“You want the wings?” He flipped us so he was on top, then flexed his shoulders, and his wings unfurled once more, curling around us and cocooning us in our own dark little world.
I reached up and ran my fingertips along the inside edges, making him shiver.
“You havenoidea what that does to me,” he growled.
“Is it like that with everything that touches you? The breeze? Another person?”
“Breeze feels nice, sure. But it ain’t got shit on you, Haley. It’s you. Your touch, your… your everything. I can’t explain it.”
“Does it—”
The sound of another pair of wings fluttering—not Hudson’s—cut off my words.
I lifted my head with a start, shocked to find one of Keradoc’s gargoyles standing on the balcony and glaring down at us, supremely annoyed.
And I was pretty sure he was one of the assholes who’d shot magickal arrows at us the night Hudson had pulled me out of the Sanctuary.
Before I could even grab my clothes and cover up, Hudson had already gotten to his feet and shifted into his warrior form. His wings blocked me from view, and I stood up and tugged on my clothes, more than ready to push this asshole off the balcony.
“Stay behind me, babygirl,” Hudson whispered. His voice was soft, but the warning in his tone sent a chill skittering down my spine.
The other gargoyle lifted his hands, as if to show he meant no harm. “Relax. I’m here on official Midnight business.”
“Tell Keradoc I’m busy,” I snapped.Shit. Things were just getting good out here, too. Well, goodagain.
“Keradoc is in a meeting with his generals,” he said. “I’m here at the behest of Gem.”
“Gem?” I laughed, shifting to stand in front of Hudson. “You can tellherto fuck right off the edge of—”
“It’s the vampire-fae, Miss Barnes. There’s been an incident at the facility. He’s… not well.”
Alarm shot through my veins. “Elian? What happened?”
“I don’t know the details. I was asked to find you and bring you back.”
“Gem?” I asked. “Gem asked you to find me?”
“Gem and the one-eyed demon both. The demon told me I’d likely have trouble convincing you it was a legitimate request, so he sent a message. Something about the saint needing his little sparrow, and it’s time to make the choice—stay or go. I assume you know what that means?”
I looked at Hudson, and my gargoyle mate nodded, no questions asked. No debate.
“It means,” I said to the guard as Hudson scooped me into his arms, “we’re going. Step aside—I’ve got my own ride.”
31
KERADOC
Weeks ago, I demanded regular reports from the Road of Silence. And in all that time, my highest-ranking officers have provided little more than shrugs and guesswork.” I tossed the papers across the table, shaking my head.
More reports. More bullshit. More empty words that would never help us win this war.
“It appears the Darkwinter fae are lying low, sir,” the general said.
“Itappears? Or it isfact? Only one of those things is even remotely useful to me. Care to guess which one?”
“Facts, sir.”
“Yes. Facts. So if you do not have facts to provide, thenyouare not useful to me either. Dismissed.”
