Page 12 of Shattered Illusion

“I wish we could stay here all day, but Jasper is waiting for us.” He nods toward the front of the vehicle, drawing my eyes in that direction.

“What. The. Fuck. Is that a fucking castle?”

Another one of those carefree laughs echoes around the car, but I’m too dumbstruck to acknowledge or even appreciate it.

I wasn’t lying when I said castle. There’s no denying what’s right in front of my eyes. It looks straight out of freaking medieval times, with a dark stone exterior, turrets, and a wooden door that could double as a drawbridge.

Scrambling to sit up, I growl in annoyance as my seatbelt locks in place, holding me hostage. Axel laughs, this deep throaty sound, but I ignore his giggling ass. Stupid vampire. My cheeks puff out with a huff as I unbuckle it, then press my face to the window, taking it all in.

Oh my God. Is that…

“Axel.” I reach back without looking, smacking the man sitting next to me. “Axel… is that… a fucking gargoyle?!”

“Mhmmm,” he hums, amusement in his tone.

Without a word, I fumble the door open and jump out, racing for the main entry. I’ve always wanted to see a gargoyle up close. They’re one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. And it’s not like this one will know I’m checking him out. He won’t shed his stone until the sun goes down, so hopefully, I’ll be tucked away by then.

“Wow,” I whisper in awe, circling the massive stone creature. He’s freaking huge. At least seven feet tall, with dark wingstucked into his back, a tail curled around his leg, and horns on top of his head. The stone itself is almost life-like even in his form, all the veins and dips and crannies of his muscles so freaking well-defined.

My fingers brush across the stone of his wings, and I jump back with a squeak. “Holy shit.” The damn things just twitched. No. No. I shake my head. That’s impossible. He’s freaking stone. It’s just my imagination playing with me. It’s been a long day already, so I’m going to chalk it up to that.

Circling back around, I take a step back and look up, up, up. My gaze snags on the spiffy three-piece suit he’s wearing. Weird. I thought they wore loincloths or something like that. Oh well.

“So freaking cool,” I murmur, wishing he was crouched down so I could get a closer look.

“Well, thank you, little one,” a deep gravelly voice answers back.

“What the fuck!” I screech, scurrying away as fast as I can. My back slams into a hard body, making me scream as arms wrap around my waist, holding me immobile. My fight instincts kick into overdrive, my limbs flailing in every direction to dislodge the hold.

“Breathe,cor meum.” Cool lips brush the shell of my ear.“That’s only Jasper, the headmaster. He plays this joke on every new student.”

“Wha–what?” I stutter, the fight fleeing from me instantly. Leaving me to feel like I weigh a million pounds as I sag in Axel’s arms.

“I’m sorry, little one. If I’d known you were skittish like a little kitten, I wouldn’t have done that,” Jasper—the freakinggargoyleheadmaster—murmurs in that ‘I’ve been snacking on rocks’ voice. His wings flare out from his back, blocking the view of the castle as he eats up the distance between us.

Oh, hell no.Skittish freaking kitten?!Maybe it’s time for him to learn this so-called kitten has claws.

I disentangle myself from Axel’s arms, march right up to the overgrown rock bird, and jab my finger in his hard chest. “I am not a fucking kitten. I’m dangerous.” My words end in a growl that sounds pathetic, even to my own ears.

Jasper looks down at me from his towering height, then back at Axel before they both break out in fits of laughter. I can feel the rumbling sound shooting into my fingertip and shaking my entire body.

You know what? F-this noise. I’m out.

The laughing hyenas are too busy cackling to notice as I slip from between them and start marching back toward the car. This is all a freaking mistake. A nightmare. I’m going to wake up in my bed at any moment; I just know it.

A shadow blots out the sun before the earth shudders as Jasper drops down in front of me, halting my steps. His face is flushed as much as rock can be from laughing, but he’s schooled his expression once more like it was in his stone form.

“I’m sorry, Bailey. It’s been a tradition to do that since the veil fell. Will you give me another chance?” He holds out his massive hand, something akin to hope in his eyes. Green eyes. Just like I had before I went into the lagoon, but his are greener, closer to an emerald color whereas mine were more of a grassy hue.

Something deep inside me wants to trust him, give him another chance. But damn, if this is what I have to look forward to in the paranormal world, I don’t want to be here. I just want to go home. But no matter how much I wish this was a nightmare, I know it’s not. This is my reality now, and nothing is going to change it.

With a quick glance over my shoulder, I find Axel in the same spot, his hands tucked in his slack pockets, rocking on his heels.He gives me a small nod, telling me he heard what Jasper said. I’ve grown to partially trust Axel, even though he’s a supe. So, I can trust Jasper, too. Right?

“Fine,” I mutter, slapping my hand into his.

“Good, now hold on.”

“Wai—what?!” A scream peels from my lips as Jasper wraps a meaty, rock-hard arm around me and shoots into the air. Wind batters my face, making my eyes water as we gain altitude a fuckton quicker than a plane would. He shoots toward a balcony off the side of one of the turrets, leveling out quickly and landing smoothly.

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