Page 40 of The Gargoyle's Glade
“Keeper?” I frowned.
“Maybe?” She squinted, listening. “Yes, that’s it. Keeper.”
“There’s not been one for eons. Are you sure?”
Greta shrugged. “That’s what he says. Belmont?” The bird tilted his head, using his one good eye to take in his mistress. “You and Archimedes weren’t drawn to come here, not like them. Why?” The knocking changed to trilling, then he went quiet. “I see.” She frowned, sagging a bit. “We should have been asking them more questions. I’m so sorry.”
“What did he say?”
“They were not drawn because they’re already bonded, but they would have been compelled to attend the ceremony out of respect.” Her eyes strayed to Merry and stayed there. “We failed her. All of us. She came to us, with that book. We knew she was starting to hear them speak to her, I should have thought to ask?—”
“She was regularly seeing Ophelia, living with her even, at first. There was no reason for you to interrogate your bird.”
“The moment she mentioned animals it should have occurred to one of us to check with them. So foolish.” She turned, hand trembling as she pointed at the vials and very efficiently instructed me on their use. “I’m sorry, Coltor. I promise we’ll do everything we can for her.”
I knew she meant it. I gave her a grateful nod, and she leaned in for a quick hug before she made her escape, the tension in her spine familiar as she strode away. Belmont took flight to chase after her. She was kin, after all, and I could recognize that particular brand of self-loathing-fueled anger anywhere. It was the kind that got things done. My sisters both looked much the same when similarly motivated.
Father was right, this family didn’t fail, and I was rapidly remembering that our circle included far more than the stone kin I was used to labeling with that word. A null, an earth witch, a human, and several demons had also joined the clan. Some very officially, in fact. Euphemia had put my father and Grace,Vassago and Greta, and Rylan and Calla all through the kin welcoming ceremony not so long ago.
I smiled and allowed hope to grow roots.
By the fourth night,I’d become unbearably restless.
Nothing had changed, and I was tired of just sitting around. I’d spent one whole evening trying and failing to produce a vision intentionally. I’d screamed my demands to the sky, insistent that I was owed a glimpse of what might happen from here. The Fates denied each and every request.
I had one last idea for something that might help her, not to mention several things I wanted to say tearing at my chest to get out. After everyone had gone their own way for the night, and my father was running my patrol, I scooped Merry and her blanket up in my arms and took her to the heart of the old castle, where the sparkling magic felt strongest.
I sat cross-legged with Merry in my lap, right where all the doorways were hidden in the fallen stones. As the warm, pleasant prickle of magic washed over us, I closed my eyes and just breathed with her, the slow pulse of her heartbeat matching mine.
After several minutes, her eyes opened, the deep brown orbs still gazing into the distance instead of at me, but it was something.
“This is King Emankor’s great hall.” I smirked, the notion amusing, considering it looked like nothing more than a few half-buried floor stones and rubble. “I like it here. Very much.” Merry’s rhythmic blinks gave away nothing, but I knew she was listening. I needed her to still be herself, and like the mundane narration of our daily activities, this felt like it mighthelp. “Belmont said something about you being Keeper, which is something I honestly believed to be long gone. Explains the animals, though.” I sighed. “I hate that everything happening to you right now is out of your control. Or mine. It’s all driven by the Fates, which seems terribly unfair. What if you don’t even want it?” I focused on the buzz of power along my skin, the chill of the stone underneath me. “Everything is so strange, Merry. Ophelia is still stone sleeping, and you’re not well.” I breathed in deeply, her scent and the tang of the magic filling my lungs as I donned my bravery. “I need you to come back to me, Firebird. It’s not right here without you.I’mnot rightwithout you.”
My father’s silhouette crossed above us, his wings out wide as he checked the boundaries of the ruins. A long breath leaked out of me, and I sagged, tightening my arms around her body, pulling her into me. Her head rested against my shoulder, her eyes on the sky.
“I’m a coward, Merry.” I closed my eyes, forehead against hers. “I should have told you things, but I didn’t know how. Not even when I was given a perfect opportunity. That day, when you touched my hand at d’Arcan, I had a vision. That’s why I visit Ophelia. She’s been helping me navigate this terrible new gift. I’m pretty hopeless so far at figuring it out. In that vision…” I swallowed. “I found you by the pools. You were dead.” I choked on my words. “That’s why I was so scared that day when you were only sleeping. I thought my worst fear had come true.
“But you were okay, and I got too comfortable. I decided maybe I’d just seen a different possible outcome, because I had a vision of Ophelia dead too, and she’s only stone sleeping.” I paused, realizing that Merry’s condition was not terribly different than stone sleep.
“There’s something more, and I shouldn’t tell you all this when you can’t respond to me, but like I said, I’m a coward. You’re special, Merry. A gift in your own right. I don’t know ifyour people have anything similar in their customs, but you are my mate. I can feel it in my bones.” I spread her hand flat over my heart and covered it with mine. “This is where the bond lives. And I…” Words failed, because what else could I say that would adequately explain such a thing? “Between the two things, plus everything else going on in the glade, I was scared. I still am, if I’m being honest, probably always will be. I know who you’re meant to be to me, what I can be to you, if you choose.” The stars twinkled above us, a cool breeze moving her curls. “The choiceisyours. If you don’t want this, I will understand, and that will be the end of it.” My heart cracked at the thought, but I meant every word.
“If you need some time, I would not begrudge you that either, of course. What you need, what you want, matters most, and too much has been required of you without your consent.” I leaned forward and kissed her forehead, the bond flaring hot. “It’s unfair to tell you all this now. I know that. But you needed to know. And no matter what your choice is, I will do anything I can to bring you back to yourself.”
Lighter for having said what I needed to, I shifted us around, using one of the old pillars as a backrest, and settled in. The breeze had kicked up, so I let my wings out, wrapping us up inside them. I didn’t want Merry to be cold.
Power continued to sparkle around us, the faint pulse of the ancient dwelling’s magic a steady beat through my body. I hoped it was doing the same in hers, that somehow, this magic would cure her. I nodded off, or I thought I had, when a vision burst through me, leaving fire in my veins.
She would be fine. She had to be. The Fates had gifted me a look into a future that was too beautiful to exist without her in it.
“Coltor?”The sweetest voice invaded my restless dreams, pulling me back to awareness.
Faint traces of orange predawn streaked the sky. Merry was still tucked into her blanket in my lap, my wings a protective shield around us both. But unlike the past several days, she was lookingatme.
My heart stuttered, and without any hesitation, I cupped her face in my palm. “Merry?”
“Hi.”
Joy bounced through me, I squeezed her tighter to my chest, dotting the side of her face with featherlight kisses. “There you are. I’ve been so worried. We all have.” She grimaced through a tight smile, and I tensed. “What do you need?”
