Page 83 of Cherished By the Gargoyle
A dull and heavy ache starts in my feet, working its way up my legs. I shift and wince slightly as pain shoots through my body.
Her eyes flash with concern. “Are you alright?” Auri starts to look down, but I cup her chin, tipping her face back up to mine. I can already feel my lower extremities hardening and I don’t want to waste a single moment. I want the last thing I see to be her lovely face.
“I’m fine,” I reassure her. “You’re what matters.”
She smiles again, soft and radiant, and for a heartbeat, everything else falls away. There’s only her, alive and warm in my arms.
Heaviness crawls up my body, the faint crackle of stone spreading like frost beneath my skin. The gemstone slips from my hands, landing on the floor with a soft chime.
I do my best to ignore the agonizing pain as a feeling of weight—cold, and certain, and final—moves through me.
I don’t look down. I can’t because Auri’s eyes are bright and full of life. She’s smiling through tears, whispering my name like it’s a prayer.
I could tell her. I could warn her. But not yet.
Not while she’s looking at me with love so fierce it could light the stars.
The stone creeps higher as I tuck her closer, burying my face in her hair, breathing her in one last time. “You are my heart.” My voice cracks as I whisper against her skin. “I love you, my savryl.”
CHAPTER 55
AURORA
Thalric’s golden eyes stare deep into mine, fierce devotion etched into every line of his handsome face. His strong arms gather me close, wrapping around me with such care, as though he fears I might shatter. The masculine scent of him—stone and rain—fills my lungs.
“I thought I lost you,” I whisper, pressing my face into the warm curve of his neck as I cling to him. “I tried to warn you. At Malvara’s castle, I saw you. The Ogre—” I swallow hard, remembering the terror. “I fought her magic and found my way to you… but I couldn’t stay. As I felt myself fading back into an enchanted sleep, I prayed that you’d survive.”
He emits a soothing purr as he tightens his arms around me. “Your warning saved us, Auri.”
“I love you so much,” I whisper against his chest. “Please, don’t push me away again, Thalric. I don’t want to be without you.”
A low mournful sound rises in his throat, and when he pulls back to look at me, his eyes are glistening with unshed tears. “I’m sorry, Auri.”
“For what?”
Movement draws my attention behind him. Ryllen stands there quietly. His gaze holds mine for a heartbeat, guilt and sadness easily read in his features.
Thalric pulls back just enough to cup my face, brushing his thumb over my cheek. “I made a choice,” he whispers. “I had to. To wake you.”
“What choice?” Confusion flickers through me, unease rising sharply. “What are you talking about?”
A sharp hiss of pain escapes him, cutting through the quiet like the snap of a blade, and Thalric’s shoulders jerk as though struck. His wings twitch and then snap tight against his back. His breath rushes out between clenched teeth, a low, strangled sound that isn’t quite a groan but something he’s fighting to swallow.
My heart stutters. “Thalric?”
He doesn’t answer, jaw flexing as he drags in another breath through his nose, slow and controlled, as if he’s holding back pain.
“What’s wrong?” Panic floods my veins as I look down at his body. His legs are solid, unmoving stone. My eyes widen as it slowly climbs higher. “No,” I cry out. “I don’t understand. Why is this happening?”
“I had no choice,” he says, voice rough with emotion. “It was the only way to save you. You were dying, and I couldn’t lose you.”
Tears spill hot down my cheeks as my fingers clutch at him helplessly, as though I can somehow stop the stone from claiming him. “No, there has to be another way. Ryllen!” I look at him, pleading. “Help him! Please!”
“I’m sorry, Aurora.” He gives me a pained look. “There’s nothing to be done.”
“Please,” I whisper, cupping Thalric’s face in my trembling hands. “You swore you’d always be with me. Please don’t do this.”
His gaze holds mine, full of sadness. “You know I wouldn’t leave you if there was another way. But it was my life or yours… there was never any question, Auri.”
