Chapter 7

The wind ripped at my clothes and my magical-growing hair as I fell from the roof of the tower. I screamed from the terror slicing at my insides. The world revolved around me as regret punched me in the chest. I should have made Dustin listen, take me seriously, made him understand how fast he had to act. How his strength and swiftness were what I needed to defeat the monster.

I was approaching the ground fast. Concrete arms swooped under me midair. I landed with an oomph. I battled his tight embrace, flailing widely. “Fuck you!”

In a swift movement, we careened sideways, ascending. I squirmed for release.

Suddenly, the gargoyle arched as if struck in the back, its wings stopped beating. My heart raced.

We dropped out of the air, and I screamed. My stomach slammed into the back of my throat.

Its grip slackened, and I shoved myself away from the creature. I landed in a line of shrubs, absorbing my impact. The creature smacked the ground.

My blonde hair sprawled over my shoulders and down my back, cascading around me like a waterfall. I scrambled up, despite my head spinning and dread squeezing my chest.

The gargoyle crawled to his feet, the knife’s hilt stuck out of a gap between his wings. The creature reached an arm over its shoulder to take out the weapon, but it remained just out of reach.

Dustin swayed on his feet and untangled himself from the bushes catching his pants. He stood at least ten feet away. A gash crossed his brow, and blood dripped down the side of his face. Joy radiated through me that he’d survived the fall.

I grabbed the blade from my belt. “Take the gargoyle down now while he’s injured,” I yelled as I darted closer, pressing the hilt into Dustin’s palm. “Throw it into his heart!”

But Dustin shoved me away and pulled out two thinner blades from his boot, stalking toward the enemy. His shoulders curled forward like a predator’s.

I could barely take a breath.

The gargoyle screeched, making strange grinding sounds. I couldn’t tell if that was pain or anger because he’d never made such a noise before. But this was the moment to make a change. I’d had enough of being a punching bag and treated like dirt. This ended now.

I gripped the knife in my hand and ran toward the creature.

Stab him. Kill him. Free yourself.

But the gargoyle spun on the spot, its wings flapping, chasing the knife in its back. In front of the gargoyle stood Dustin, his feet firm on the ground, his knees bent, and he hurled a knife, precise and accurate.

I froze.

The blade slammed into the gargoyle’s chest, and I cried out with joy, except the monster wasn’t falling over. What the hell?

It staggered around, and I gawked at the knife dead center in its chest. The creature wrenched the weapon out and tossed it to the ground.

“Stab him in the heart!” I bellowed. If I knew sheer strength would overpower the gargoyle, I’d insist Dustin turn into his bear form, but that wouldn’t help with throwing the blade accurately.

The gargoyle jerked toward me, and despite the deadness in its eyes, I swore a fiery anger stirred behind them. I recoiled, unable to inhale as terror clamped over my lungs.

Leaping forward, the creature snatched my arm with his rock-hard fingers. I fought against the restraint and jammed my knife at its chest with my other hand. The bastard moved too fast. My blade hit its solid chest and skidded sideways.

It whacked a granite hand against my weapon-wielding one, and pain wrapped over my knuckles. The knife dropped from my grasp as I cried out at the fiery agony encasing my arm. I dragged myself away, wriggling to free myself from the gargoyle’s hold.

“Let me go!”

Its wings beat, sending a flurry of wind into my face, as he lifted us off the ground, dragging me by the arm.

Darkness swarmed my thoughts. I’d rather die than lose again. I can’t live like this. Not again. Not fucking again.

There was movement to the side of me, as Dustin hurled himself between us with such strength, I was thrown backward.

Landing on my ass, my strangled cry escaped, and I scrambled out of his reach, my long hair tangling around me.

Near the tower, the gargoyle collapsed onto its side with a thud, a knife sticking out of its chest in the crevice right above its heart.

“Oh, fuck yes!” I bellowed.

Dustin climbed to his feet, dusting off his hands as if this were an everyday occurrence, smirking and giving me a knowing nod.

Warmth exploded through me. I pushed aside locks of hair to see properly before I ran closer, studying the monster who’d tortured me for years, kept me prisoner. Now, it lay there, making a hissing sound as if deflating. Part of me refused to believe it was dead. So many years had passed, and nothing had ever made a difference. Until Dustin had destroyed it. I couldn’t stop the smile spreading across my face. The leap of joy pumping through my veins that this was really happening.

“Girl, I owe you an apology.” Dustin tipped his head toward me. “You spoke the truth this whole time, and I mocked you.”

I couldn’t find my words at first because I’d dreamt of this moment for so long. Reality refused to settle in, and I tapped the gargoyle with the toe of my boot. No reaction. Was this finally it? I was free?

Happiness flowed through me, radiating me with warmth as I basked under a summer sun.

“Whoop!” I stuffed my knife back on my belt. So many thoughts whirred through my head, all the things I could do now that I was free. “I’ll travel to every realm, sleep during the night, visit my friend Bee.” But first I had to go to Gage, tell him the truth about everything. No more lies. And we’d date again as I’d always dreamed, and I’d sleep over at his place.

Dustin wiped his hands down his shirt, his chin high with proudness. “Wasn’t as difficult as I thought.”

“You did it. Oh shit, I’m free.” I jumped into his arms and hugged him, then pulled free.

His hoarse laughter rang in my ear. “You had doubts?”

“Maybe a few.” I broke away, bathing beneath the morning’s rays, and stared up at the tower, where Gingernuts looked down on us. Was this real? This whole time I’d remained imprisoned when I should have searched for ancient texts before.

Who gives a fuck? You’re free.

Beside me, tiny flakes of rock floated away from the gargoyle’s body. He was disintegrating! Dust floated up on the breeze as his body diminished, one inch at a time.

Is it coming back to life?

I stumbled backward and glanced up at Dustin. “What’s going—?” But my voice fell flat.

He was staggering around as if drunk, his skin gleaming with sweat.

“Dustin, what are you doing?” Coldness swirled in my chest, and my brain froze.

He looked at me, his eyes wild and fear warping his expression into a painful scowl. His golden skin had sunk in tone to something lifeless, and it terrified me. A panicked ache pressed against my chest.

“Something’s wrong with me,” he muttered.

I reached out for him, but his eyes rolled back into his head and his legs buckled. He hit the ground with his knees and fell face-first.

My stomach dropped, and I darted to his side. With both hands, I shoved my weight against his shoulder to push him over onto his back. “Dustin, speak to me. Please.” My voice wavered, and an unstoppable snowball of fear slithered to the pit of my gut. “What’s going on?” My heart beat harder and faster.

He lay there, unmoving, his eyes closed.

He’s dead.

My skin seemed two sizes too small for my body. It strangled me. “Get up. Dustin!” I never wanted him to die, even if he was a disgusting bastard. He was meant to destroy the gargoyle and walk away with my gold coins.

When an electric hum leaped over my skin, I gasped and backed away. Magic. My attention swung between Dustin and the gargoyle, whose head was the last thing to evaporate into fine dust.

Dustin screamed as his chest arched upward as he convulsed.

I shuddered and paced back and forth, breaths racing.

Was this part of the spell? A precaution in case the creature was ever killed? The pages I’d read said nothing about such a consequence…Fuck…The torn pages. “Oh, hell!”

Right before my eyes, Dustin’s body stretched and elongated, his clothes ripping and shredding off him. His skin rippled and transformed from a tanned color to that of granite.

I cried out and recoiled, tears blurring my vision. I wracked with raw sobs, trembling, my insides swelling with dread. The spell was being transferred to him. How the hell did I undo the hex? I paced in a circle, unsure how to save him.

Terror rocked me on the spot. My whole existence meant nothing if the gargoyle only took over whoever killed him. Breaths wheezed when the glint of metal caught my attention from within the grass.

Without a thought, I collected my hair over an arm and picked up the weapon. I charged for Dustin, needing to finish this.

Throwing myself to my knees next to his writhing body covered in rock plates, I raised the dagger and jammed it toward his heart.

His hand flinched and seized my wrist, squeezing.

I yelled from the sharpness shooting up my arm. The weapon fell out of my grip, but I pulled against the restraint, wincing. My brain was on overdrive, my concentration shot.

The monster got up with the ease of a leaf being picked up by the wind.

Dustin’s brown eyes were all that remained of him in the face set in stone, the wide jawline, the fangs over the lower lip, the flat nose, the pointy ears. Behind him, wings spread outward like a shadow falling over the world, blocking out the sun, tossing me into darkness.

Fear shackled me, hammering into my head. My throat thickened as I faced a monster bursting with energy, and I was about to become his target practice.

Told you. Told you.

“Please, Dustin. It’s me. Don’t do this. Please, no.”

He snatched my hair and hauled me after him, taking me to the tower.

I tried to drag myself away, wriggling to break the hold the gargoyle had on me. Nothing in my world would ever be right again.

***

I flipped open my eyes to darkness outside and crawled out of bed, groaning. Salty blood filled my mouth from where I’d been thrown against a wall. A sharp pain shot through my back, and I winced. I shuddered from where the bastard had used a belt. He’d tossed me around like a rag doll, but I ‘d somehow gotten off lightly because my previous beatings had always left me injured for weeks. Maybe it was the gargoyle’s recent transformation making him weak. My actions got him trapped inside the gargoyle. Or was he dead? I didn’t even know where to begin undoing this…or if it was even possible. He was meant to run the moment he saw danger, but I never anticipated a curse on the gargoyle.

In quick succession, I ran a hand through my short hair, staring at the book on gargoyles on the table. Regret pulsed through me, and I clenched my fists. My stomach hurt remembering the tragic events. I’d failed Dustin and myself. Tears fell fast, and I sobbed into my hands, hating what I’d done. Hating my condemnation.

Touching my injuries, my fingers came back bloody.

I’d longed for freedom for so long, I’d become blindsided by the first opportunity to destroy the monster. Now the bear shifter had lost his life. Gage’s words filtered through my mind about Dustin being a monster in his own way, killing anyone for money, and the shifter had scared me. But it wasn’t my decision who lived or died. By allowing Dustin to die, I was no better than he—a killer. A stabbing ache tightened in my chest, and I hiccupped as another tore through me, hurting across my ribs as tears threaded down my cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Dustin. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

Agony burrowed deeper within me as reality crashed through me. Not only had I gotten Dustin transformed, but my future had vanished.

I hugged myself because I’d always believed one day, I’d destroy the gargoyle and finally be free. I’d been foolish, an idiot. Now I’d never escape but remain imprisoned, forced to return to the tower every morning.

Pushing myself to my feet, I stumbled to the table and lit a candle. The book I’d stolen sat at the other end of the table and I dragged it closer to me. I flipped to the pages about gargoyles and reread the whole section, finding no mention of a curse from defeating the monster. The torn pages must have spelled out the consequences of destroying a gargoyle, yet I’d never given the missing information a second thought.

I wiped my eyes, picked up the candle, and hobbled to the bathroom.

I set the candle on a shelf beneath the mirror on the wall and stared at myself. Dried blood marred my cheek and forehead. A darkening bruise appeared under my left eye, the cut across my temple bled. My skin looked pasty, and my short hair stuck in the air. I pushed it flat across my head.

A tear rolled down my cheek. Anger burned like lava inside me, churning, desperate for destruction, but I was useless. Everything I tried made the situation worse.

You look like you fell off a cliff and got into a fight with a prickly bush.

“Wow, you’re full of compliments.”

Just saying it as it is. You stuffed up last night.

“Maybe stop talking.” The silence engulfed me, closing in around me.

Something rubbed my leg, and I looked down at Gingernuts, staring up at me with huge eyes. Behind him was a long trail of golden hair like a never-ending cape. I reached down and picked him up, despite his wriggling.

“You know I’m going to hug you, so you might as well stop fighting.” I tickled his belly as he broke into a purr. With him back down, I got myself cleaning up and dressed, then went to feet Gingernuts.

“Elliana.” A male’s voice called out to me. I froze midway through feeding Gingernuts. Had I heard right?

Gingernuts headbutted me to finish preparing his meal, so I placed his filled plate on the floor.

“Elliana, you in there?”

I jolted upright and hurried through the kitchen until my back spasmed, then I slowed down. In the main room, I approached the window and glanced down to see Gage with his hands in his pockets staring up at me as if he were here for a date. And it took everything I had not to let him in without an explanation first.

“What are you doing here? I told you to never come here.” Giddiness flooded me at seeing him, at the idea that I might avoid being alone, might distract myself. Of course, I should have known he would come searching for me after I’d left Brawl without saying a word to him, considering I’d told him I’d needed Dustin for a job.

He shrugged. “I had to see you. Want me to come up there?” He wasn’t wearing his bouncer black clothes, but brown pants, boots, and a short-sleeved shirt. His muscles were on display beneath the open vest he wore, along with a gold chain that sparkled in the moon’s light.

“No! I’m coming down.” I didn’t need him to see how fucked up my life was—the busted furniture, my extremely hairy cat. Gage should have been a spy because he noticed too much and asked a million questions. Like the bruises I hid under my clothes.

In haste, I darted to the bedroom and grabbed several gold coins from the pouch I’d dropped last night near the bed. I stuffed them into my pocket and reached for my dagger on the bedside table. If Gage wanted company, I’d take it. Because I couldn’t bear to be alone, and drowning my sorrows with a drink and a gorgeous man was better than facing the reality of never getting rid of the gargoyle and having basically killed a man.

I swallowed the thickness in my throat, hating the desperation to curl up and vanish from the world.

“Wow, so this is where you live? I expected something grander.” Gage’s voice filled the tower.

I jostled around as he climbed in through the window, shuddering that he hadn’t listened to my request. While at the same time, I was burning up with embarrassment that he’d seen my prison. Would he think less of me?

He studied the paintings I’d created on the walls, the rugs I’d bought at markets to brighten up the place, and the translucent fabrics I’d hung from the cobblestone ceiling in billowing waves. Anything to make the place resemble a home.

I stepped out of the shadows of the bedroom and his eyes fixed on me, widening to round discs.

“What happened to you?” He seized my arms and brought me into the light of the burning candle on the table. “Who did this to you? Was it Dustin? Fucking bastard. I’ll murder him. I warned you about him.” His voice boomed.

I shivered, and when a tear escaped the corner of my eye, I turned away.

Gage drew me closer, our bodies plastered together. “Elliana, what the hell happened?” His tone deepened, and this was why I hadn’t told him about the gargoyle before. He’d fly off the handle and jump to fix my problems. And damn, I loved that protectiveness in him, but that was why I had to keep him safe from himself. I couldn’t bear to see him become the gargoyle like Dustin or get killed trying to save him. Sweat drenched my skin, and the thumping of my heart vibrated in my head. I curled my hands into fists, and my words rushed out loud. “Gage, just leave it. Dustin didn’t hurt me.” I pulled myself from his grasp and headed toward my bed, rubbing my eyes, hating that I couldn’t control my emotions.

“What is that?”

I turned to find him staring down at my cat.

“My pet, Gingernuts.”

Gage half-smiled as his gaze followed the cat’s trail of hair across the floor and then vanishing somewhere in the kitchen. “Is something wrong with him?”

“No!” I snapped, gaining myself a raised brow. “Haven’t you ever heard of long-haired cats?” I huffed, hating that Gage had to see the shithole I lived in along with the cursed cat I adored so much. The pitiful expression on his face killed me when he looked my way. I’d always worked hard for him to see me as someone strong, brave, and capable of taking on anything. Not this mess who got beaten up and was lost on the inside.

“Okay, whatever. Your cat is freaky.” He glanced around my small abode and approached my messy bed. He reached over, taking my hand in his. His touch was soft and warm. “Please, Elliana. Tell me what’s going on. It scares me to see you hurt and pushing me away.”

I lifted my head to face him, my chin trembling, because facing the truth of my life grazed my skin like a flame. “What does it matter?”

He brought me into his arms with such swiftness, I lost my breath. My bruises ached, but he never squeezed tight. He breathed in my ear. “I care about you more than you realize. And if someone is hurting you, I’ll fix it. I adore seeing your smiles, hearing your laughter. I hate seeing you cry.” He brushed his thumbs under my eyes, and I melted beneath his tender touch.

A spark of passion ignited in me as his body pressed against mine. Somehow in his arms, the world stopped. No time, no fear, no prison and most of all no gargoyle.

Tears kept falling as I remembered Dustin’s terrified gaze, that I’d aided in him losing his life. I never wanted to get beaten again. I’d been broken too many times and now I didn’t know if I’d ever feel whole again.

I pulled out of Gage’s embrace. His hand took mine, his fingers stroking my inner wrist in that easy way that encouraged me to speak openly. I stared into his green eyes, and a wild expression of terror filled them. Up close, his cheek bones were sharp, and his chin narrow, resembling a dragon’s bone structure. Powerful and protective.

He’d always cared for me, perhaps too much, and I’d never understood why. He could have had any woman he wanted, and they’d never been shy around him. Yet he’d never once strayed and stared at me as if only I existed. Trepidation strangled me at the idea of placing him in danger. How much longer could I hold on to the anger, the memories, the self-loathing?

So my words fell before I could rein them in and revealed my sad life. The curse, my father, the gargoyle, years of going mad, and even the time I’d thrown myself off the roof to end my life. For too long I’d yearned to share them with someone, to somehow end the loneliness that clung to my skin like a jacket made of thorns. Always slicing into me, dragging me back to my fucked-up life.

“It’s my fault Dustin transformed.” A river of emotions spilled down my cheeks, and I pulled my hand away as I cried into them.

Gage held me and stroked my head. “Fuck. Why didn’t you tell me any of this? This isn’t your fault. Some fuckwit punished an innocent child, which boils my blood. And Dustin was a good fighter, but he was a murderer. He’s taken so many lives, some deserving, others innocent. You did the world a favor by removing him from our lives.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better. It’s not my call to take someone’s life. But you need to promise me you won’t try to take on the gargoyle.”

I looked up at Gage to see the fierceness behind his dragon eyes. Dread locked tight in my stomach. I couldn’t reverse time or change the past, yet each time I remembered Dustin’s demise, my breaths grew shallower.

“Please, Gage.” I begged. He nodded once, as if that was the end of the conversation. He’d stick to his word.

“Don’t you dare shed another tear for that loser.” He kissed my brow in a way that showed me he cared for me more than just physically.

He wrapped his arms around me. All I could do was try to drive the pent-up emotions into the darkness, and being in Gage’s presence gave me the ammunition to never stop trying. I should have trusted him earlier, should have pushed past my insecurities, should have believed he’d never judge me. I inhaled his masculine scent mixed with citrus. I tried to breathe around it but couldn’t escape the intoxication. Everything about him was hypnotic.

“So that’s Dustin on your roof and he comes to life at dawn? Can he be turned back to human?” He rubbed a hand across his mouth.

“No idea. The book I read said nothing about whoever killed a gargoyle taking his place. But when the stone creature vanished, no person appeared in its place. I think Dustin is really dead.” I gasped and hugged myself.

“Tell me more about the curse cast on you?”

“I don’t know much about that either, and that’s why I’ve focused on getting rid of the gargoyle instead. Which failed miserably.” My breaths stuttered in my lungs before I released them.

“That’s why you asked me about the dragon-tooth dagger last night, right? I may have a lead for you.”

Breaking out of his arms, I tried to process his words. “You know where I can find such a dagger?” I rushed to the table and grabbed my book, bringing it back to Gage. “It says a dragon-tooth blade can slice through stone and finish a gargoyle.” And once I got my hands on one, I’d be doing the slaying. No risking someone else’s life this time.

Gage collected the book from my hands and turned it the right way. He flipped through the pages, landing on the gargoyle entry. “Where’s the rest?”

I shook my head.

He restudied the leather-bound book, his brow furrowed, and his jawline gritted like it did whenever he concentrated. “First, we need to track down the dagger.”

I bounced on my toes, ready to do whatever it took. “Okay, so where do we find one?”

Gage shut the book with a slap and set it down on the table. “I spoke to a friend who knows someone who insists he heard a lion shifter talk about a dragon-tooth dagger.”

My mind swam, remembering Reed in my tower and the gargoyle tossing him into the woods before attacking him. I swallowed loudly. I hadn’t found his body, so had he made it home safely? And if he’d survived, would he even welcome me?

I wouldn’t go visit him.

“I know one, and he owes me a small favor.” I let him stay in my tower briefly, so hopefully he saw that as a kind deed.

“Favor?” Gage’s eyes morphed into a honeyed-green, slitting into vertical lines for a sliver of a second. His jealousy always revealed snippets of the dragon inside him. “Lions aren’t trustworthy, you know that, right? So he probably won’t help you.”

“Reed seemed decent enough.” Maybe I was pushing my luck in visiting him. “There’s a pride living across the forest in the open plains, so maybe we can go there and ask if they know him.” I spoke fast and my mouth hurt when I smiled due to my cut lip.

Gage moved close enough for me to feel the heat of his body through my clothes, and his hands fell on my hips. “You should have come to me earlier—should have told me everything about the gargoyle.”

I inhaled deeply, not needing to be reprimanded, but I knew his words came from a place of concern. “I didn’t want you to know how I lived or be attacked by the gargoyle.” I dropped my gaze. “When I leave the tower at night, I become a different person. Someone strong who can face the world, who has no shackles, who does as she pleases. That’s the person you fell for, not the prisoner who’s faked her life. I didn’t want you to think any less of me.”

“I fell for the woman who takes food to the homeless children in town, who reminds me to see the good in others, and who loves me with the passion of a dragon.”

My heart rate accelerated. There was no smile on his lips, only the intensity in his eyes that was the start of an explosive blaze of more to come. He kissed me and my worries faded away. His passion brought a raw fierceness—my breaths coming faster, my skin vibrating with the urgency of what would come next. Our tongues entwined as his hands found the skin of my back under my shirt, and I moaned from the feel of his strong hands touching me.

I winced from the cut on my mouth, and he pulled back. We locked eyes for those moments, his love evident in his gaze. His lips grazed over my cheek, down my neck, not innocently, but passionate and demanding.

I shivered beneath him, aroused. He suckled on my earlobe, as I moaned, running my hands up his chest, around his neck. I raked my fingers through his hair. In moments like these, holding back seemed impossible. I couldn’t move even if I tried.

“Your body and scent drive me crazy. I need you,” he breathed into my ear, his electric fingertips gliding across my back. They swept around to my stomach and upward, cupping my breasts. I moaned, weakening at his touch. His fingers pinched my nipples, and I burned all over.

Gingernuts brushed past our legs and meowed, heading toward the window. I caught my breath and came back to reality. Was I ready to do this? Reignite our relationship again? My bruises and cuts ached, reminding me I still remained a prisoner to the gargoyle. I pulled away from Gage, unsure what the right decision was. Making him believe we could be together was wrong, because soon enough he’d get frustrated with the whole gargoyle situation and try to take it down. I couldn’t let that happen.

Gage looked down. “Strange cat, but are you saying that during the day you have long hair?”

I nodded, though I didn’t know if I’d keep the hair if I defeated the gargoyle. “Will that be a problem?”

He turned me around to face the window and wound his arms around me from behind. His chin rested on my shoulder. “Honey, I can think of some fun ways to use your hair to our advantage.” Mirth danced between his words, and right then, I imagined how incredible my life could be if I had a real shot at a real future with Gage.