Page 59 of Cherished By the Gargoyle
There are far too many.
A massive shadow flies through the balcony doors. It takes me a moment to realize it’s Thalric as he barrels into the fray in a terrifying vision of fury.
He fights like a warrior possessed as the shadows swarm around him, snarling and clawing, his powerful claws ripping through their insubstantial forms. Ryllen attacks from the opposite side, shielding me from our attackers.
The shadow slashes out at him with dagger-sharp claws. He twists away, but not fast enough. He falls to one knee as another one stabs at his side in a spray of dark blood.
Ryllen cries out, pain flickering briefly across his face before he lifts his hand, magic flaring a moment before he sends it arcing toward the shadow creatures.
“Run, Aurora!” Ryllen shouts, his voice desperate as he struggles to remain standing. “Get out! Now!”
My heart leaps into my throat. Every instinct screams at me to flee, to save myself, but I can’t leave him. I won’t.
Glancing around frantically for anything I can use as a weapon, my gaze lands on the burning candle beside my bed, the flame flickering in the darkness. I notice none of the shadow creatures are anywhere near it.
Light. They must hate light.
Snatching it up, I race forward, planting myself defiantly between Ryllen and the shadow monsters.
The creatures hiss violently, flinching back from the lantern’s glow, their forms recoiling as I slowly advance. “Stay away from him!” I shout fiercely, driving them back with the brightness.
Ryllen staggers upright, pressing one hand to his bleeding chest, before sending another bolt of magic at the shadows.
Across the room, Thalric battles furiously, desperate to reach us.
Several Fae and human guards rush in, their swords already drawn as they charge into the chaos.
Holding the candle out before me, the shadows shrink away, their forms collapsing and dissolving under the light before finally disappearing entirely.
As soon as they’re gone, Thalric rushes forward, his powerful hands moving over me, searching for any sign of injury. “Are you hurt?” he asks, his expression full of panic. “Did they touch you?”
“I’m fine,” I reassure him even as I notice the blood dripping down his body. “But you’re not.”
“It’s nothing,” he insists, but the deep claw marks scored across his chest suggest otherwise. “I’ll heal.”
Thalric’s parents and mine rush over to us. “Are you alright?” my father asks.
I nod and then turn to Ryllen. His handsome features are pale as he presses a hand to his side to stem the bleeding from a gash along his torso. Despite the dark blood seeping between his fingers, he stares at me in concern. “Aurora, are you injured?”
My throat tightens with emotion. Ryllen would have sacrificed himself for me—a woman he barely knows. “I’m fine. But you—” I glance between him and Thalric—”both of you are hurt. You need to see the healer.”
“This was Malvara’s magic,” Fiora says darkly as she walks over to us. “I can smell the poison of her spell still in the air.”
“I sensed it in my chambers,” Ryllen adds. “A dark presence.” He looks at me. “I wasn’t sure what it was. But it’s what led me here.”
Lyria and Maribel cross the room. Lyria gasps when she sees Thalric and Ryllen’s injuries. “These will need healing balm,” she says. “Or else they will become infected.”
“The marks are already turning darker around the edges,” Maribel adds.
“Send for the healer!” Fiora commands one of the other guards. “Quickly!”
As we wait for the healer to arrive, I send a silent prayer of thanks to the gods for sparing their lives. I don’t know how she got past the castle wards and all the guards posted throughout,and I pray this is the last we’ve seen of Malvara’s dark magic, but something inside me tells me this may only be the beginning.
CHAPTER 38
THALRIC
Pain pulses through my chest, dull but persistent as the healer treats my wounds. The room is cool, scented faintly of lavender and mint.
