“Shh. It’s over now. I’m here, you’re safe, the mages are dead.”
“Eloise?”
“She… slipped away. But we’ll find her, love. I promise.”
“She saw you, though. Goddess, Draegan. She saw your true form. She knows you’re a gargoyle.”
“It was always a risk. Honestly, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.”
“But what if—”
“Wait… Do you hear that?”
“The breeze?”
“No, it sounds more like—”
The realization slams into me with shocking clarity. The hiss and whoosh of a flame catching. Spreading.
There’s no time to run. No time to even think. I drop to my knees and wrap her in my wings, turning to stone just as the car bursts into flames right behind us, exploding in an epic wall of fire.
If I thought time stood still in the forest for those brief minutes when I couldn’t find her, that was nothing compared to this.
It’s an age. A fuckingeternitybefore I finally feel the flames recede.
I shift back into my gargoyle form, my wings trembling. She’s gone still in my arms. Is she breathing? Was she burned before I had a chance to fully turn to stone?
My throat closes around a knot of fear so intense, I’m not sure I’ll ever breathe again.
Fuck.
Forcing myself to take a breath, I slowly roll back my wings and glance down at the soft, silent form curled against my chest.
Her cheeks are smudged with dirt and soot, her hair a tangled mess.
But when she blinks up at me and smiles, I know she’s still with me. Still here. Still Westlyn Avery, despite everything she’s been through tonight.
“Okay, seriously?” She coughs through another faint smile. “Now I’m starting to think you’ve got a hero complex.”
“When it comes to keeping you alive? Absolutely.” Drawing her closer, I press my lips to the crown of her head. “Bloody hell, woman,” I mutter. “I thought you were… You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Igaveyoua heart attack?” she teases. “You’re the one who blew up your own car just so you’d have another excuse to save me.”
I laugh and shake my head at her, the lightness in her eyes doing more to heal my wounds than the dark fae magic that’s kept me alive for centuries.
But then she notices the burns on my arms. The smoldering holes near the tips of my wings. I’ve only just begun to feel them myself—the fire must’ve hit me before I fully solidified.
“Draegan. You… you’re hurt.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll heal in minutes.”
“But—”
“I’m fine. You, on the other hand.” My gaze sweeps her face, a hand sliding over her head. “You gave me quite a scare. Those runes… Did you call them up intentionally? And who did you mean when you told Eloise he would punish her?”
I have a dozen more questions for her, but I swallow them all the moment I see the utter confusion knitting her brow.
“What runes?” she asks. “Punish? I don’t… Draegan. What on earth are you talking about?”
