Page 59 of Gaga for the Gargoyle
“Yet he failed at the rest of his plan,” I seethe, still furious he hasn’t been caught.
“That reminds me,” Evangeline says. “Magnus said something about a vampire’s failed plan. What did he mean?”
“A rogue vampire recently went on a killing spree,” I begin. “His plan was to out our kind and rule over the human world.”
“Just like Magnus,” Evangeline hums.
“Yep,” I agree.
“Speaking of plans...what are we doing for the big one-oh-oh-oh, Xanny?” Locheran asks with a mouthful of coq au vin.
Evangeline begged me to make her my favorite meal. She’s devouring it, and pride swells in my chest. She loves a lot of the things I love, like gritty crime documentaries and reality TV shows.
It’s a guilty pleasure. They’re fun to watch.Humans are so ridiculous.
I pause with a forkful of food halfway to my mouth, and I realize I haven’t thought about how I’d celebrate my birthday because I convinced myself I wouldn’t live to see it.
I was preparing myself to die.
Evangeline must see the anguish on my face, or she likelyfeelsmy despair now that we’re bonded. She understands that I had lost hope and forgot to plan a simple celebration. She places her palm on my forearm and a wave of calm courses through my body.
Evangeline can naturally calm anyone she touches. It’s a little trick she inherited from her mother.
I asked Mira why I couldn’t sense this magic the night Evangeline and I met. The witch said it’s such a minor power that no supernatural being would have been able to detect it. She also believes the ability was dormant, andIwas the one to wake it up.
As if the magic within my own body called to Evangeline’s.
Mira also warned us that her daughter may have other gifts emerge over the next few decades, activated by the mystical force of the fated mate bond.
I’m eager to uncover them.
“Why don’t we plan a rooftop party?” Evangeline says, her voice bringing me back to the present.
“In October?” Locheran asks, scrunching up his nose.
“It might be a little chilly on October 25th, but as you know,Locheran, gargoyles don’t get cold.”
My best friend rolls his eyes at me.
“Besides,” Evangeline adds. “We could get those portable heaters for the humans, which would be me and maybe my bestie, Farrah. And I bet my mom would come too! It’ll be a personal and chill party. We could have barbecue, play some music and dance, and maybe we can get a projector up there and watchThe Godfather.”
A smile tugs at my lips. She remembered my favorite movie. Of course she did.
“I love this idea,” I say.
“Damn. So no strippers?” Locheran whines. “What about a nightclub at least? We could rent out the place and dance and get wasted off top shelf liquor.”
Evangeline snorts, not even phased by the man child gargoyle commander.
“When it’s your 1,000thbirthday,” she says, “we’ll do all those things, Loch.”
“Well, start planning. My birthday is January 10th.”
One second, we’re laughing and the next, an explosion rips through my living room. I’m knocked to the ground a few feet away. I push debris off me, violently coughingafter inhaling clouds of dust. My ears ring, mixed with the muffled wail of the building’s fire alarm.
“Evangeline!”
Splinters of glass and wood embed in my palms as I crawl around on the ground, searching for my mate.
