Page 42 of Cherished By the Gargoyle
Even if I cannot take Aurora as my mate… as long as I breathe, she is mine to protect.
CHAPTER 24
THALRIC
It’s been a long day’s journey. We’ve traveled far, and while I’ve scented no danger nearby, I must be sure. Our camp is deep enough in the woods that I don’t anticipate any trouble, but I will not risk Aurora’s safety. It’s nearly dark and I must be sure.
It doesn’t take me long to sweep the surrounding forest, checking for any sign of more tracks. Thank the gods, I found no fresh prints. No sign of Ogres, and no scent of beasts.
Relief flickers through me until I return to our camp and find it empty.
My heart slams in my ribs.Aurora is not here.
I told her to stay at camp. To stay where I could protect her.
My nostrils flare as I inhale deeply, scenting for any intruders, but all I detect is her—the smell of honeysuckle and lavender, faint and heading toward the water.
Panic ripples through me. She should not be out of my sight. Not when danger can wear a hundred shapes.
Rushing toward the water, I scan the riverbank until I see her boots abandoned near the reeds. Bare footprints vanish into the shallow water.
A sharp scream rips through the air and my wings snap wide as I lunge forward, crashing into the current without a second thought. The river swallows me in a surge of cold, but I don’t care as I see her, waist-deep, stumbling back, hands flailing.
I’m on her in an instant, curling my hands around her waist and dragging her against me. She wraps herself around me without hesitation, arms around my neck, legs circled tight at my hips.
“What happened?”
Her eyes are wide with fear as she trembles in my arms. “Something touched my leg.”
I bare my fangs in a feral snarl as I search the water for signs of a Kelpie or something else equally as dangerous. Whatever it is that tried to harm her, I will end it swiftly and without mercy. A flash of blue light ripples beneath the current before breaking through the surface.
It’s a pixie. It zips around us before darting back into the river.
“It’s alright, Auri,” I speak softly. “It’s only a Water Pixie.”
She relaxes in my arms, but she doesn’t let go as I carry her back toward the riverbank.
Mine.The thought burns through my veins as she clings to me, her warmth searing through the wet fabric of her shift that does nothing to hide the lush curves over her body.
My control frays as I struggle to fight the intense need to sink my fangs into her neck to give her my claiming mark, to brand her as mine forever.
But I cannot. Not if it means risking her future… allowing her to fall into an enchanted sleep with no way to break her curse.
When I haul her from the water, I cannot make myself loosen my hold even when we reach the campfire. Her entire body is shaking from the cold. I snatch a blanket, wrap it around her shoulders, and pull her against my chest, holding her close.
“You should have told me where you were going,” I rasp, scanning the woods around us. “This forest is not safe… there could have been a Kelpie in the water. We’re not in Oakvale anymore, Auri.”
“I know,” she murmurs, nestling deeper into my arms.
And gods help me, the only thought pounding through my head is the same relentless vow:Nothing will touch her. Not while I still breathe.
“You could have been taken.” My voice comes out a bit rougher than I intend, the predator’s edge that slips out when she is in danger. “You are not to go off by yourself.”
She twists her wet fingers into the blanket and looks up at me with that same stubborn expression I’ve seen dozens of times before. “I’m not a child, Thalric. I only wanted to wash before bed.” A small laugh, wind-broken, leaves her throat. “I didn’t think doing so would be dangerous.”
“You didn’t think it might be dangerous? Even though you know there are people hunting you?” I ask incredulously. I glance toward the dark line of trees. “There are tracks. Heavy prints. Ogres were in these woods only a few days ago. I barely managed to get you away from them when we were ambushed.”
I clench my jaw at the memory of her terrified scream. I’ve never been more panicked in all my life than when I saw that Ogre standing over her with a sword.
