Page 35 of Mated to the Gargoyle
HUGO
Istood on watch perched outside the library while my shell stood empty inside.WhowasIkidding?Ifelt as empty inside as my stone shell.I’dswitched positions withLucwhileMarchad a break from duty.Icouldn’t bear to be so close toAnyaand see her look at me with terror eclipsing her eyes once more.Shefeared me.
Alight rain cooled my stone.Refreshing, but too bad it couldn’t wash away my anguish.Thecloseness to her was too brutal.Thedistance from her too far.
EventhoughIknewIcouldn’t expect her to accept me as her mate, that didn’t make her departure any easier to bear.Whenshe ran from me, it hit me like a wrecking ball.Theacute agony of her retreat sliced through me as easily as a pebble sinking into the ocean.Theemotional overwhelm on her face had said what she hadn’t spoken aloud.
Itwas all too much for her.
AndifIwas truthful, it was almost too much for me as well.Discoveringthat she’d been the infantI’dsaved from the house fire, but thatI’dbeen unable to save her parents, had been a guilt that gnawed on me for years.HowcouldIbear to see whatIhad done every day, knowing that my failure was the reason she grew up without a family?
Becauseshe’s the one for you.Yourmate.
No.Thatbond was yet more torment.
Ishould have known it would be impossible to be mates with a human.
Wait,Ididknow.I’dexpected this from the start.Sowhy wasIreacting like this sting was a fresh wound?Shewas human,Iwas a gargoyle.Ourworlds didn’t mesh.Wehid in plain sight from them for a reason.They’dfear us, just as was proven from the first momentAnyasaw thatIwas a real, living being.Wewere too different.
Althoughwe devoted our lives to protecting the world, including the humans who inhabited it, they’d never welcome us as an ally.Neveraccept and co-exist with us.Humanswere frightened by what they didn’t understand.Andwhen they feared something, they considered it a threat and attempted to destroy it.
Justlike how it felt now with her destroying my heart.Iknew it would happen, and yet still hadn’t prepared myself adequately when it did.
Dumontcut into my internal anguish with a message for all the sentries.
Fromsurveillance with other teams, we believe we’ve identified who was behind the fire.
Aftera few heart-pounding seconds without further details,Iprodded,Who?
Asorcerer who’d been on the move in the south ofFrance.Anextremely powerful one who goes by the nameCalix.He’scaused damage and chaos inEuropeand had been unseen for months now, until resurfacing inQuebecin recent weeks.Hecraves power and delves into dark, dangerous magic to get it.
Mymouth soured.Thosewho pursued greater power often went to extremes to achieve their goals, destroying anyone or anything in the process.Andeven if they achieved their goals, their victory was a hollow, empty end.Thezeroes in their bank accounts provided zero satisfaction.Theirsouls were dark and unfulfilled.Mistrustof others and loneliness led to an empty life and meaningless death.
Myresolve hardened.Asmuch as it killed me to be this close toAnya, knowing she didn’t want me,Icouldn’t leave her unprotected.I’ddo anything and destroy anyone to protect my mate.
CHAPTER14
ANYA
AsIsat at the reference desk, regrets seeped in.HadIoverreacted by running away from him?Hearinghim tell meIwas his mate had signaled the start of my freakout, but learning that he’d been the one who’d rescued me from the fire, yet been unable to save my parents, triggered it fully.Theconnections between us were so significant, dating back decades.AlthoughHugobelieved in mates,Iwasn’t sureIdid.Yet, nowIstarted to wonder.
HadImade a mistake by fleeing from something that could be so magical?Somethingmany go through their lives seeking, and yet,I’dturned on it?
AfterIlocked the library,Iheaded over to the stacks whereHugohad showed me how to accessAdelaide’shidden space.Irecalled him telling me which books to move.AsIpulled them out, anticipation rushed through my veins.Wouldit work?
Whenthe bookcase began to move,Ilet out a small squeal of joy and surprise.ThenIstepped intoAdelaide’shidden world.Booksand magical components.Myfingers cruised over the spines and then the baubles with mysterious contents within.
ThenIpulled out the book and sat on the burgundy velvet sofa.AfterIopened the book,Iflipped through the sections.ShouldItry a simple spell?Whynot?
Iscanned pages with shorter spells that didn’t require too many ingredients, and whichIcould understand the language.First,I’dtry a basic protection spell.Itrequired sage and salt and a circle.Ifollowed instructions on clearing my mind and setting my intention, and thenIburned the sage, drawing the unique-scenting smoke to the four corners of the attic space to represent the elements of earth, air, fire, and water.OnceIfinished it,Inodded with satisfaction.Eventhe basic steps of following a procedure and breathing in the sage made me feel accomplished.
Thenext spellItried was to move an object.Nowthis would be more complicated.WouldIreally be able to move something?Mightas well try.Icentered myself, focusing on my inner energy, and then drew on it to move a book.Whenthe book slid from one side of the table to the other,Isquealed in bewilderment and delight.
Ipracticed several more basic spells in the book until my eyes grew tired.Perhapsthat was enough for one day.WhenIpicked up the grimoire to return it to the bookshelf, a cream-colored envelope fell out of it.Itdidn’t fall to the ground, though, but floated up toward my face.Whaton earth?Igrabbed it from the air.HowhadInot seen that before?Itseemed to move as if by—by magic.
AsIheld it in my hand, letters in black cursive appeared faintly on the front of it.Thenthey darkened to read “Anya.”
Myname?
