Page 53 of Gaga for the Gargoyle
“Your hand, gargoyle king.”
I hold out the hand Mira marked after Locheran broke her out of the hospital and brought her to my penthouse. The sigil resembles an ‘s’ with a vertical line through the middle and a burstof light behind it.
“You live a life of darkness, but she is your light. She is the sun you will worship from now until death. Her mark will bring her back to life. Your mark will save her soul.”
I am the night, and Evangeline is my sun.
Mira places Evangeline’s hand on top of mine, lining up our marks. Light explodes from our embrace, similar to what happened at the warehouse with my brother.
After finding out Evangeline had been kidnapped, Thorne had stumbled upon my human assistants, left for dead near the dumpsters behind the hospital. Gary, who was barely conscious, managed to tell us they were attacked after dropping off Evangeline for her shift. They caught Elara and a gargoyle who looked a lot like me putting her inside the back of a van in an alleyway behind the hospital.
A gargoyle who looked like me? It had to be Magnus.
When Mira arrived, she used the tracking spell she laced throughout Evangeline’s hexafoil to pinpoint her location inside a warehouse in Red Hook.
Then she gave me my own mark, which was supposed to incapacitate Magnus so I could save Evangeline. Once she was safe and my brother captured, I had planned to hold him in a jail cell in the basement of Saint Basilica’s and let the Council of Gargoyle Elders decide what to do with him.
Magnus was stronger than we anticipated. Now he believes I’ve given him my royal powers over New York City. He’ll be furious once he finds out he doesn’t have the throne. He will fight to the death to claim it.
“You are giving her part of your life. You are the reason she will live,” Mira says, pulling me from my thoughts.
I canfeelthe energy coursing through my body and pouring into my mate.
“Speak to her. Convince her to come back.”
I palm her cheek with my free hand.
“Kitten, please,” I begin, tears claiming my voice. “You are the best thing to happen to me in all of my 999 years. You are the sun that doesn’t turn me to stone. You own my heart. You’ve had it since the first message on that damn dating app. Come back and let me cherish you the way you deserve. I love you.”
Evangeline gasps, and her body arches off the countertop. Her eyes pop open, and I release her hand.
“Kitten,” I whisper, lifting her off the island and cradling her in my arms. “Are you okay? How do you feel?”
“Like I was stabbed in the heart,” she mumbles, and I let out a bark of laughter.
She nearly dies, and she’s telling jokes? God, she’s perfect.
“I need water,” she croaks.
“I’ll get it,” Mira says, and Evangeline jerks her head to the sound of her mother’s voice.
“Mom?”
“Yes, Brownie, I’m here.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I broke her out of the hospital,” Locheran says, entering the penthouse with Thorne behind him.
“How?” Evangeline asks.
Locheran shrugs. “Easy. I showed them some fake credentials and told them we were moving her to a hospital here in Manhattan. I also forged your father’s signature to name you as your mother’s proxy. That way, you can release her to herself if you want.”
“And you just happen to have fake credentials lying around?” Evangeline asks with a snort.
“Of course.” Locheran shrugs. “Most supernaturals have many fake credentialsanddocuments.”
Evangeline squirms in my arms, and I reluctantly let her down. She hugs Locheran first, and he stills because I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone hug the gargoyle before. At least, not in a friendly sense.
