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“Rhys...” I breathed out his name, hoping it would prompt him to reveal something more about himself.
“Stay safe, little one,” Rhys murmured in a velvety voice, his words carried away by the whispering wind. Suddenly, without warning, Rhys leapt into the air, his powerful wings unfurling in one swift motion with the boom of thunder. He soared upwards, his silhouette illuminated by the moon’s ethereal glow. I couldn’t help but watch as he disappeared into the night sky, captivated by the enigma that was this mysterious gargoyle who’d saved my life.
I stood frozen even after the final swish of Rhys’ cloak had long since faded, struggling to steady my rattled nerves. He had vanished as quickly as he’d appeared, leaving no hint of his identity, save a name.
A cool breeze lashed through the ramparts, shooting a shiver through my being. Drawing my cloak tight, I moved across the silent walkway, my footsteps echoing loudly in the stillness.
When I reached the tower, I halted.
“Two hundred and sixteen steps down back to my dorm,” I mumbled as I peered into the staircase. “Just when I thought tonight couldn’t get any more exciting.”
CHAPTER4
Rhys
I was perched highatop the academy’s battlements, brooding over my disappointing encounter with the wicked sorcerer—a trickster, like all the others. Dark thoughts consumed me as I gazed sightlessly over the moonlit grounds when a flash of movement caught my eye. I glanced down to see a lone figure passing through the courtyard below. She walked with grace; her cloak billowing softly around her. Frosty long hair glistened in the night as she lifted her face.
My heart skipped a beat. It was Seraphina Silvermist. My pulse quickened at the mere sight of her, my own troubles momentarily forgotten. I took in every detail—her porcelain skin, the full curve of her lips, those penetrating storm cloud eyes… I desperately wished I’d stayed at the pub with Sera instead of meeting that charlatan sorcerer. Dancing with her sensuous form in my arms would have been infinitely preferable to clinging uselessly to false hopes. I imagined the feel of her hand resting delicately in mine, our bodies swaying together to soft music. The very thought left me breathless.
Abruptly, a cracking sound split the stillness—the unmistakable groan of straining stone. My eyes darted up in time to see one of the smaller gargoyles breaking free from its perch, directly above where Seraphina now stood.
I reacted on sheer instinct, launching myself from the parapet and shifting mid-air before I even realized what I was doing. My stone claws grasped her curvy frame, and I unfurled my wings, beating hard to propel us upward fast.
Seraphina clung to me, her face buried against my chest as I spiraled skyward. With a powerful backstroke, I alighted gently on the parapet, well clear of the falling statue’s impact far below.
We landed atop the shadowed battlements, Seraphina’s racing heart still pressed to my granite chest. As she gazed up at me with those luminous eyes, I found myself frozen, struck mute.
She was exquisite, a vision bathed in moonlight. I’d never seen anyone so beautiful. Her wide eyes held no fear as she gazed up at me in wonder, only curiosity and something deeper I dared not name.
Up close, her beauty was even more staggering. The moon’s silver beams caressed her porcelain skin and brought out pale blue hints in her snowy hair. Her pink lips parted in wonder, and I ached to taste their soft fullness. The pure light within her relentlessly called to my darkness.
I reluctantly released her, even that simple touch threatening to undo my self-control completely. As I retreated to the shadows, I knew one truth—I was utterly, hopelessly lost to this girl. She had awoken in me a fierceness of need that would not be denied.
When she lifted her hand to gently touch my cheek, I could not pull away. Her warmth seeped into my cold stone flesh, thawing the ice around my heart. For a blissful moment, it was just the two of us under the stars, guarded by the clear full moon.
But I could not linger in paradise. She was a flame that would gut me if I drew too close. As much as it pained me, I turned and melted into the shadows before my body betrayed my longing.
Her pristine voice called out in gratitude—a sweet torture. The sound was music, even filled with trepidation. I had to clench my fists to keep from reaching for her. She was light; I was darkness—I reminded myself. My monstrous desire would shatter her innocence.
To see her lovely face twisted in confusion as I remained silent, shredded my soul. But it was better this way, no matter how she pleaded to know my name. I was cursed to remain forever apart.
Yet I could not stop myself from answering her final query. “Rhys,” I forced out gruffly, the single word almost too much. The light in her eyes seared me. I had to go.
With a final warning for her safety, I took flight, putting distance between us at last—though she still permeated every fiber of my being. She was my forbidden desire, my solace and torment. I could never have her.
Back in my lonely tower, I paced restlessly, unable to banish thoughts of her. Seraphina Silvermist had awakened in me longings I believed safely buried.
Pausing at the open window, I gazed sightlessly over the slumbering grounds. Graduation and my stony fate drew inexorably closer. I had no right to drag an innocent into that hopeless abyss with me.
It was a lesson etched painfully into memory—the price of rejecting a witch’s heart came steep indeed. Back then, I was a brash youth, newly enrolled at the academy. I remembered that fateful night, when standing beneath the blood moon, a beautiful sorceress confessed she’d developed an intense affection for me. I kindly explained I could not reciprocate her romantic feelings, but my gentle honesty wounded her pride.
“Your heart is truly made of stone, Rhys,”she pronounced bitterly.“It’s only fitting you should match it in flesh and spirit… permanently.”
In vengeance, she cursed me—to turn into solid rock upon graduation, forever frozen in place. Though a gargoyle already, her wicked spell would seal me into an eternal prison, devoid of any movement. Almost six years later, her vicious spell still weaved its workings through my marrow, binding my monstrous form in fate’s merciless knots.
So, no. I could not risk tainting Seraphina’s pure spirit with my grim destiny closing in.
“It’s better this way,” I whispered into the darkness. With no cure forthcoming, Seraphina was a dangerous temptation I could ill afford. Her beauty would be my undoing if I dared reach for it. Safer to admire her radiance from afar, no matter how my traitorous heart ached.
