Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
ATLAS
The question startles me. “Come again?”
“How do gargoyles mate?” He repeats the words slowly.
“Uh, we don’t?”
“Of course you do. Every species mates.”
“Rune, forgive me, but I have yet to see a baby gargoyle born.”
His brow creases. “I’m not talking about breeding or babies. I’m talking about soul mates. Bonding.”
“Oh.” I nod. “Uh, well, I don’t know that either. I’m not sure it’s a thing. My species is dying out, so all I’ve ever heard are rumors and myths from the good ol’ days when we were plentiful.”
Rune taps his slender fingers on my thigh. “Well, then tell me the rumors and myths.”
“Why do you want to know? I don’t see how this is helpful with the problem at hand.”
Rune exhales slowly, like he’s losing patience with me. “My apologies. I guess you can’t hear the thoughts in my head.”
Wish I could. “No.”
“Mages are born with innate power, but there are ways to amplify it by harnessing the energy of others. Not mortals, but supernatural beings.”
“Even if they don’t have magic of their own?”
“Especially if they don’t. Nothing to block or overcome.”
“Got it. So how does this relate to gargoyles bonding?”
“You’ve seen how I’m able to get some of my magic back when you and I… interact?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I heard a story once, a long time ago, where an aging mage mated with a wolf shifter and not only were his youth and powers restored, they were more powerful than they’d ever been.
” A sexy smile spreads across his lips. “So, if you and I were to bond, I imagine I’d be able to get all of my magic back, and then some. ”
I nod, soaking in his words. Rune wants to bond with me just to get his magic back? That’s a lot to consider.
“Bonding is for life, Rune. If it even works, we’ll be tied to each other for eternity.”
He nods, his expression determined. “It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
“Okay, but if what I was told is true, the bonding ritual doesn’t work unless I’m actually fated to my chosen mate.”
Rune looks more concerned now as his teeth graze his bottom lip. “How do you even know if you’re fated to someone?”
I shrug. “There are signs.”
He scoots closer. “What I’m hearing is there’s a chance it won’t work if we’re not fated, which, obviously, we’re probably not, but there’s a chance we could be, and it would work. Is that right?”
I shift uneasily. “Yes, that’s right.” I wrap my hand around his wrist. “But what you’re not hearing is the important part. If it does work, we’re bonded for eternity. As long as I breathe, you breathe.”
“But that would mean…” He glances ahead for a moment before returning his gaze to me. “If it works, it means we’re fated mates?”
“According to the stories I’ve been told.”
“What’s so bad about that?” The words seem to startle them as he speaks them, but then he hardens his expression stubbornly and waits for me to respond.
It takes me several seconds to wrap my head around the question.
“Um, we hardly know each other,” I finally manage to come up with. “I work for a demon and live in the underworld,” I add. “And as far as I can tell, you don’t exactly adore my company… or anyone’s, for that matter.”
There, that has to be plenty of good reasons for him to realize that it’s a batshit fucking insane idea. Right?
Rune tilts his head, chewing on his bottom lip again before he stands and paces the small room. “I don’t hate your company. You’re better than most people I’ve met, anyway. That’s a step.”
“Oh, well, gee, I stand corrected. We should absolutely tie ourselves to each other for eternity since you don’t completely hate me.”
Rune smiles, walking back to me and scooting onto the cramped cot.
“Atlas, this might be my only shot at getting us out of here. Eventually, my captor is going to escalate. I seriously doubt they plan to keep me in this room forever.” He touches my hand.
“If something happens to me, you’ll be stuck. ”
I nod, understanding the perilous situation we’re in. He’s right, his captor is likely to do something eventually that could compromise his abilities or even his life.
I’d heard the rumors off and on for centuries.
The older gargoyles would talk about the days when we thrived, when the night skies were filled with my kind, spreading our wings and soaring freely.
They told of times when we were so plentiful we lived in regional clusters and it was easy to find our fated mates.
But those days are long gone. I’ve gone decades at a time without seeing another gargoyle, much less finding a mate. Choosing one outside of my species isn’t unheard of, but it’s certainly not common.
“I promise I won’t even bother you,” Rune says. “We can totally go our separate ways.”
“That’s the problem, Rune. Once we’re bonded, any extended absence from each other will feel like torture until we’re together again. You’ll feel it too.”
He frowns, nodding slowly. “I understand. It’s risky, but again, I don’t see an option. If it doesn’t work, I’m not sure what I’ll do to get us out of here, but if there’s a chance it could work…” He shrugs. “We should take it.”
I don’t say anything. I can’t. I haven’t actually thought about having a mate since it seemed so unlikely, but if I had, it wouldn’t have been like this. It would have been love and a mutual desire for commitment and spending our lives together. Not a means to an end.
But he’s right. If we don’t get out of here, it’s all moot anyway.
Rune scrambles onto my lap, the cot creaking under our combined weight again. “We’ve seen that we have some chemistry, right? Maybe there’s more to that. Shouldn’t we try to find out?”
“Okay.”
He offers a relieved smile. “Good. Now, how does it work?”
RUNE
I think I’ve convinced him. Of course this is risky, but only if it works. If it doesn’t, we didn’t lose anything, but if it does, well, wouldn’t that be something.
“The legends say that three things must occur in order for the bonding ritual to take. We have to be physically connected through sex, we have to verbally accept each other as our mate, and I have to have a marking of my mate’s choosing etched into my stone.”
“A marking?”
Atlas nods. “It can be anything. Initials, a symbol, it just has to be chosen by the mate.”
“How does it get etched into your stone?”
“As long as the first two things are happening…” He shrugs. “I guess it’s magic. You would trace the marking on my skin, and it will embed itself if we’re actually fated.”
“And if we’re not?”
“Then we had sex for the thrill of it.”
Not exactly a loss. Warning bells ring in my head though.
This is a major decision, and one that shouldn’t be made lightly.
If we are somehow fated, then we should take the time to court and truly know each other.
We’d have to decide where to live and how this all works between us.
I’ve only known of one other mated mage.
They’re mated to a vampire, and they have a tumultuous but enduring love.
Human mages don’t mate on their own. We’re rather mortal in our love and relationships, unless fate has decided we’re to be with a supernatural being. Could that be the case here?
“Have there been any signs we’re fated that you can tell?”
Atlas shakes his head. “No,” he says, but then he hesitates. “Maybe?”
“Tell me.”
“I, um, well, I dream about you.”
“Yes, you told me.”
“Not just the one time. Since I met you. Not every single night, but frequently enough to notice.”
Intriguing. “What kind of dreams?”
He shrugs, averting his gaze, a subtle blush creeping into his cheeks. “Just random stuff.”
“Sexy random stuff?” I ask with a grin.
He clears his throat, and since I’m on his lap, my whole body jostles. “Maybe,” he mumbles.
“Atlas. Have you been having dirty thoughts about me?” I tug on his beard. “Naughty boy.”
“I can’t help it. It just happens. Especially after I read some of your journal.”
His words hit like I’ve just walked into a wall. “The journal. Gods, yes. That’s a big clue. You shouldn’t be able to open it. No one should, but you can. You can touch its pages.”
Atlas nods. “Yes, but I told you before I’m mostly immune to magic.”
“Not mine. I mean, yes, you’re immune, but I think it could be more than just your nature.” I cup my hands to his cheeks. “Even you knowing I was in trouble and how you found me is pretty compelling evidence. I can’t believe I’m saying this but, Atlas, I think we might actually be fated mates.”
I can’t say what reaction I was expecting, but it isn’t the slight look of horror I’m now seeing in his eyes.
“I know I’m not the easiest person to get along with, but you don’t have to look mortified,” I mutter.
He blinks, dragging his hand down his beard to smooth it. “Sorry. I’m not mortified, not at all. I just… I don’t know how… I’ve never been…” He shakes his head, staring at me with wide eyes.
“I’m not following, Atlas. What’s concerning you?”
He nods, as if acknowledging something I can’t hear. “I’ve never been in a committed relationship before, and I don’t have a clue how to be a good mate to you. I don’t know what the expectations are.” He puts his hands on my arms. “I don’t even know if the ritual actually works.”
Aww, the big lug is such a softy. It almost melts my ice-cold heart.
“We can take things a step at a time, Atlas. If it works, we’ll go from there.
If it doesn’t, we’ll move on to the next idea.
We don’t have to figure it all out today, but we do need to get out of here.
After we do that, we can tackle everything else.
” I press a soft kiss to his lips. “There are no expectations, so just relax, huh?”
He doesn’t relax. He shakes his head, mumbling under his breath.
“Talk to me, Atlas.”
“If it works, and you leave me…” He blows out a breath. “I’ll suffer.”