Page 21 of Let Go My Gargoyle
“Yeah, we have,” Ketu said, but before he could say any more, Antoinette started directing questions at Sofia.
“Your adopted daughter is a Daughter of Light? Did you know this?”
Sofia shook her head. “I…I didn’t know what she was at all. I actually thought she was a gargoyle.”
Griffin tensed, waiting for the accusatory looks, but none came. Apparently, she hadn’t told them that she’d believed Penelope was his child. Or, if she had, Antoinette and Ketu hadn’t made the connection that he wasthatgargoyle.
Antoinette jumped out of her seat and hurried over, reaching out and grabbing Sofia’s arm. “This is serious, Sofia. She could be in grave danger. If any warlocks find out about her existence, they will come after her.”
“I know. Well, I do now. That’s why we’re—”
“You need to come stay at the mansion, where I can ensure you are both protected.”
Griffin hadn’t seen that one coming. And yet it was the perfect solution, dropped right into his lap. He wouldn’t have to go to Oliver after all; he wouldn’t have to admit that he was in over his head and couldn’t handle his first assignment.
He wouldn’t be a failure.
Chapter Eight
Antoinette wouldn’t take no for an answer, no matter how much Sofia insisted she was fine. And Sofia couldn’t very well tell the reeve that going to her mansion would break the rules of the contract she signed with Darius.
Even Griffin was on Antoinette’s side. “It’s a good idea,” he said. “The two of you will be safe there.”
The first time her mother had moved without Sofia letting Darius know in advance, he’d shown up in their new living room while Sofia was home alone. She was fourteen and he’d already been bullying her for years.
He’d informed her that they weren’t allowed to make decisions without running them past him first, and then he’d shifted, right there in the middle of the house, his wings shattering windows and crashing through plaster and brick, the horns curled over his head pressing against the ceiling until the rafters cracked.
He’d returned to his human form, swiped plaster dust from his shirt, and meandered out the front door without so much as a backward glance.
The house had been rendered uninhabitable, and Sofia had been too afraid to tell her mother the truth, that the brother she wasn’t supposed to know about had paid a visit, and she’d been grounded for the entire summer because Mom had believed she’d been the one to change forms inside the house.
“Are you still planning to speak to Oliver?” she asked Griffin. Gods, she sounded like a frightened woman, which she hated, but she was also honest enough to admit that Darius scared her. That demonstration when he’d destroyed her mother’s house wasn’t the only time he’d tormented her because he didn’t like something she or her mother did—or didn’t do.
During her junior year in high school, he’d decided he wanted Sofia to help expand his dragon’s blood trade. He figured getting a bunch of teenagers addicted was a surefire way to ensure he had lifetime customers.
When she refused, he’d left without arguing or threatening her, but then, over the course of the next several weeks, he’d snuck into her bedroom and shredded all of her posters of her favorite boy bands, added something to her shampoo so that her hair started to fall out, somehow managed to download a virus onto her school-assigned laptop, which then spread throughout the building’s infrastructure, and started rumors about her sexual preferences, making sure all of her classmates were informed.
And she hadn’t even had sex yet!
Finally, she’d had enough, and, in a fit of fury, she threatened to go to Trennon Redd if he didn’t leave her alone.
He backed off and didn’t press her about dealing drugs again, but he still continued to torment her, and she’d been too afraid to use that threat again, mostly because she couldn’t imagine actually speaking to the man who was her father and didn’t even know it.
Griffin shook his head. “I don’t think it’s necessary anymore. Leaving you in the protection of a very capable colony of dragons is perfect.”
How the hell did he know they were “very capable?” Even Sofia knew precious little about them. Her mother hadn’t been part of the Rojo colony, and Darius had ensured that both mother and daughter maintained a healthy distance from the reeve while still keeping them close enough to be under his thumb.
She should have left New Orleans when he’d agreed to sign that contract. That’s what her mother had done. Except if Sofia had, what would have happened to Penelope? She had no idea how many gargoyles were in the world and whether they were stationed in every city; nor did she have any concept of where warlocks lived and how soon they might have become aware of Penelope’s existence.
At least now, Penelope would be trained appropriately to protect herself. Except this turn of events also meant Sofia was putting herself into danger. If Darius found out she was moving into the reeve’s mansion…
Hell, since Antoinette became reeve back in January, Sofia had deliberately avoided her. The women had been co-workers bordering on friends; two single mothers bonding over their shared desire to do right by their children.
Antoinette had been one of the first people Sofia had told when Griffin left Penelope with her. Antoinette had been a new mother herself, and Sofia had turned to her for guidance with figuring out what in the world to do with an infant.
Not that Antoinette had anything to do with Sofia’s relationship with the previous reeve, but it had struck Sofia as smart to keep her distance from anything associated with that position in the colony.
Antoinette relaxed her hold on Sofia’s arm. “We have plenty of room. And Henri will love having a friend around. Plus, there’s a half-witch living there, and as much of a pain in the ass as she is, she’s also extremely knowledgeable about her own kind, so she can answer any questions you have.”
