30. Clash of Stone and Steel
Clash of Stone and Steel
Samhail
Samhail knew the moment Talyn regained consciousness the next morning, even before her head snapped back against his chest. He thought she was trying to headbutt him, but then her head lolled to the side, and he had to catch her as she fell forward.
He’d been riding since dawn with Talyn nestled in front of him, and it was a sweet agony with her between his legs, her limp body leaning back against him.
He ached to touch her, but he wouldn’t do it while she was unconscious.
As it was, he’d had to manhandle her to get her into the saddle as he’d climbed up with her tucked under his arm earlier.
He wasn’t sure how long she’d be out after he bit her, but once she was, he’d at least been confident he could get through the night without having his head smashed in.
He’d carried her back to the camp, laid her under the blankets, and curled his body around hers again. He resisted the urge to touch her face as he had earlier. He wasn’t sure what had made him do it before, but she’d stiffened against him when he had.
He held her the next morning as he waited for her to wake, but she hadn’t, even when he shook her. Eventually, he’d just gotten up and prepared to leave, pulling her into the saddle with him when she remained unconscious.
They’d been on the road almost two hours when he finally felt the subtle change in her body that told him she was awake. That’s when her head had snapped back against his chest.
He’d summoned the caronium cuff she tossed away, but he couldn’t bring himself to put it back on her. He felt too guilty for biting her, and she’d already proven she could get out of it, so she could port now if she wanted to. He hoped they could come to an agreement, though.
“I can’t move,” Talyn said, her voice slurred. “Why can’t I move?”
“The toxin is still wearing off,” he said. “It may be a little while before you have full use of your body again.”
It surprised him she was still feeling the toxin’s effects, but this gave him more time to figure out how to make this work with her.
“Toxin?” she asked as if trying to wrap her mind around the word.
“From when I bit you,” he said. “Gargoyle fangs can release a mild toxin if needed. It has sedative and paralytic properties. I’ve never actually bitten anyone before, so I’m not sure how long it lasts.”
“And you’d thought you’d experiment on me?” she asked, her voice sounding more like her own with the return of her indignation.
“You didn’t give me much choice.”
A pause. “You could have just let me go,” she suggested quietly.
He sighed. “No, I couldn’t.”
That was true in at least two senses. He couldn’t return to Solandis and tell the Lord of Hiraeth he’d simply let the woman who’d been sent to kill Cyra go.
Bressen was his friend, his brother in every sense other than blood, but he was certain Bressen’s understanding wouldn’t extend that far.
Letting Talyn go now would have far-reaching consequences for his relationships with both Bressen and Cyra.
In another sense, and one he was loath to admit to himself, he couldn’t let Talyn go because…well, because he didn’t want to. She’d tried to maim or kill him at least three times now, and for some reason he had yet to wrap his head around, that had only stirred his blood…and his cock.
He wanted her. He’d given up denying that by now. He supposed it was his gargoyle nature that appreciated her strength and fighting ability, and the more Talyn fought him, the more he wanted her.
Samhail, please…
Her words when she’d felt the toxin take hold had almost broken him. It was the first time she’d used his name, and there was something about the sound of it on her lips that drove him mad with longing.
He’d bitten her because it was the only way he could think to stop her, but he’d regretted it almost at once. He’d felt the exact moment the fight had left her and wished instantly he could take it back. Her body had gone limp in his arms, and the fear he’d heard in her voice tore at him.
He’d expected to see such fear when he stepped into the holding cell with her the other day. He’d waited for her to show regret about goading him, but instead her eyes had flared, and she’d begun strategizing.
Last night, though, it had bothered him deeply to see her subdued and helpless. More than he’d ever admit to himself. Likewise, he’d begun to panic when his attempts to wake her failed. It was a new feeling for him because he didn’t panic. Ever.
He’d only ever bitten his siblings when they were children and first learning to use their powers, but gargoyles were immune to their own toxin, so he hadn’t known what to expect using it on a full human.
In truth, he’d kept his teeth sunken in Talyn’s soft flesh longer than intended, not because he was unsure of how the toxin worked, but because he’d been shocked by how much he enjoyed the taste of her blood.
Gargoyles didn’t feed on blood the way some creatures did, but a couple of his siblings enjoyed the taste of it.
His sister Sadira claimed the people she took to bed, men and women alike, let her drink from them as part of their pleasure.
It was possible for gargoyles to bite someone without releasing the toxin, but Samhail had never tried it either way, so he hadn’t been prepared for what he experienced when he first bit Talyn.
He’d let himself enjoy the taste of her too long, so she’d likely received more toxin than necessary.
It was just one more thing he could feel guilty about.
“How long have we been riding?” Talyn asked as her head rested against his shoulder. “I imagine we’re halfway back to Solandis by now?”
“We’re still on our way to Rowe,” he corrected.
“What?” she asked, her head lolling toward him. “Why?”
“Did you want me to take you back to Solandis?” he asked.
“No, of course not, but I don’t understand. I tried to kill you last night. Why would you want to keep going?”
Because he was an idiot who hadn’t learned anything from the first three times she’d tried to kill him?
Because he didn’t know what Bressen would do to her if he brought her back to Solandis, and for some reason, he didn’t want to see her hurt?
Or because this way he got to have her all to himself for just a little longer? All of the above?
Idiot, idiot, idiot. He’d deserve it if she succeeded in killing him.
“I expected you to try to kill me or escape at least once more before you gave up and accepted the situation,” he said. “I’m hoping you finally got it out of your system, and we can proceed as planned. Have you?”
Talyn was silent for a long moment before answering. “I suppose we’ll find out.”
Samhail smiled. He’d expected nothing less from her, and he almost looked forward to the next time she attacked him, because there would be a next time. He was sure of it.
“I can always bite you again if not,” he suggested, and her intake of breath made him instantly regret the words.
Gods damn it. He didn’t do regret.
There was another long pause before Talyn spoke again. “You mentioned fangs.”
“I have them in my gargoyle form, and I can call forth parts of that form at will.”
“Like your wings?” she asked.
“Like my wings.”
She seemed to take this in. “What does your gargoyle form look like?”
“I’ve never looked in a mirror after I shift,” he said wryly.
“Of course not, but surely you have some idea,” she pressed him.
“I do,” he said, “and maybe the next time you decide to try and kill me, you’ll find out.”
It was said lightly, but he let the hint of a threat creep into his voice on the chance it gave her any pause whatsoever about attacking him again.
He doubted it would.
“Tell me about gargoyles,” she said. “I’ve seen the carved ones on the roofs of temples, but I’ve never met a real one until now.”
“You’ve met three so far,” he said, although she seemed to know that already, if her taunt to him back in the jail cell was any indication.
“Surgeon and Serise are gargoyles as well.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know them before they came to work for Lord Bressen?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“How?”
Samhail sighed. “They’re my younger siblings. Twins.”
She paused. “You don’t seem particularly close to them.”
“I’m not,” he said, and he could almost feel her eyebrows rise.
“Okay, we’ll come back to that later,” she said, “but what about the gargoyles on the temples? Are they some kind of tribute to your kind?”
Samhail snorted in disgust.
“Not tributes then,” she said. “So what are they?”
“You’re full of questions today,” he observed.
“My mouth is the only part of my body I can move at the moment,” she said sardonically.
He wished she hadn’t said that because thinking of her mouth made him think of the other things she could do with it.
Samhail cleared his mind before those thoughts could take hold. Talyn wasn’t in any state to do any of the things he wanted to do with her.
Plus she’d just tried to kill him a few hours earlier. Why did he have to keep reminding himself of that?
“The temple gargoyles?” Talyn prompted when he didn’t answer.
“Gargoyles are an ancient race,” Samhail said finally.
“For as long as the gods have existed, gargoyles have been the guardians of their temples. Thousands of years ago, each temple would’ve had one or more true gargoyles in residence to protect the temple and its priests and priestesses.
When the gods went to war, the gargoyles were their army.
We defended the Trinity when false gods rose up to challenge them. ”
“I’ve been in my share of temples,” Talyn said. “I’ve never seen one with its own real gargoyle.”
“Should I even ask why you had occasion to visit so many temples?”
“You’d be surprised how many people want a priest or priestess dead, and maybe even more surprised how often they deserve it.”
His brows rose. “How many have you killed?”
“Five priests and one priestess,” she answered without hesitation.
“And what did they do to deserve the wrath of The Raptor?”