Page 10 of The Gargoyle's Grace
I could see the moment she changed her mind and decided to keep something she was about to tell me to herself. Frustration rippled down my spine, tugging at the parts of me that weren’t human at all. “Nothing. He’s not like you. I’m glad he’s not coming around here anymore. I don’t trust him.”
Her words dropped heavily between us as she turned to go inside the building. I was too stunned by the information to move. There was no reason for her to lie, but what she said didn’t make sense. Gaius was a general, just like I was. We had a long, storied history, though I wouldn’t call us friends. He had no reason to work for or otherwise engage with a mid-level criminal who catered to the humans of the city like Caster.
So why would he? And how had I not known about it?
Chapter5
Grace
Ileft Magnus staring after me and went inside the building. The infuriating man stood in the courtyard, frozen and slack-jawed long after the doors closed behind me. I probably should have felt bad about it. Instead, I reveled in having gotten the upper hand in our interaction, not to mention the last word.
After a quick check that the kitchen had been cleaned and closed down properly, I made my way upstairs. Unlike most of the staff, my rooms were part of a small annex just above the kitchen and dining room. At the top of the stairs was an open storage space where I kept extra dry goods and dishes. I loved the camouflage it provided; basically, nobody knew there was anything else up there. Down a short hall, behind the only door, was my apartment.
It was smaller than the units on the second and third floors, but it was all I needed. I only required somewhere to sleep and recharge myself, and the simple suite covered all my comfort necessities. I had a nook for my bed, a full bathroom with a glorious tub, and a small sitting area. It was perfect.
When the four sisters had first been brought to us, I’d debated moving into one of the newer apartments to be closer to them, but in the end, they’d told me if I was happy where I was that they’d be fine as long as they were together. I was glad for the enduring quiet, if I was being honest. I liked my private little hidden spot close enough to sneak down for a snack if I needed it but out of the way of student traffic. The heavy stone walls dampened all the noise as well. It was my own cozy little nook, and I loved it.
My shoes were the first thing to come off, then my cloak and gown. I all but dove into the tub once the water was running, not even waiting for it to fill first. The smell of cigars and desperation had to go. It clung to my hair and skin, making me feel as dirty as the money Lawrence traded around.
Less than a year and we’d be free. I only had to scrape together enough to make full payments until the end. I already had an idea for what I could do to supplement my income, though it meant less sleep and more secrets.
I leaned back in the hot water, rolling the events of the day around in my head as my muscles relaxed. Nothing had gone quite as I’d expected, especially the part where I ran into Magnus down in the Barrens.
He and I had a volatile chemistry that presented as friendly sarcasm most of the time. I knew he was a good man with a heart of solid gold. The friendship he and the archmage had went further back than I could even dream of conceptualizing, which told me all I needed to know. Rylan himself was a true gem, and any friend of his was alright in my book.
Behind my closed eyelids I pictured Magnus. While outwardly he looked to be vaguely middle-aged, I knew he was actually centuries old. In his human form, he was a towering, broadly built man with tanned skin and brown eyes. His dark hair had a gentle curl to it and often curtained his eyes since he didn’t cut it nearly as often as he should. He was objectively beautiful, and the multitude of scars and his crooked smile only enhanced his attractiveness.
In his stone form, he was even larger and somehow more handsome, both of which should have been impossible. I’d seen his wide bat-like wings with bone spear points at the end, fangs, and lions-paw feet plenty of times. While an imposing figure, he never frightened me. Quite the opposite, in fact. I worried that perhaps he should at least make me cautious when he was in his broad stone form with weapons built into parts of his body… but he was not like Gaius. I’d seen the way Magnus went out of his way to treat people with kindness and acceptance. Heard him speak lovingly of his children and the mate he’d lost well before I’d met him. Watched him pull Calla into his family, calling her his niece when their blood might not be the same at all.
The heart that beat in Magnus’s chest was undoubtedly soft… perhaps the only soft thing about him.
I shook myself out of the daydreamy state as the water started to cool and realized my hand had slid low on my stomach. I frowned at how easily I’d started to romanticize the bottomless pit of a man it was often my job to feed. The frustration he caused me by dropping in and out was not negligible. He required a separate food budget all to himself, and more than once, he and Rylan had roughhoused themselves through a number of student dining tables.
My mouth twitched into a smile as I mentally scolded them for being overgrown children. In truth, it was nice to see that side of such a man. Growing that old could leave a person entirely too serious.
I combed the snarls out of my hair after pulling on a nightgown, my memories happily replaying moments that featured Magnus. Exhaustion tugged at my limbs by the time I was finished brushing my teeth, my mind too tired to construct the story I might need around my best option for supplementing the payments for Lawrence.
As I lay in bed, cozy under what was an embarrassing number of blankets, I reminded myself not to worry, that there was a way. I’d figure it out. I always did.
* * *
A few days later,the archmage and his new wife departed the collegium for an extended vacation. They hadn’t taken a honeymoon right after their wedding since classes had still been in session. Now that it was summer and there were no students to worry about, and he’d finally given in to our collective insistence that it was okay for him to leave. I think it helped that both Rylan’s own brother, Vassago, and Magnus would both be around to keep an eye on things.
Vassago was much like the archmage, so planning for meals wouldn’t be difficult. He was kind enough, though he mostly kept to himself when he wasn’t practicing his mystical arts in one of the classrooms.
Magnus had an apartment in the faculty hall as well, but he only used it some of the time. He alternated between his apartment, sleeping up in the tower observatory, and some other location around the city I wasn’t privy to. His business kept him on the move, and it was none of mine.
With less demand on me in the evening, I could finally proceed with my plans to locate the men who’d kept me in the warehouse that day. Rylan would have either forbid it or tried to help, so with him gone, I felt safer putting my twofold plan into action without guilt or interference.
“After supper I need you to clean and close,” I instructed Sara. “Alright?”
She nodded, smiling at the implied increase responsibility. “Yes ma’am.”
“You and your sisters can take some snacks to your room, of course. Just be smart.”
“I understand, Ms. Grace.”
“Good girl. Make sure Bridget knows she can stop doing that wash once it’s time for dinner, okay? She doesn’t have to go back to finish. There’s always going to be more for her to do. Her poor little fingers are going to wrinkle up and fall off if she doesn’t give them a chance to dry out.”
