Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
ELOISE
A nya and I met up in Hugo’s apartment for tea and pastries. Sunlight spread over the city, waking it from its slumber, while pedestrians rushed about below. I blew on the steaming Earl Grey and lavender blend with a splash of milk before I sipped it. The hot beverage soothed as it went down.
“ You keep smiling this morning.” Anya’s brows shot upward. “ Something put you in a good mood?”
I giggled from behind my teacup while my cheeks heated. “ Perhaps .”
Her eyes widened. “ No .” She cocked her head. “ Really ?” Her voice edged up higher. “ You and Dumont ?”
Oh , yes. And that was why I couldn’t keep a grin off my face. Sure , I was sore after last night, but it had been amazing. Entirely worth it. And I still couldn’t believe it.
“ Yes ,” I admitted.
“ Oh my god!” Anya shrieked and put down her tea. “ That’s incredible.”
“ Shh ,” I whispered, attempting to calm her excitement. “ We don’t need to announce what happened last night to all the gargoyles in the building.” I let out a nervous laugh. I hadn’t exactly been quiet—it was almost impossible to do so. Dumont was so large, so incredibly large…
“ Does this mean…?” Anya motioned between her and me with a circular movement. “ You and Dumont ?”
“ No ,” I dismissed abruptly. “ It was just one night.” I took a pain au chocolat from the fine china plate decorated with blue and yellow flowers and bit the flaky pastry with decadent chocolate baked inside.
Her mouth parted as a disappointed expression came over her face.
“ Why do you say that?”
“ Because …” I pushed my hair back behind my shoulders. “ We’re not like you and Hugo .”
“ Meaning ?” She tilted her head.
“ We’re not—we’re not mates.” That one word packed a world of wonders in it. I shook my head. I couldn’t believe I was talking about this—a concept I didn’t understand with a species I’d only recently discovered.
Anya studied me before she nodded. “ I see. I guess I was hoping…”
When she trailed off, I added, “ That Dumont and I would be a couple after a few days? That you and I could double-date gargoyles?”
She chuckled and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “ When you say it out loud, it sounds ridiculous.”
“ Because it is.” And even if I might have wondered about that odd fantasy myself, it would be foolish to do so. Dumont had made his priorities clear with his role as commander. I might have merely been a pleasant diversion last night, especially after he’d spent so much time protecting me.
Perhaps that wasn’t an accurate assessment, but what else should I think? I was only here temporarily. Did everyone find me a burden? I’d passed a few sentries in the halls since I’d arrived, and although they looked at me more with curiosity rather than any sort of animosity, I was still a stranger inhabiting their space. And their commander had told them to protect me.
Dumont and I didn’t have that soul-deep connection that Anya had tried to describe to me. She’d given me books to help me understand, and I’d read a wolf shifter one so far. I agreed with her that the concept of mates sounded like what I thought of as a soul mate—except with a distinct, primal sense of smell of knowing who was “the one.”
“ Where is he now?” Anya asked.
“ Out working, doing whatever gargoyle-y things that gargoyles do.”
She clucked her tongue and then grinned. “ That’s still a mystery to me as well. They could be jammed up on the exterior of the building, being inconspicuous and unobserved as they watch the city below. Or they could be smack dab in the middle of someplace like a library, such as how Hugo stood nearby for months before I knew there was any life to the stone.”
“ Creepy ,” I muttered.
She shrugged. “ Maybe I thought that way at first. But now, having him nearby is assuring. Knowing he’s there makes me feel safe. And cared for.”
Too bad that wasn’t an option for Dumont and me. Feeling safe and secure wasn’t something I’d ever experienced for long, and damn, that sounded ideal. The moment something rattled me, I ran.
“ You’re right,” I said. “ That does sound kind of nice.” To change the subject from what I lacked, I said, “ What are you going to do today?”
Anya straightened and gave me a warm smile. “ I’m going to work at the library. Too many responsibilities await that I can’t ignore.”
“ You sound like Dumont ,” I teased.
She brought her fingertips together. “ How so?”
“ He’s mentioned his duties and responsibilities more than once.”
“ Ah , that makes sense with him being the commander here.”
Right . He had a lot on his plate. And with me here? Did I make things more difficult for him?
“ You haven’t had any problems going there, considering—” I didn’t elaborate on the reason why it could be dangerous, especially since I’d been the one to draw the threat to the library.
“ No . It’s been quiet. Hugo goes with me and other gargoyles track us to ensure we get to the library safely. With others on watch there, we’re protected by gargoyles just as we are here at the Vault .”
I acknowledged that with a slow nod and lifted my teacup. As I raised the warm mug, I inhaled the scent of the tea, savoring the fragrance of bergamot and lavender before I took a sip. After I put it down, I gazed out the window. It seemed like it had been days since I’d been outside, aside from being on the rooftop or terraces here on the building. Although it didn’t necessarily feel like I was trapped since Dumont had a way of occupying many of my thoughts, it would be nice to get out again—as long as it was safe.
“ Want to come?”
I snapped my head up and grinned at Anya . “ What , are you reading my mind?”
A surprised-sounding chuckle escaped her. “ Not that I know.” She turned her hand palm up. “ Well , we are twins… Don’t they have some sort of mind connection?”
I shrugged and turned my hands palms up. “ Maybe .” Why not test it? I focused hard and attempted to send her a message through my mind.
She leaned back. “ What are you doing?”
“ What do you mean?”
“ You’re staring at me with a weird expression.”
With a self-conscious laugh, I shook my head. “ I was attempting to communicate with you through my mind.”
“ Oh …” She nodded slowly. “ Like how gargoyles communicate.”
That hadn’t been my intention, but maybe being around the supernatural and learning about magic was rubbing off on me in a weird way.
“ What were you saying?”
I blinked, trying to remember my question. Oh yes. “ I was asking you what I could do in the library while you worked.”
Her mouth spread into a wide smile. “ It’s a library.” She turned her hand up. “ You can read books, magazines, newspapers. Check out the art collection.” Then she brought her fingertips together and her eyes gleamed with excitement. “ Actually , I have something there to show you.”
Once Hugo had confirmed we were good to go with Dumont , Anya and I crammed into an oversized car that Dumont had ordered. Hugo climbed in the front seat.
“ Wait !” a male’s voice called out.
It sounded like Dumont , and my heart beat faster. When I glanced over my shoulder, it was indeed him.
“ I’m coming too.”
As he slid in beside me in the backseat, I drank in his masculine scent. His large frame pressed against me, and awareness tingled along my skin at all the places his body touched mine. I stared down at our legs. His powerful gargoyle quads contrasted with my smaller, human ones. Then I glanced up at the driver, who looked human. He didn’t show any indication that there were hulking gargoyles in his vehicle. Their magic that could make them appear human must have been convincing.
“ I know you’re busy.” I glanced over at Dumont . “ You didn’t have to come.”
“ I did,” he declared and didn’t elaborate.
I let out a sheepish sigh. My little jaunt to the library shouldn’t pull him from whatever work he was doing, which was sure to be far more important than accompanying me on a field trip with my sister.
When we reached the stone building, he walked us to the entrance and glanced up, no doubt checking in with the gargoyles mounted outside. What a strange world I’d stepped into.
He turned to me and stared into my eyes. “ Eloise , will I see you tonight?”
My pulse quickened. If it was anything like last night, it was sure to be magical.
“ Yes .” My voice came out breathy.
He kissed my cheek, then took a step backward. I entered the library and as soon as the door closed behind me, his absence hit me with a pang. Although I’d been excited about this field trip away from the Vault , I now looked forward to returning this evening to see Dumont again.
I meandered through the library, taking in the stately bookshelves and artwork. Our grandmother had collected many paintings and sculptures in addition to books. People milled about, mostly college students judging by their age, as they searched for books or read at desks under green banker’s lamps.
During her shift, Anya was so busy helping patrons that she didn’t have time to show me what she’d wanted to until closing. I killed time exploring the library and reading while she worked. I couldn’t get in her way as I increasingly felt like I was a burden, not only with her but with also the sentries.
Twenty minutes later, Anya found me seated with a newspaper, flipping through recent events.
“ Ready ?”
“ Yes .” I stood.
Anya led me to the back of the library with bookshelves reaching to the ceiling. She reached up and pulled a book forward but put it back. She then did so with another and then a third.
“ What are you doing?” I asked, perplexed. Why was she having trouble deciding on a book?
“ Wait one second.” She raised her index finger.
The bookshelf that she stood before inched forward.
“ No freaking way,” I exclaimed. “ A moving bookcase.” I clasped my hands together. “ Please tell me it leads into a secret passageway.”
“ Pretty much,” she agreed with a smile. “ But it leads to so much more.”
As the bookcase inched forward with the low rumbling sound, it revealed a hidden opening. I rolled on my toes, eager to explore. When the space was wide enough for us to enter, Anya stepped in and beckoned for me to follow. Behind me, the bookcase edged back into place with that low rumbling sound and then stopped.
“ Wait a minute,” I stopped her as I looked over my shoulder. “ Are we going to be able to get out?” I turned back to her, my worry likely etched onto my face.
“ Yes .” She smiled and took my hand. “ Don’t worry. I have much to show you.” As she led me to a hidden nook, the scent of fragrant herbs hanging from strings surrounded me. She stopped before a cozy space with old leather-bound books, a burgundy velvet sofa, and tons of jars with herbs and whatnot. “ This is where I hid the grimoire—they call this space Adelaide’s Attic . The gargoyles said that with many wards of protection in the library and in her hidden room in particular, that this was the ideal place to store it.”
I snorted. “ I’d say.” Tilting my head, I added, “ It would be the ideal place to hide.” Even if it was out in plain sight, it would likely blend in with all the other ancient-looking books. My gaze arrested on an old ornate mirror on a silver stand. “ Is that—” I left my question unfinished. That memory must have been the most terrifying of her life, as was mine with Calix .
“ Yes ,” she said, her voice a notch lower. “ That’s the mirror I used on Calix .”
I stared at it, amazed, before meeting Anya’s eyes, which now appeared haunted by the memory. To snap her out of it, I reminded her, “ And you defeated him.”
After a pause, she uttered in a lower voice. “ I think Adelaide helped.”
I tipped my head. “ How ?”
Anya stared at me for several seconds before saying, “ It might sound crazy, but… I swear I heard her voice in my head.”
My lips parted before I whispered, “ Incredible .” Riveted , I prodded, “ Tell me everything.”
She told me about the struggle with Calix in more detail. “ He mentioned a prophecy about a witch coming into power.” When she got to the part about using the mirror, she lifted it.
“ I want to learn everything.” I pressed my fingertips together. “ Consider me your eager student.”
She gave me a sheepish grin. “ I don’t know if I’m the right person to teach you since I’m just learning myself.”
“ Then maybe we can practice together.”
We spent the next few hours talking while going through the various magic books. Anya showed me what she’d been able to do with the spell book, and I practiced basic spells. Whenever we found a note from Adelaide , we shared it. She was our grandmother, whom we never knew, and that left a gap that could never be filled. But maybe we’d discover whatever we could about such a fascinating woman.
“ One of the demon hybrids had mentioned a prophecy. ‘ A witch will rise in power with the aid of grimoire.’”
“ You ?” I said. “ It must be, considering you defeated Calix .”
She shrugged. “ That might have been a fluke.”
I grunted. “ That’s one mighty fluke!”
She motioned to me. “ It could be you.”
“ Ha ! I’m not even a baby witch at this point.” But I was eager to learn more about our family’s connection to magic.
Footsteps approached, and my heart rate sped up.
“ Ladies , it’s just me, Hugo ,” he called. “ The driver is ready to take us back whenever you’re ready.”
“ We’ll be out shortly,” Anya replied.
Having only just started exploring this new, magical world, I didn’t want to stop. Then I remembered what I had planned tonight—seeing Dumont again. I stood and smoothed out my clothing while my body tingled with anticipation.