Page 31 of Mated to the Gargoyle
Mygaze drifted off. “Thatthere is only one perfect match for a shifter in the universe.Yourfated mate.Likea soul mate,Iguess.”Iheard the wistfulness in my tone.Wasthat somethingIeven believed existed?
Hugoadjusted in his chair, drawing my attention back to him.Heglanced down at the table.Thenhe lifted his gaze to meet mine once more. “Thenyes.”
Irubbed the space between my brows. “Whoa.”Althoughthe idea of it sounded utterly romantic in my books, the reality of hearing it in real life after all that happened was unbelievably intense.
Andterrifying.
Myheart started to pound and my palms grew hot and sweaty.
“Anya?” he voiced my name with concern. “Areyou all right?”
HUGO
Anyasquirmed in her chair. “Thatis—um—unexpected.”
Merde,Iwas losing her. “It’sokay,LittleSparrow.”Iattempted to soothe her.
Sheclosed her eyes and blew out a rough breath.Whenshe reopened them, she said, “It’sa lot to process.”
“Iunderstand.”Aftersqueezing her hand,Isaid, “Iknow you want answers.Youseek explanations and research is part of what drives you.”Whileshe listened, she appeared to search my eyes. “Butwe don’t have all the answers to all the mysteries in the universe.Sometimes, we might just need to be grateful for what it gives us.”
Herexpression twisted as if wrestling with whatIsaid. “Maybeyou’re right.I’ma researcher and spend my days pursuing answers.”Witha sheepish expression, she added, “Ican try to turn off the analytical side of me for now.”
Igrinned, grateful for her attempt to do so, and searched for something lighter to do. “Whenwe’re done having breakfast,Ican show you around.”
Shetook a couple of deep breaths and then forced a tentative smile. “Sure.”
AfterIcarried our dishes into the kitchen and rinsed them off, we walked out of my apartment and into the shared space.
“Manyof us have private apartments or rooms, but we all share the main areas.”Ipointed as we headed into the large living room area with two brown couches, recliners, and a large-screenTV.Asa high-ranking sentry,Ihad a bigger apartment with a private bathroom and kitchen area.Someof the newer ones had a room and used the bigger, shared kitchen space on each floor or shared bathrooms.
Sheglanced around, taking it in. “Doyou spend much time here?”
“No, not really.”
“Whynot?”Shecocked her head.
BecauseI’drather watch over you.Thatwould likely escalate her discomfort. “BecauseI’moften working.”
“Oh.”Shenodded.
Whenwe passed a sentry,Igreeted them and introduced her.Anyaappeared to take this more in stride.
Shehad the day off at the library, soIcould take my time showing her around.
“Come, see the view,”Isuggested.Althoughshe’d seen it from the terrace last night, it was quite different by day.
Weheaded onto the terrace, now warmed by sunlight that revealed more of the wrought-iron tables and chairs, plush patio furniture with brick-red cushions, and a glistening hot tub.
Shegaped as she turned around and took in the view ofMont-Royaland the city. “Wow,” she marveled. “It’sbreathtaking.”
Wespent the morning up there until the midday sun drove us inside.Afterlunch, she said, “HowdoIaccessAdelaide’sspace?”
“Why?”
“IthinkIneed to look into it more.Somuch of the text is written in languagesIdon’t understand, but maybe ifIcan decipher it, we can understand why the demons wanted it so badly.”
“Ifanyone can solve that mystery, it’s you,”Inoted with a proud smile.Withher researching skills, she’d be the best one to uncover it.
