Chapter 24 #2
“Yeah?” I said in confusion, bringing into focus my connections and bonds. They were all on the other side of the territory, out near empty fields and trees.
“He’s going to take the Ivy House magic. Protector’s magic, or something. He says it’s volatile, and that if he—”
“Thank you. Drop me a pin to your exact location. I’ll leave now.”
I grabbed my backpack and ran toward my closet. The door to the secret tunnels popped open as I got there.
“What is he doing, taking that magic in a field, of all places?” Ivy House groused. “He should do it here, on the grounds. It’ll be easier for him to manage.”
“He is worried the darkness will consume him and he’ll have to be killed, the donkey. You heard him tell me.”
“Yes, but I thought he got over that.”
“Clearly, he was just telling me that to get me off his back. The insufferable…”
I should’ve expected this. I really should have.
He would do anything to protect me, especially against himself.
Which was why I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.
The other Mate Protectors were jealous of the heir’s magic.
They wanted more than to be a partner of a powerful woman.
They wanted to stand above her. They wanted to be the most powerful person in the room, their mates be damned.
Austin didn’t. He never had. He’d been ready to die to help me find my gargoyle.
He’d taken extensive pains to help my magic flower, constantly putting himself at risk.
He’d always stood proudly beside me. He would not allow himself to hurt me, no matter what magic was pumped into his body.
He simply wouldn’t stand for it. He’d buckle the world to resist if he had to.
That was why he was the newly crowned king of the shifters. His past had shaped him, his trials had honed him, and now he would force his future to serve him.
But he was also human, and sometimes he needed to be reminded of all that. I’d do so now, possibly with a swift kick in his ass, the dummy.
At the first landing on the roof, I stashed my muumuu and shifted into my gargoyle.
Obviously this meant I couldn’t use the “Find My” app on my phone, but I’d worry about that if I couldn’t find them through the bonds or connections, both of which Austin was currently trying to stifle.
Trying and failing. He was out of practice.
I jumped off the roof. A flashback hit me of the time before I’d found my gargoyle. I’d stared at the ground three stories down, with Edgar waiting in the wrong place to catch me, wondering if I’d go splat.
And here I was, just launching myself off. Times had certainly changed.
“I wish I could send dolls with you to drag him back,” Ivy House said.
“No one else finds that situation funny, you know.”
“Definitely not true, and who cares? I find it funny. That’s all that really matters.”
I flew as fast as I could, crossing a section of downtown and then cutting across the corners of a wooded area.
Gargoyles rose into the sky behind me, apparently having seen me pass and deciding they’d better join me.
They fell in behind, perfectly synced, expertly trained. Tristan had really come into his own.
More rose, falling in line. More still, larger and more colorful than a flock of birds.
Speaking of birds—Hollace launched into the sky. Cyra joined him.
Niamh rose now, with Fred laughing and whooping on her back. Whatever information Fred was gleaning was clearly invaluable, well worth Niamh’s giving her the treat of flight. They’d need to report soon.
Ulric and Jasper hurried to my side, both looking over to see what was going on. Niamh took her place below me, with Cyra and Hollace flying above. Lord help us if I ever wanted to go for a joy ride just for the fun of it.
The field was just up ahead. Austin stood in the middle of the space.
He was nude, his hands at his sides as he looked skyward.
Tristan, Sue, Aljoe, and Aurora all waited around him in their animal forms, with all Aljoe’s rogues in the third circle.
Around the clearing stood basajaunak, though I couldn’t tell which.
Austin had amassed as much power as he could to stop him if he turned into a nightmare.
Pain hit my chest. His scars from his youth were showing.
I dove down to him. As the well-oiled flight machine they were, everyone dove with me. Ulric and Jasper drifted closer, in case they needed to grab me if I couldn’t pull out of the dive. Nearly at the ground, I pulled up, wobbled a little, and then set down.
I shifted quickly, ignoring everyone else.
Austin’s gaze had followed me, and now he nervously watched me walk toward him.
“I mean”—I put out my hands—“obviously, we’re fighting now. So that’s happening?”
His expression didn’t register the half-joke meant to lighten things up. We never really fought. We discussed. Usually that discussion was talking things out, but sometimes it resulted in very loud yelling. Almost always the end result was compromise and aggressive lovemaking.
This situation would absolutely become the yelling variety, but we’d deal with that when everyone was safe again.
“We’re doing this together, Austin.” I sent a peal of magic at everyone gathered here, telling them to head away.
“Jess, no,” Austin pleaded desperately. He was scared now—scared he’d lose himself to the darkness and hurt me.
Gargoyles pushed into the air but didn’t go far. Basajaunak retreated a bit, and the rogues fell back with them, but they didn’t leave. The first circle of defense didn’t move at all.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” Austin told me. His arms hung at his sides, and his body was almost bowed in defeat. If I needed further proof, I had it. He didn’t crave the power he could get through Ivy House; he was afraid of it. He was doing this solely for me.
“Do you remember when I was a Jane and newly here?” I asked. “I sat by the lake and contemplated taking the magic. I sensed the darkness, too. The pushiness of it, honestly. Do you remember what you did?”
His gaze stayed rooted to mine. He didn’t answer.
“Despite your misgivings, you let me ride on your back into battle, and then you fought the enemy while I claimed the magic. Do you remember?”
He inclined his head.