Stone Guardian (17 page)

If only she could blame dad clinging to outdated gender roles for that fact. Reality was Larissa never had any interest in learning any of those things, no matter how much dad tried to get her involved. She preferred spending her time in the library, always had. It was still her favorite hangout. “I have someone looking out for me.”

Not good. Olivia’s eyes widened a fraction in shock, then took on a gleam of devious speculation. “Oh you do? Who would this paragon be, and why have you never mentioned him to me before?”

How to explain Terak in terms that would not have Olivia salivating and asking ever more uncomfortable questions? “He saved me from the zombies, and said he wanted to protect me.”

“Did he have a hand in getting you away from the orcs?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve never mentioned him before because…?”

“He’s… shy.”

Olivia leaned closer, practically climbing on top of her. “Who is he?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Olivia!” Olivia took that as her cue to back away, though still within pouncing distance. “It’s a secret.”

“I thought we weren’t having any more secrets.”

“That’s right,” confirmed Larissa. “No more hiding my secrets. That doesn’t mean I can tell secrets entrusted to me.”

“He’s trustworthy, you’re sure?”

You would call me a friend?
“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Olivia nodded. “You’re covered in the bodyguard department, good news. Now, how are you going to figure out the whys and wherefores of what’s happening on your own?”

Larissa reached over and grabbed Olivia’s hand. “I’m not on my own. I’ve got you.”

“Fat chance. We get chased by orcs, I’m tripping you and running the other direction.” But Olivia twined her fingers with Larissa’s, giving a reassuring squeeze.

And now came the part of the evening where Olivia got to answer a few questions. “Since you know people, do you think you know anyone who can help me figure this out?”

Olivia’s gaze became distant as she considered. “I think I do. But he’s a hard one to get hold of, and he isn’t a certainty. He’s got his own demons chasing after him.”

“Figuratively or literally?” Larissa asked. Olivia rolled her eyes but didn’t answer the question that might be for the best. “I’d be grateful if you can try to get him, even if he isn’t a certainty.”

“I will. I’ll put in a call when I get home.”

“Thank you.” Eyeing her wineglass, Larissa refilled it and took a long drink. She’d probably need it for this portion of the evening. “Just how do you know people?”

To her credit, Olivia didn’t pretend ignorance. “You know me. I talk to everyone.”

Olivia certainly did that. It was talent and gift rolled together, the way she was able to bond with anyone no matter their background. Within minutes, she went from stranger to beloved family friend. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why would I have?” Olivia’s face held a hint of censure. “Before this happened to you, you were content to live far away from any of the New Realms. It wasn’t a part of my life that I thought you would enjoy. Maybe I didn’t think you’d approve of it.”

“I wouldn’t have approved or disapproved, I just wouldn’t have been interested in it. That sort of dovetails back to our previous discussion about being surrounded by a loving family who think they know best for you, being in a prison that isn’t really a prison.”

An
o
of surprise formed across Olivia’s mouth. A shading of understanding crossed her face as she closed her mouth, bowing her head slightly in acknowledgement of the gentle rebuke. “Sorry.”

“Yeah.” The wine was over half gone by this point, but despite being a lightweight when it came to alcohol, Larissa wasn’t affected by the hazy happiness that usually accompanied consumption. “Don’t worry about it. Honestly, I didn’t realize I was in a prison of my own making until recently.”

“And now?”

Larissa drained the last of the wine in her glass. “Jailbreak.”

Larissa leaned on her balcony railing, looking toward the sky. Olivia left twenty minutes ago after a lot of food and a lot of conversation which didn’t revolve around the crazy turn her life had taken recently.

It had been a great reminder of normalcy, but now she wanted to speak with Terak.

She hadn’t seen him since the day of the orc battle. He said he would be gone for a few days to fulfill his responsibilities at home, then had flown away.

Should she call out, maybe wave her arms like she had done the first day?

Her reverie was interrupted by Terak dropping beside her.

“Terak!” she cried, her hand going over her heart. “You scared me!” That was what one called an understatement. These days a stray leaf was enough to get her jumping.

“My apologies,” he replied, but that deep voice didn’t quite convey that sentiment. He sounded far away, his mind and thoughts in another place and another conversation.

Leader of a Clan. She watched over one hundred students and she’d explode at the end of every day. To know a whole race depended on your every decision? She added a note of teasing to her voice, to let him know no harm done. “If my life keeps up at this pace, I’m going to have a heart attack by the time I’m thirty.” She took a deep breath, trying to settle her racing pulse, when a thought struck. “Do gargoyles age like humans?”

He turned his attention to her then, finally shaking off whatever shackles he arrived with. “Yes, our lifespans are quite similar.”

She motioned to his wings. “But you guys have that cool healing power.”

His brow bone arched above his right eye. No fair, even without eyebrows he could do the eyebrow arch. Why could she never manage that? “Cool?” And she might be wrong, but there sounded like a hint of tease underlining his words, the same tone he used after he had been healed.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you asking me what it means, or are you questioning my choice of outdated slang?”

He mirrored her body language, though watching those massive arms stretch over his impressive chest brought a pounding of her heart that had nothing to do with fright. “You are a teacher. Do you not know the new slang by listening to them?”

“No, kids only speak new slang when they don’t want you to know what they’re talking about. They use the classics around us old people.” She motioned to his wing again before returning to her arms crossed position. “Healing factor?”

Instead of his usual almost smile she got the real thing, small and quick and unexpected and it wasn’t until her lungs told her to bring in some oxygen that she remembered – breathing, a good thing. “I am glad you approve of it, though I do not think of it as cool, more as necessity. You need every advantage in battle.”

She nodded. “Understood. I’m still going with cool.”

“You do that.” Damn, she really liked that teasing note in his voice. It was rusty, hesitant, and she held close the thought that it might be because he used it with no one else but her. He continued, “I have a gift for you.”

“A gift?” Her inner seven-year-old was jumping up and down with excitement. “What did you get me? It wasn’t necessary.”

“This gift is practical, not celebratory, but as you requested it, I wished you to get it as soon as it was ready.”

Into her hand he placed a small silver ball with an unknown script etched into the casing. “What’s this?”

“A way to contact me. Hold it in your hands and think my name, and I will answer you.”

“We’ll be able to talk telepathically?” Wow, this was… this was… Yes, everything ran on magic these days – from cars to telephones – but in the city people tried to minimize that as much as possible. They used magic only for the necessities, and they never used it in such a way that it was obvious magic was responsible for what was going on.

This was something she’d never had before. Pure magic, and a being who encouraged her to use it.

“Yes. No matter where I am in this world, I will hear your call, and I will answer.”

Her fingers curled around the silver ball, so tight the language might have etched itself into her skin. “Thank you so much.”

“Do not thank me. It is a selfish gift.”

“Selfish?”

His midnight eyes locked with hers. “Now I will always be able to talk with you.”

Didn’t gargoyle men know you couldn’t say that to a human woman? Not if you didn’t want her to lose her ability to think and definitely not if you wanted to keep any kind of emotional distance.

Human men needed to explain the basics. A
How to Deal with Women
summit. Nothing would bond the races faster.

But this gift also meant another obligation on him, on top of the thousands of obligations he was answerable to every day of his life. And as amazing as this feeling was, she didn’t want to experience it if all he received on his side was the look of burden he had arrived with tonight. Pulling herself away from his eyes, she motioned to the empty expanse of horizon before them. “It’s a gorgeous night. Don’t you get tired of watching over me? There must be other things you could be doing?”

“Would you wish another to watch over you?”

Maybe it was her wishful thinking, but she could swear she heard the barest trace of hurt underlining the words. She put her hand over his forearm, an echo of what happened with Olivia earlier tonight. “No, I’m glad it’s you, I really am. I worry that if you keep up watching me, your people will suffer.”

He didn’t cover her hand with his, but he did lean close enough to her that they could share a breath. “I am gratified that you worry over my people, but they are able to function without my presence for this period of time.”

“But not for long, not if you are a good leader. And I know you are a good leader.”

He stepped even closer, and his wings half-closed around her, blocking her peripheral vision. “You do?”

“You have this way about you. I’ve seen it before.” She bit her tongue to stop any more words from flowing out with what else she thought – that he was good and honorable and walked the edge of humorlessness in his determination to make every right decision. “Anyway, all I meant is that I know you make your people proud. You can’t waste all your time watching over me.”

“It is not a waste, little human. It could never be a waste. We have shed blood together, have shared secrets and held them honorably. You are my comrade-in-arms, and my friend. I would not have anything harm you.”

Yes, she should request that summit immediately, because this night was turning her into a puddle of emotional goo.

His wings flared, and she held onto that to pull herself out of this emotional morass she was falling into. “Do you like flying?”

It took him a moment to orient himself to the new thread of conversation. “Like it? How do you mean?”

“Well, I guess flying for you is like running for humans, right?” After his nod, she continued. “Some humans hate running and will never do it. Some force themselves to do it, but there is no joy in the act. And some humans love to run. Which is it with you and flying?”

“I have never thought on it.” His eyelids lowered, bringing his eyelashes into relief against his skin. No eyebrows but yes eyelashes. Hair on his head but none on his chest or arms. In this form, did he still have hair in his private regions?

The split-second after that thought crossed her brain –
Damn you, Id!
– the most intense heat in the history of the blush raced over her skin, from her cheeks to her forehead and down her neck to the top of her chest.

His eyelids raised and his brows furrowed the moment he saw her face. “Are you well? You appear overheated.”

“I’m fine, really hot all of a sudden.” One hand pulled her hair away from her face while the other fanned away. “No worries. You were saying about flying?”

He glanced around to see if he could ascertain the cause of her reaction. Thank gods there was no way that could happen. Not finding anything, he turned back to her, answering her question. “There is a freedom in flying that I can find nowhere else. I am away from my obligations and only answerable to the elements.”

“Sounds like you fall into the ‘love’ category then.”

He considered some more before giving a final, decisive nod. “That is a fair way to put it. I cannot disagree.”

She was going to ask. Worst that could happen, he would say no.

Best that could happen, he would say yes and she would be cradled against the large expanse of chest, breathing in the smell of newly-cracked stone as she saw the world as he experienced it every day, his deep voice low, intimate breaths against her ear as he kept her close so his words weren’t lost on the wind.

On second thought, maybe that was the worst that could happen.

She was going to ask anyway.

“Terak?”

It would take mere moments to reach over and cradle her heated cheek in his palm. His claws curled, eager to experience the feel of her warm flesh. A deeper blush than he had ever seen on her, apparent even in the dark of the moonlit night.

So appealing, his little human. She spoke words of duty to him, her surety of his leadership flinging open passageways to deep caverns, shining light on hidden doubts and tenacious worries.

And then, after the comfort brought by her declaration, she immediately caused discomfort to throb through his body by the lift of her hair and the curve of her neck.

To follow that blush as far down as it goes, and then to go further…

Her eyes were luminous in the moonlight, a warmth even in the midst of the coldest night.

“Yes?”

“I-” She broke off, letting her arms down so her hair fell around her face. She licked her full lips, a nervous gesture he was growing familiar with, coming to loathe as he could not follow where that pink little tongue led. “Remember that first night?”

The first night? “Impossible to forget.”

“True.” Her smile held for long moments, not a product of nervousness but of fondness. While he thought on it with a certain amount of pleasure as well, he never dared hope she shared the sentiment. “That was the first time I ever flew.”