11. Justin
Justin
J ustin was impervious to most weather, but a chill had settled into even his supernatural bones by the time Pavel landed them on the roof of the Grosvenor covenhouse.
The wind had whipped around them violently on their journey, and Justin wondered if Sebastian’s sister had been trying to blow them off course.
Sebastian stumbled as his feet hit the cement roof, and Pavel’s strong gargoyle arms loosened their grip. Justin landed more gracefully and instinctively reached out to steady Sebastian. When they touched, a shiver ran down Justin’s spine.
Sebastian nearly ending up on his ass made him even cuter. Much of the time, the witch projected an air of elegant mischief, but Justin found this gangly clumsiness even more endearing. He held Sebastian’s hand for a few moments longer than he needed to, reluctant to let go.
The man was dangerous.
He and Sebastian turned back to Pavel, who was still in his stone form. His eyes were black, and he was moving slowly, like he was wading through cement.
“Pavel?” Justin asked.
The gargoyle’s jaw moved slowly, struggle showing in his eyes. Justin’s chest exploded with nervous anxiety. What was wrong with him?
“Go in. I have…to go dormant…a few hours…”
Staring at the gargoyle, Justin fought to understand what he was saying. Sebastian nodded and smiled gently, then put his arm around Justin.
“We’ll be waiting,” Sebastian said, and led him away.
After a few texts back and forth with Lillian, Justin located the roof access to the covenhouse. The building was quiet, and by the time they reached the large common room, weariness bore down on him. It had been a long day.
Justin sank into a sofa as Sebastian pulled out his phone and made a call, the witch biting his lip with worry. He nearly jumped when the person on the other end of the line picked up.
“Mother! Are you okay?”
Sebastian listened for a long moment, his eyes narrowing as his concern transformed into something colder. After a long while, he spoke again.
“Hold down the fort, then. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Slipping his phone into his pocket, Sebastian relaxed into a nearby armchair. His normal puckish demeanor was gone, and although Justin wouldn’t say the man was serious , there was a new anger bubbling underneath.
“What happened?” Justin asked.
“My sister attacked the Circle. Her own cadre of witches has grown. They couldn’t get through my mother’s defenses, but it was close. She was shaken up. I’ve never heard her like that before, she’s usually pretty unflappable.”
“Do you need to go back?”
Sebastian nodded. “Yes, but not immediately. The Circle is secure, and my sister has been beaten back. It will take her a while to prepare another assault. But next time she’ll come with more firepower.”
Justin didn’t know how to respond. Everything that had happened today was absolutely insane.
He’d been thrust into a world—of witches, of gargoyles, of mates —that was overwhelming and confusing, and he hadn’t had a second to process it.
The combination of being so young and his old coven being so isolationist meant that he had no context for any of it.
Despite that, he couldn’t help but think of the handsome gargoyle on the roof.
“Why…why did Pavel stay up there?”
Sebastian smiled, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair, his head propped up on his hand. His face was suddenly cherubic. The sight sent a shot of warmth through Justin’s chest, despite chaos gremlin lurking underneath the witch’s sweet demeanor.
“I don’t know too much about gargoyles, but witches do pass down knowledge. We’re very into books. It’s kind of our thing. Plus, you know I did some research in the Circle library when I realized who my mates were.”
Sebastian stretched his arms out above him with a yawn. Justin smiled at the easy familiarity of it.
“According to the legends, gargoyles have three forms. Human, although the old books disagree about whether that was innate or an adaptation. The flexible stone form that flew us here. And a true statue, the dormant state. Gargoyles take that form to rest and recharge their innate magic. It takes a lot of energy to keep all that stone aloft. Although I wouldn’t mind if he stayed in his flying gargoyle form for sexy times. ”
Sebastian flashed his wicked smile, and Justin shook his head. He might be a vampire, but this witch was far more evil than he ever had any hope of being.
“I…I don’t think I?—”
“I made tea, Sebastian. Would you like a cup?” The clear tenor voice rang out from the doorway to the kitchen. It was Anthony. One of the advantages of the coven master’s mate being a world-class opera singer is you never had to worry about hearing him.
The man stood in a perfectly tailored charcoal suit, a colorful fuchsia fabric square peeking out from his blazer pocket.
“That would be lovely, actually.” Sebastian smiled at the short Italian man, and it struck Justin how comfortable the witch was here at the covenhouse. How comfortable he would be in Justin’s life, in his bed?—
No. As tempting as that was, it had been a mistake for them to kiss in the elevator, and the events of the day had proven that.
Getting involved with anyone, but especially with Sebastian, would bring trouble to his coven.
Anthony and Freddie were the only reason Justin had the life he did, and he wasn’t going to put that in jeopardy.
History had shown when he opened his heart, those around him suffered. He’d learned his lesson.
“Justin?”
Standing in front of them, Anthony handed Sebastian a cobalt blue mug with steam rising off the top. Justin must have missed the milk and sugar negotiations .
“Sorry?” Justin asked.
“I know you don’t like tea,” Anthony said. “Do you want blood?”
Shaking his head, Justin’s glance flitted to Sebastian as the witch brought the mug to his lips. His soft, perfect lips. Justin licked his own unconsciously.
That’s when he realized Anthony was staring at him with an evil look in his eye. Shit.
“You two?” Anthony giggled, touching both hands to his cheeks. “Oh my God, how perfect!”
“Anthony…” Justin suddenly wished he could disappear into the cushions of the armchair.
“Come on.” Anthony was practically pouting. “Something’s going on between you two.”
“Not between us two, no,” Sebastian said. Justin heaved a sigh of relief. He really didn’t need Anthony on his case.
“Yeah,” Justin started to say.
“Between us three.” Sebastian’s eyes sparkled with malevolent glee, simultaneously filling Justin with dread and making his stomach flip in nervous anticipation. How did the witch manage to be both sexy and so bad ? And how were they somehow the same thing?
“Wait. You two…and the maestro?” Anthony’s eyes went wide for a moment, and then suddenly bent over at the waist, letting out a loud, raucous laugh. “That’s fucking amazing.”
“Anthony…”
“No, no, don’t you dare. It’s about time you found yourself someone to care about. Or someones , I guess.”
“It’s not going to happen.” Justin had to be crystal clear on that, especially with Anthony. Once the coven master decided on something, he was as tenacious as a dog with a bone.
Justin turned to Sebastian, hoping for backup, but the tall, thin man tucked his long legs up underneath him, smirking like he was watching a particularly exciting housewife fight on a reality show.
“Why not?!” Anthony crossed his arms and sat across from Justin. “Explain.”
“Yes, Justin, please explain,” Sebastian seconded in his infuriating, teasing tone. Justin looked back and forth between them. These two were peas in a pod.
A dam burst inside of Justin. “Because I owe too much to this coven, and I haven’t even started to pay it back! Because I fall in love and then tragedy strikes! I mean, God, Anthony, the last time I had a crush, Oscar and Trent nearly died!”
Anthony sighed, his face softening. “Justin, you made bad decisions. But you were in a tough situation, and you wanted to protect your aunt. You’ve more than made up for it.
You are a valuable member of the Grosvenor coven, and more importantly, everyone here wants you to be happy. That doesn’t mean living like a monk.”
“Yes, I make bad decisions when my heart is involved. I won’t drag Sebastian, or Pavel, or this coven down into my mess.”
Anthony turned to Sebastian. “What do you think about all this?”
Sebastian shrugged. “I’m a chaos witch. In my experience, everything works out, usually in the most ridiculous way possible. He’ll come around.”
Anthony rolled his eyes, then leaned over and grabbed Justin’s hand in his own. His fingers were cool and comforting .
“Justin. You deserve to have partners, people who support you and love you. What if these two are your mates?”
Sebastian rocked back and forth a little, a gleeful expression on his face. “Oh, we definitely are.”
“See?” Anthony’s piercing gaze was a laser into Justin’s brain, carving out some tumor it found there. “If fate thinks you should be together…”
“Sometimes fate isn’t enough,” Justin whispered. Anthony’s kind words had leached away some of his fear, but he couldn’t let go of his doubt.
“Justin’s right.” As one, all three turned to see Pavel walking through the stairwell. And…he was completely naked.
“Well, at the very least, you two lucked out in one department,” Anthony said, and all the blood rushed to Justin’s face. The vampire buried his head in his hands.
Jumping up from his seat, Anthony headed to a closet back by the door to the kitchen. He rummaged around inside and pulled out a black trench-style topcoat decorated with a subtle navy-blue pattern. He draped it over his arm and bounced back over to Pavel.
“Here. This is Freddie’s, so it should be plenty big enough to cover you up.”
Anthony was right. The coven master was tall enough that the bottom of the coat brushed the floor when Pavel put it on. The gargoyle wrapped it around himself, tying it at the waist.