back, grounding me and steadying me.

Finally, Selio slumped to the ground, unconscious, and Mordecai and I exhaled, our bodies sagging in relief.

I turned to my mate. “Go help Draven. We’ll take Selio to the U.”

Mesmer hesitated, his gaze dropping to my broken wrist. “But your hand...”

I cupped his stone face with my undamaged hand. “I’ll be fine We’ll get help when we get there.”

He closed his eyes and kissed me. I thought his stone lips would be rough, but they were smooth, like warm marble. “Stay safe,” he growled, before flying back into the other room and taking down three vampires who were trying to surround his king with a great roar that shook the foundations of the castle.

Mordecai and I activated our ether travel simultaneously, blinking onto Cupid University’s front lawns. The sun was bright overhead, a huge change from the darkness of the castle we’d just left behind.

Once the cupids noticed who we’d brought onto the grounds, they moved back, giving us space. My right wrist felt like knives were being jabbed into it—hot knives. I gritted my teeth. “Someone find Lyrica,” I growled at the cupids gawking at Selio.

I wasdonewith this day. I wanted my mate, pain meds, and sleep. In that order.

A few cupids flew off to get Lyrica, but they needn't have bothered, because she suddenly appeared beside us. Her gaze fell on the vampire at our feet.

“This is the one?” she asked.

Mordecai nodded, kicking Selio viciously, then wrapped his arm around me, letting me lean into him. "This is him."

Lyrica opened her mouth to say something but stopped when her gaze flicked to the wrist I was holding protectively to my chest. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and her eyes turned ice-cold. The glowing sparkles around her shifted to red.

I gasped as she lifted the vampire single-handedly and flew him to the tallest tower at Cupid U, the one that housed Mordecai’sStatistics of Loveclassroom. I flitted off the ground to follow her, needing to see this through. Mordecai and dozens of cupids on the lawn did the same as we trailed Lyrica upward. She secured Selio to the tower using her immensely powerful bonding magic, fastening him so that his arms were outstretched and attached to the structure, along with his body, legs, feet, andhead. Once he woke up—if he woke up after the beating Mesmer had given him—he wouldn’t be able to move a muscle, vampire or not.

The cupids surrounding Mordecai and me stared at the sight of the vampire pinned to the tower. Red glitter—the signature of Lyrica’s magic—oozed between the ancient vampire and the stone, gluing him in place more securely than any cement could.

Suddenly, Mesmer was flying beside me, his gaze fixed on the vampire stuck to the tower, his expression one of deep satisfaction. He was still in his stone form.

“This was a good plan, mate.”

And for the first time in my life, I blushed.

Huh. I guess cupids could blush.

Mesmer chuckled and kissed my nose. He was a skilled flyer, because as good as I was, I was exhausted. I probably looked like a drunk bumblebee who’d been out with the fellas at the pub all night.

Lyrica nodded in satisfaction, and we all made our way back to the front lawn of Cupid U. When I touched down, I moved into Mesmer’s arms, and he wrapped his massive wings around me, pulling me close to give me comfort.

My plan had been both easier and more difficult than I had anticipated. I was just glad it was mostly over.

“Is King Draven making his way up to the tower?”

I could feel Mesmer nod, even though I didn’t lift my head from his chest or open my eyes to look. “Yes,” he growled. “He’s going to have a chat with him.”

The last part of the plan involved a cupid waking Selio, and King Draven questioning him.

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