Page 21 of The Gargoyle's Grace
“She is my soul mate, Gaius,” I said, landing a solid punch to his nose thanks to his shock. Blood sprayed across his cheek, but he didn’t so much as flinch.
“You’re lying!”
“I’m not.” I had a love-hate relationship with the words I said next. “I’ve already claimed her.”
His fists fell to his sides, the fight leaking out of him abruptly. My old comrade was not himself, not by a long shot.
“You had a revered stone kin warrior for a wife, all those years. Your fated mate, correct? As a pair you produced many children. And now you get the cook as a soul mate as well?” His face crumpled in disgust.
Guilt prickled. I knew it wasn’t fair. Gaius had never mated, not in hundreds of years. I’d never known him to be lonely nor jealous. But it seemed there was plenty about him I didn’t know… or simply hadn’t noticed.
I could easily understand feeling slighted over the situation. I knew how rare it was for me to have been gifted both. Grace was unexpected but so very welcome, and that irritated him to the point of throwing another swing at my face when I asked, “Are you well, Gaius?”
“I’mfine.” He struck out, glancing a hit off my temple, but I was able to dance out of his reach.
“You don’t seem like it. You are acting out of sorts. We don’t treat women the way you just described Grace. Like an object to be obtained. To be bought off after being left to toil only to suffer further under a new master. Women are honored and revered by our kind, yes? Not to mention the fact that you’re a stone kin general moonlighting as a criminal’s personal bodyguard. For what? Money? For fun? It is not logical. It is beneath you, Gaius.”
We both stopped moving as he sagged, shaking his head. The crowd that had gathered dispersed quickly when he started to make eye contact with the gawkers. “I did not intend to treat her that way. I would have been kind to her. Generous.”
“Nothing was stopping you from doing that from the start.”
His eye twitched, and I knew I’d hit my mark. “We all have our roles to play,” Gaius said calmly, swiping the blood from below his nose with the side of his hand. “Don’t you agree, General?”
Ice surged through my veins, cooling my anger. “What’s that supposed to mean, Gaius? Speak plainly.”
“It’s just that we all have certain paths to walk in order to accomplish the tasks set forth for us by those in control. Those with the power. I’m sure you know that as well as I do.”
“As a general, youarethe one in power. You get to choose many things.”
“This is true. And as such, there are a multitude of others that are out of my hands. I am doing myjob, as you are.” He emphasized the word intently, and I understood. He was either undercover working for Caster or doing a very good job of pretending that was the case. “Besides, we do not all have an archmage with other special abilities in our back pocket to wield against the enemy.”
I stared at him, seeing traces of weariness in his features for the first time. I did know that we all played our part, but the cryptic way he discussed such things made me wary. And I didn’t appreciate the way he spoke of Rylan, though I understood some of the bitterness. There were many of our kind who still thought of him as the enemy, just another demon to be destroyed like the troublesome lower-level hordes that were our common foe.
“It doesn’t have to be us against each other,” I suggested. “That only benefits them.” I wasn’t even certain whotheywere, but I could guess it was someone on the council.
It was too uncomfortable to think that it was the council as a whole, but I couldn’t rule out that possibility either. I was beginning to see many things they were responsible for that didn’t line up with the rhetoric they loved to spew. “What would happen if I reported you and those boys to the council?” I asked.
“It would be a complete waste of your time to report something they have duly sanctioned.”
I stiffened. They were planted intentionally then. I no longer believed I could fully trust a soul who held a seat at the council table if that were true.
Gaius, looking defeated, stared off into the distance.
“I’m here,” I offered. “When you’re ready to talk. The observatory is always open to you. To them.” I waved an arm in the vague direction of the Collegium d’Arcan. “There are many things we could come to an agreement about, I think.”
For centuries, we’d known one another. All that time I’d thought we were much the same. I was beginning to see that we didn’t really know each other at all. It was a realization that left me thoroughly discomforted. Too many things had gone unnoticed for too many years.
“You should set that nose,” I smirked. “It’s gone more crooked than normal.”
“Fuck off.” His mouth twitched, and he crossed his arms to stop himself from doing just that.
“Fair enough. My offer stands.”
He gave a short nod before stomping back into Caster’s shoddy office.
I patted the pocket where I’d shoved Grace’s jewelry, ensuring it was still where it should be before starting off toward the vendors I’d originally intended to visit.
My afternoon may have taken an abrupt turn, but I had plans to complete. I’d be damned if a little political strife and a fistfight with an old comrade would derail me.
