Page 90 of Bloodgrove

“I hate your father,” Will growled and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Thank you.”

For the next several hours, they remained silent. They had reached the limit of how many secrets they could bear, and instead they read, played cards, and ate too many sandwiches and cookies.

Only now and then were they interrupted by the dogs growling at the door or the window. The farther the night advanced, the louder the footsteps in the corridor became, the claws against the glass, the howling in the wind. But in the warm glow of the fire, among the centuries-old books, there was peace.

Chapter 47

“My darling,” a voice murmured, pulling Will from a deep sleep. Moonlight flooded the library, long trails of smoke rising from the burned-down candles, while the fire was little more than embers beneath the ash. Elodie slept beside him on the sofa, her lips pursed in a slight pout. Eric lay stretched out beside the sofa, the head of one of his dogs resting on his stomach, the blue encyclopedia of angels he had fallen asleep over lying across his chest.

“My most beautiful one.”

Hearing the Albatross’s voice tonight went deeper, reaching the locked corners of his childhood, and the taste of salt and fish settled on his tongue. He would have liked to be angry with the monster that had deceived him and stained his innocence, but he could also see the creature in its chains. Trapped for centuries, battered by wind and sea, he could understand its desperation. His own memories of hanging helplessly in the vampires’ grasp were still too fresh.

Carefully, he slipped free of Elodie’s arms and rested her head on a pillow. She murmured his name but immediately curled up again. Could the others even wake while he wandered through this world between dream and reality?

His bare feet moved softly across the floorboards; he did not bother putting on shoes. The door swung open, and the empty corridors of the castle drifted past him. Snow blew in through the windows and gathered in high drifts in the corners of the rooms, ice crystals glittering in the air. Will followed the voice of his god, the being whose pulse beat beside his own heart.

He stepped through a small door into the snow-covered garden. Only then did he realize how quiet it was. The wind had died down, so that scattered snowflakes drifted lazily from the black sky, lit by the crescent moon above the sea.

Somewhere in the depths of his awareness, Will felt the ice beneath his bare feet. Still, he kept walking along the snow-crusted outer wall, past bundled rosebushes and statues sunk into winter sleep, until he reached a semicircular balcony that jutted out over the cliffs. Below him, the sea roared, breaking against the rocks and licking up toward the balustrade.

Will stopped, the breeze catching his hair. “Albatross!”

The sea sighed and smacked below him, the waves answering in their eternal pounding and roar, until one rose higher and higher and finally broke against the seawall. White spray burst into the night sky, catching the moonlight for a moment.

Within the wave, where moon and sea met, the Albatross appeared. Hauntingly beautiful, its claws touched the ground, and the remnants of its wings folded around Will. It was even more beautiful and terrible than it had been in his childhood, so free on this night of demons. His second heart beat faster, vibrating with longing through every vein.

Bony fingers stroked Will’s cheek, and the skull bent toward him.

“You came,” the god murmured.

“You called.”

A hum vibrated through its bony chest. “You remember. It is fascinating what your little minds can forget when they are frightened badly enough.”

Will bit his lip and looked up into the silver eyes, into the empty sockets, into the face, into the monster’s skull. “I did that to you.” Carefully, he raised a hand and stroked the bone, though beneath his fingers he felt plumage yielding to his touch.

“You freed me. I still feel your little teeth against my bones. I will bear their marks forever.” Claws settled around Will’s narrow waist and drew him closer. Just as he saw the god and the skeleton before him, a large belly now curved there as well, stretching Will’s skin to its limit. “Star above a stormy sea. To watch you wield my magic, small as your attempts have been so far, is fascinating. There is so much more inside you…”

“Will you help me?” Will asked, letting his hand move over the monster, over what his eyes saw and what his heart saw. With the other, he reached for his belly, but this time not from pain or desperation.

“Do you no longer fear me?”

“No. You are only a creature beyond good and evil, and I have seen true monsters. Help me protect my friends from one of them—from the Red King of Bloodgrove.”

Wind rose, and cold bit into Will’s cheeks.

“It is wise of you to want to protect them from him. Pain and power have twisted him. He is a captive beast like me, but for him, any salvation comes too late.” The Albatross’s empty gaze turned toward the mountains, and the remnants of its wings lifted as though it wished to catch the wind in them and fly away.

“So you know him.”

“Once, long ago. Long before you humans made the world your own. He was beautiful. But my darling, I do not know whether I can protect you from him.” Its tongue slid out and stroked Will’s cheek before curling around his throat. “If you die, I can’t save you and we will become sea foam and stardust once more.”

“You said the curse of Bloodgrove keeps him trapped as well.”

“It was made for him. It is his prison.”