18.
Queen
I mmediately, when I wake up, something feels off. As per usual, the room is chilled by the early morning air and bathed in aurora, casting flickering shadows across the walls. But it’s not the light that’s making my skin crawl. It’s the presence.
My eyes adjust and then I see it.
Him .
A massive, hulking figure crouched at the foot of my bed, wings half-spread, glowing eyes boring into me.
I scream so loud from initial shock, I think I hear the echo in another part of the castle.
The gargoyle doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t move. He just sits there, all horns, claws, and chiseled-marble judgment.
Great! This is just perfect. Clearly, if Alex can’t be around to stalk me himself, he’ll send a personal spy to do it for him.
I force my pulse to slow. Okay, so it’s not like he’s here to lunge at me with those claws—but that doesn’t make this any less psychopath-coded.
“What the—” I stammer, yanking the covers up to my neck, suddenly acutely aware that I’m fully naked under them. “What the actual hell do you think you’re doing?”
His gravelly voice is low and maddeningly calm when he replies, “Watching.”
“Ah, watching . Okay!” I snap, pushing the frizzy curls out of my face. “Watching what, exactly? Me having a heart attack?!”
Seriously, who watches people sleep?
Oh, God… my lovable beast totally does this, doesn’t he?
Before the gargoyle responds, the door bursts open, and Meg rushes in, barefoot and clutching the fireplace poker like she’s about to start a revolution. Her long hair is a wild, tangled mess, and she’s still in her two-piece PJs, but her eyes are fierce and ready to fight.
“What? What is it?” she shouts, looking frantically around the room. “Is there a ghost somewhere? A big spider?”
I point an accusatory finger at the gargoyle, who still hasn’t budged. “That!”
Meg squints at him, then at me, then back at him again. Her grip on the iron rod loosens. “Julia.” Her raspy voice is done with me before I even start. “That’s a statue .”
“It’s not just a statue!” I hiss. “It’s alive! Look at its eyes!”
She peers at him again, unimpressed. “Yeah, creepy. But still just a statue.”
“It’s a creepy, glowing-eyed, sneaky statue that was just watching me sleep!”
She stares at me for a long moment, her lips pressing into a thin line. And then, with a sigh, she drops the poker to her side.
“Ugh, I got startled,” I whine, seeing that annoyed look on her face. “Thanks for your empathy.”
Groaning, she shakes her head. “For fuck’s sake! Not only do you scream all night long getting railed, but now you won’t even let me sleep in?”
My mouth falls open. “I did not —”
“Save it,” she interrupts, waving the tool dismissively. “I don’t care. But if you wake me up one more time, I’m moving out. Good luck with…” she gestures vaguely at the gargoyle, “ whatever this is. ”
And with that, she spins on her heel and marches back out, muttering something about drama queens and haunted castles with many cuss words in between.
She stops in the doorway. “Nobody is that good to make this much noise. Nobody .”
“Well, Alex is. And just because you’re not getting any doesn’t mean you can be so bitchy!”
I can’t even say goodbye to my wolf-man without scorn around here. And he sure wanted everyone to hear… I blush at my vivid memories from last night.
The door slams shut behind her, leaving me alone with that damn gargoyle again… who still hasn’t moved. Nothing. Not a twitch. Just a huge slab of marble with those amethysts following my every move. His eerie, silent stillness only makes it worse.
“Are you trying to get killed?” I yell, flinging a pillow at him. It hits his chest, bounces off like a fly swatted against a wall, and lands on the floor with a pitiful plop.
Silence. He doesn’t say anything. He just keeps watching me, his eyes glowing faintly like two little spotlights on my nerves.
“So you’re not gonna talk now?” I demand. “Huh. Is this whole dark and mysterious thing your only personality trait? Because let me tell you, the fountain in the courtyard has better charisma.”
He tilts his head ever so slightly, and I think— think —he might respond. But no. Instead, he just lets out this deep, gravelly exhale, like he’s already tired of me.
“No, you don’t sigh at me!” I frown, pointing at him.
His wings shift, just barely, swirling the air in the space between us. “You talk enough for both of us.”
Not him with the attitude.
“Oh, wow! ” I throw my hands up, then quickly drop them back down and fold across my chest in case my nipples are hard or something. “You do realize I’m naked, right? And you, what? You’ve just been sitting here the whole time? Staring at me? That’s not pervy at all,” I mutter, my sarcasm seeping out of me. “Nope, totally normal behavior. Definitely won’t be telling Alex about this when he comes back so he can deal with you. You know, the King . And trust me, he gets creative when he’s in a rage.”
“I don’t sit,” he rumbles. “I perch.”
This motherfucker.
I’m dangerously close to losing my shit, and today is really not a day for that.
“And I’m under strict orders from the King to guard you,” he continues, his unearthly voice entirely too relaxed for someone who just scared me half to death and probably got a peek at my completely nude body.
“From my bed?”
He shrugs—yes, shrugs —his leathery wings gently lifting and dropping in sync behind him in the barest hint of life. “I followed the command. Your discomfort is irrelevant.”
“ You’re irrelevant, you… winged boulder!” I mutter, clutching my non-existing pearls. “And somehow, I highly doubt the orders were to go check what a great rack the Queen has. Me being said Queen, mind you.”
“ Don’t let her out of your sight —to be precise.”
“He didn’t mean it literally! ” My eyes roll habitually. “What, are you going to walk into the bathroom after me too?”
“I don’t see a problem with that.”
“Of course you don’t.” I grit my teeth. Obviously, Alex doesn’t trust me to stay out of trouble without an audience, but with the stunt he pulled the gargoyle is as good as dead. “Ugh, I don’t need a babysitter—and a grumpy one at that! I swear, Meg with her weapon in hand is a better protector than you.”
“Perhaps he doubted your friend’s ability to handle you , not fighting off danger.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
His expression doesn’t change—still stone-cold—but there’s a faint flicker of something in his violet eyes. Amusement, maybe. Or condescension. Either way, I don’t like it.
“It means,” he says slowly, like he’s savoring the words, “that I am better suited to enduring your… temperament. You’re tiny but a handful.”
“Oh, you think you’re funny,” I say, tossing my head back and letting out a humorless laugh. “Newsflash, buddy: just because you’re made of stone doesn’t mean you’re immune to me chucking things at you. I’m very good at that.”
“Your pillow was ineffective,” he deadpans.
“You want me to upgrade?” I grab the nearest object…no, not the vibrator. Why is it always the vibrator?
I grab the second nearest object—which turns out to be a glass of water from the bedside table—and dash it at him.
He steps aside with grace, letting it shatter harmlessly on the floor. “Temperamental,” he repeats, almost to himself, like he’s relishing how easy it is to rattle me.
I groan. “This is going to be such a long day. You know what? Fine. Brood in the corner. See if I care. But you better keep your creepy statue act away from my bed, or I promise you I’ll figure out how to chisel you into a garden gnome.”
For a second, I can see the faintest twitch in the corner of his wide mouth. “I don’t understand why you’re getting upset,” he says flatly, but his voice carries the minimal undertone of smug satisfaction. “I’ve done nothing to harm you.”
I’m fuming at this point. “Not yet .”
“You should rest. Seems like you had a long night,” he says, mocking my crankiness. And the disrespect is beyond me.
“Excuse me?!”
“You’re very loud, Your Highness,” he whispers innocently.
I’m not having sex in this place again. Ever .
Actually, no . Fuck that. I’m going to start having sex even harder . Alex will be pleased. Others are not my problem.
Then it happens. His glowing eyes dim, his wings fold neatly behind him, and his entire body hardens into lifeless stone. He just… freezes . Yet, there’s a hint of emotion playing on his lips.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I practically bark at him.
Statues don’t smirk… Do they?
The worst part? As much as I hate to admit it, I feel safer with him here. But I’ll die before I let him know that.
I flop onto my back, getting comfy in the sheets again. But when it’s all calm and quiet, and I stare at the high cathedral ceilings above, I get that sinking feeling in my stomach as reality sets in.
Alex…