Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
I could feel Cyra and Hollace heading closer now, and I could only assume the guardian was with them. There was no alarm or giddiness from them, so he clearly wasn’t attacking.
“That’s my fault,” I said, and dared Ivy House to agree. “I told the house that I didn’t want her to show what she could do. They’ll be raiding, and I wanted her defenses to come as a surprise. She apparently assumed you were fine. So we thought you were fine. Then you fell off the roof—” Emotion bubbled up, making my lip tremble more. I didn’t want to think about how close she had come. Couldn’t think about it. “I don’t want to lose you, Nessa. Please be careful. You have to make up for us just generally sucking.”
“Another misunderstanding. This night has been filled with them.” She hugged me tightly and then shot me a serious look. “Did she help him with direction, because that dude knew exactly where he was going. If she didn’t, we have a real problem on our—”
“She did, yes.” I felt him enter my airspace. Felt my magic pulse, calling him to me. “I have to get back down to those idiots, but first…” I turned for the door.
“Okay, but don’t kill him, Jessie,” Nessa said, quickly following me. “And not just because he saved me in the end. And not because he’s an enigma that I’m dying to solve. Definitely not because he’s super hot and it would be a waste. But because I honestly started it, and it’s probably not right for him to die because he was trying to defend himself in a stranger’s house.”
I reached the stairs for the third floor and went up, debating taking off my dress. Maybe we should handle this gargoyle to gargoyle. Then again, I’d have to take off the jewelry, too, and stow everything somewhere it wouldn’t get dirty. That would be a real hassle.
I could feel him waiting for me on the largest flat area on the roof, only gently sloped to allow rain runoff. I pulled open the door and climbed the few steps to it, finding him in his human form with a duffel bag in his hand. It presumably carried his clothes, because they weren’t on his body.
“You broke a rule,” I told him, and my magic throbbed.
Wind whipped around us. Nathanial and Jasper flew close, watching while in flight. Niamh and Ulric climbed onto the roof with me, spreading out in case they were needed, giving me space. Nessa and Sebastian waited in the doorway behind me. They’d better stay there too. I wasn’t letting Nessa set foot anywhere near this platform.
“I did. I apologize for that. Does the master know?”
I didn’t think about that part of things. Tristan’s crime was touching one of my people…who wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place. I’d get heat for her being around, and for doling out a punishment for a crime resulting from my deception.
Screw it.
“No, and I don’t intend to tell him. I do still intend to punish you. You can explain as you need to.”
“Understood.” He held up his bag. “This is my second favorite suit. My first one has already been destroyed. I’d prefer not to lose two suits in one night. Can we keep this in one piece and blood-free, please?”
I frowned at his blasé attitude. He was not at all worried about the punishment. It made me angrier.
“Toss it away. Or put it down; I don’t care. How do you want to take this, like that or in your gargoyle form?”
He tossed his bag to Ulric and lifted his hands, looking down at himself. “I guess that depends on how painful you want this to be for me.”
“His gargoyle form,” Sebastian called up. “Try it on his gargoyle form.”
Tristan looked beyond me and pointed. “You can see them too?”
“Not without a potion that allows me to. Which I took earlier.”
He nodded and glanced behind him where the flat area ended and a steep roof led to a gutter and then nothing beyond it.
“Do you plan to knock me unconscious and blast me off this roof? Because I don’t think I’ll survive that fall.”
I pointed to Nathanial not far away, then Jasper. “They’ll catch you if need be. I won’t kill you.” I grimaced. “Almost definitely I won’t kill you. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a good hold on my anger.”
“Reassuring,” he mumbled.
“Any last words?” Nessa called.
A wicked grin pulled at his lips. “Yeah. Stop getting me into trouble.”
“Shift,” I told him.
His shift was indeed fast, nearly as fast as mine, and I was a much smaller creature. Much smaller. The gargoyle rose before me, up and up until he was Dave’s size. His thick hide sparkled in the moonlight, tougher looking than the likes of Nathanial or Jasper’s. Certainly tougher than mine. His wings ruffled and pushed out slightly, getting some air. Maybe he was preparing to be blasted off the roof.