Page 40 of Hearts of Stone

“Right.”

He offered me his arm and I took it. I had to reach up to place my hand upon it and it was dwarfed by his massive forearm, but he led me out of the chaotic kitchen and into the grounds.

“You are feeling overwhelmed,” he said.

We’d walked in silence for a few minutes and the further we got from the house, the easier it was to take a full breath. I ended up letting out a long sigh, then looking up at him.

“Yes, but that’s a pretty normal response, right? Weren’t all of your previous masters or mistresses the same?”

“Most of my masters knew what to expect when they came into possession of The Eyrie,” he replied, somewhat grimly. “They were taught how to awaken and command us by their fathers or their grandfathers.”

“The Whiteleys,” I said and he nodded.

“The lore was closely guarded, and so were we, until Madeline.” He stopped then and gazed down at me. “You’re very like her in some ways.”

“What was she like?” I asked.

“Fierce, full of life and joy, until she wasn’t.” His brow creased. “Master Kenneth loved her very much, right up until she was forced to flee.”

“With their child?” I shook my head. “Why did she leave?”

“My master was never one to deny himself any pleasure. Food, wine, drugs, women, men, he gorged on them all until he was forced to sleep, then started again the moment he awoke. The vice he loved most to indulge in was Madeline. But when she fell pregnant, she saw how things would be. Her child would be raised in a similar environment, with no boundaries, no sense of what was appropriate for a child. My master made clear that he would enjoy having an heir to initiate into his world.”

“Oh my god, that’s sick!” I said, pulling back. “So how did you guys fit in with that?”

“We did as we were commanded.” There seemed to be so much in that statement that I was reluctant to push further, and he nodded slowly in recognition. “But as his prized possession, Madeline was given the gift of being able to command us as well. She was a talented witch, her gifts something she discovered in this house, so when she discovered she was pregnant, she asked us to make it impossible for the master to find her. We did what she requested, and that’s how she was able to slip free.”

“But how didIwake you?” I asked. “I’m neither a rich man’s plaything, nor a witch.”

“Perhaps.” He reached across and grabbed both my hands in his, mine like a child’s in his palms. “But you are powerful.”

When he took a deep breath in, I found myself doing the same, and that’s when magic happened.

I’d awoken three gargoyles, so surely that was magic enough, but as we stood there, the wind played with his hair, brushing it back against his face and we both started to… glow. It was subtle at first. I was staring at him, so freaking tall, massive and inhuman looking so to see him turn from grey to silverish, that made sense. But when he smiled as his eyes moved across my body, I looked down.

My skin was getting paler and paler by the minute, not because I looked sickly, but due to a glow that seemed to come from within. I let out a little gasp, ready to pull away, but he held my hands more tightly. The glow got brighter and brighter all over my body, but it all seemed to radiate out from my heart.

“What…?”

It was more than just an optical effect. Something swelled inside me, almost like a wave of happiness, but somehow more tangible than that. I felt like I had when I’d led the walk out at the supermarket; like I could do any damn thing I wanted. Like I was shucking off the arsehole attitude of Trevor along with the ignominy of being forced to sleep on the couch in myown apartment; like everything bad in my life was burning away. When I pulled away from Graven’s hands, I half expected the light to fade, but it didn’t diminish for a second. Rather it grew as I held my hands together, growing brighter and brighter until it took shape.

If you know what a Patronus is, it was kind of like that. But I didn’t conjure a brave stag or a powerful eagle. Instead, a butterfly made of light formed in my cupped hands, flapping its wings before it took flight. I let out a little laugh of surprise as it fluttered upwards, then dissipated, turning to sparkles bright enough to rival the stars.

“This is your power,” he said. “And why do I think you’ve never seen it before?”

“No one’s ever seen me as powerful before.”

Saying that out loud was both sad and cathartic, at one and the same time. It was as though only now was it safe to articulate what I’d been feeling for months, maybe years. More golden light drifted off me, swirling in the breeze and up into the air, taking my pain with it.

“They will now,” he replied solemnly, as if his words had weight. “No one will ever mistake you for anything other than someone to be respected.” His arm went carefully around my shoulders and he pulled me close, wings snapping out to encase me again. “We will ensure the world knows your worth.”

And that was the most seductive thing anyone had said since the moment all of this crap had started.

Chapter 22

Carrick

“What is Graven doing with her?”

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