by Tami Lund
She shook her head. “I-I can’t. I don’t know.” Pulling away, she wandered out into the living room, wrapping her arms around her waist as she watched the sun slip below the fence line. “You should probably get going.”
He hurried over and stood behind her but did not touch her. “Please don’t shut me out.”
Flinging herself around, she said, “What do you expect me to do? I mean, I appreciate that you didn’t actually leave without saying goodbye this time, but you will. You’ve already said it a hundred times. Once you go talk to Oliver, you’ll be off the case or whatever gargoyles call it. An assignment, that’s the word. Some other gargoyle is going to be in charge of Penelope’s safety. So when you walk out that door, that’s it. I’ll never see you again. Again.”
She blinked rapidly and Griffin suspected her eyes were flooding with tears, but she turned away before he could verify his hunch. And, gods, but he felt like a heel because she was right; he was leaving, and someone else would be assigned to Penelope, and there was a strong chance they would not see each other again.
He was new to Oliver’s brethren, the most prestigious of all gargoyles in the world. He had a lot to prove, and sneaking around trying to maintain a relationship he knew he wasn’t supposed to have in the first place was not exactly the best way to impress his new boss.
Yeah, Argyle was apparently doing it, or had at some point, but Argyle had been with Oliver for a thousand years. He could be forgiven a few transgressions here and there. Griffin had a long way to go before he could make those sorts of choices, and Sofia would have, no doubt, moved on with her life by then.
“I…” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I should not have… We should not have…”
“Story of my damn life,” she muttered, the bitterness as palpable as a living thing. “Just go.”
He didn’t want to. He wanted to stay, to wrap his arms around her and reassure her that he’d never leave her side. But, ultimately, Sofia and Penelope’s safety came first.
He had to talk to Oliver. He had to make sure they were both protected.
He walked toward the nearest French doors, his sneakers making almost no sound on the hardwood floor. And then he grasped the handle. And paused. Heard her shuddering breath.
Willed himself not to turn around. If she was openly crying, there was no way he’d be able to leave her.
But he had to. For her own sake. For Penelope’s sake.
He put pressure on the brass-plated handle, and the air made a sort of gasping noise as the door freed from its frame. He stepped out onto the porch and gently pulled the door shut behind him.
With a burst of speed born of frustration, he pushed off with his left foot and summoned the magic at the same time.
Sparks chased down his spine as his skin transformed from human flesh to pliable leather that helped wick away moisture when he was flying through clouds or rain. His tailbone elongated, his arms and legs shortened, and wings sprouted from his back. He didn’t even touch the ground as he silently commanded his wings to flap, to catch the wind, to lift him higher and higher, until he was so far up, he could not make out whether Sofia had run out onto the porch to watch him leave.
But he knew. He didn’t need to see, because he could feel it.
Chapter Twelve
Okay, yes, Sofia had known that Griffin would leave again, which meant she should not have slept with him. Again.
But she had, and now she had to pay the consequences.
The damage to her heart. And, apparently, to her dragon, who was currently sulking in a remote corner of her mind and refusing to speak to her. Which she ought to appreciate since the beast tended to do so at inopportune times, but honestly, she could use someone to chat with right about now.
Although what would she say? If she told her tale to anyone, they’d think she was a fool, and they’d be right. Sleeping with Griffin the first time could be forgiven. She had no idea that he’d slip away without saying goodbye, that he’d leave a three-month-old infant behind for her to raise. This time, however, she’d been fully aware of what she was getting into, and she’d made the choice anyway.
Best not to share her story with anyone. Keep it locked inside, as she had most things, for her entire life.
She sniffled and swiped at wetness on her cheek. Guess her tear ducts hadn’t gotten the memo.
A noise that sounded like someone heading down the stairs caused her to quickly wipe away any trace of sadness and turn around with a fake, bright smile plastered onto her lips. Antoinette and then Ketu came into view, and Antoinette studied her face, concern etched on her own, and Sofia wished not for the first time that the woman she’d once considered a friend had not become reeve. If she were still a bartender at Mitch’s, Sofia might have been willing to open up to her, to tell her the truth, or at least as much as she could.
But now she couldn’t. With Trennon living here and Antoinette actively trying to track Darius, there was far too much at risk. Like Sofia’s own life.
And her mother’s.
At least she didn’t need to worry about Darius doing anything to Penelope. When he’d shown up at the playground, she’d deliberately avoided summoning Penelope until she was certain he was gone. Yes, if he had been watching her, he knew Penelope was in her life, but hopefully he didn’t realize what the child meant to her. Or what the child was.
She doubted Darius knew much of anything at all about Daughters of Light, but he could find out easily enough by simply asking around. The first witch he came across would fill him in. And then he’d know just how valuable Penelope was, and he’d most certainly use that to his advantage.
Griffin’s replacement couldn’t get here fast enough.
She wasn’t necessarily worried that Darius would show up here, literally, in this house. Antoinette seemed perfectly capable of taking the man down if he dared; not to mention, there were guards and other dragons around all the time.
Sofia had seen the man do some pretty dirty stuff. Like break another dragon’s fingers because the guy had acted interested in some woman who probably meant nothing at all to Darius, yet Darius had demanded the guy apologize—to him. The apology hadn’t been up to his standards. And there had been the girl he’d gotten pregnant and then refused to acknowledge that the child was his—instead, with calculated determination, he had gotten the baby mama addicted to dragon’s blood.
Still, as horrible as those and the countless other cruelties he’d handed out were, they were a far cry from breaking into the reeve’s private residence. That would take planning and organizing, not bullying and physical pain.
She and Penelope were safe here.
“You okay?” Antoinette asked, closing the distance between them and placing her hand on Sofia’s arm.
Sofia nodded and waved at the French doors. “Griffin went to speak to his boss.”
“Ah.” That word sounded far too knowing for Sofia’s taste, but she did not ask Antoinette to expand.
“Where are the kids?” Sofia asked.
“In Henri’s room. They are both going to need baths soon. They’ve been playing non-stop all afternoon, and they got pretty sweaty.”
Sofia nodded. “Good. That means they’ll sleep well.”
“Henri asked if Penelope could sleep in his room tonight. I know you said you wanted her with you, but I’m putting it out there anyway. She’ll be as safe in there as she is with you. We have dragons who guard the perimeter of the yard all day and night. Plus, his room doesn’t have access outside, like yours does.”
Her dragon perked up for the first time since Griffin said goodbye. Maybe they’re fated mates, the beast whispered.
Sofia shook her head. Penelope isn’t a dragon.
Does that really matter?
Did it? Honestly, Sofia had rarely given thought to the idea of finding her own fated mate. She’d shunned her own kind as much as possible, other than when she was working at Mitch’s, and she knew better than to believe she’d fi
nd her mate in a bar. She’d been hit on plenty of times, but those guys weren’t looking for forever. They only wanted a few hours between the sheets. And she’d learned her lesson after sleeping with Griffin.
Well, to some extent, anyway.
“I’ll make dinner,” Ketu said from where he stood in front of the open refrigerator door, examining the contents, “if you two want to get their baths going.”
Antoinette arched her brows, but Sofia shrugged and followed the other woman up the stairs. “This all feels way too domestic for someone who is reeve,” she commented.
Antoinette chuckled. “The responsibilities of being reeve make me appreciate all this so-called mundane stuff. It’s nice to do tasks that are straightforward. Every decision I make as reeve has to be weighed against a dozen different scenarios and theories and potential outcomes. Not to mention, what will the colony think? Will they like this decision? And of course, there is never a consensus, so then I have to decide whether it’s worth pissing off X number of dragons each time. It’s definitely not a fun job.”
“Why do you do it? I mean, why did you take it on in the first place?”
“Well, at the time, Trennon was incapacitated, Darius was a drug dealer, and from the brief interlude you had with Delilah, could you imagine her running a dragon colony?”
Sofia snorted.
“Exactly. I was the next best option when it all went down. So the Elders assigned me as the interim until they could meet and figure out what to do going forward. Three months in, I realized that I liked making the improvements, doing things that made a difference in dragons’ lives. The positive impact outweighs the difficulty of coming to the decisions, most of the time.”
“I admire you,” Sofia said when they paused in front of the closed door to Henri’s bedroom.
“And I admire you,” Antoinette said, surprising her. “I’ve always had help raising Henri, even though his father wasn’t in the picture. But you’ve been doing it entirely on your own. And Penelope isn’t even a dragon, so now you have to help guide her through a way of life you probably didn’t even know existed two days ago.”
Sofia gave a nervous laugh. “That’s true. And I’m not going to lie; I’m petrified of that day when she leaves to do her duty as a Daughter of Light.”
“She’ll be fine. She’ll have the best training. Becca had only known about her magic for a few days and she took down a small nest of warlocks. Part of it was instinctual, but also, Argyle and his brethren are excellent instructors.”
“Thanks. That makes me feel better.”
“That goes for Griffin too.”
“Huh?” Sofia glanced into the other woman’s eyes.
Antoinette nodded. “It’s obvious he cares for both you and Penelope. He will protect you both with his life.”
Sofia thought so too. The problem was, Griffin did not have enough confidence in himself to trust his own instincts.
“He’s going to protect us by letting his boss assign a different gargoyle to watch over Penelope,” she said.
“That’s too bad,” Antoinette murmured, and then she opened the door and they stepped into a room with Legos and miniature race cars strewn all over the floor, with a young dragon and witch in the middle, having the time of their lives.
When Antoinette announced that it was bath time, both kids sprang to their feet, and simultaneously groaned when she said it would be in separate tubs. Maybe Sofia’s dragon was right about them being fated mates.
Was that even possible?
***
"I promise, we don’t usually eat dinner this late,” Antoinette noted as they sat down to eat burgers and salad.
“Hey, I’m not complaining,” Sofia said. “Especially when I don’t have to do the cooking.”
It was a quiet affair, with only Sofia, Ketu, Antoinette, and the two children seated around the table, which Antoinette assured her was also not normal. Usually, any number of dragons stopped in for one reason or another, and as was Southern—and dragon—custom, if they came by during mealtime, they were invited to partake. Not to mention, Maria, Trennon, and Delilah all lived here, so usually at least one if not all of them made themselves available to food.
“The reeve of the colony Ketu lived in up in Detroit has a full-time chef,” Antoinette commented in between bites of her burger. “I’ve been thinking about creating that position here. I’d hoped Maria would be willing to do it, since she doesn’t really do much else, but the woman can’t cook to save her life.”
“Why does she live here?” Sofia blurted before she could catch herself.
Antoinette sighed. “Darius kept her prisoner here when he had his father sedated. She was Trennon’s caregiver. Couldn’t leave the house. Plus, according to Ketu, Darius abused her. I had hoped allowing her to live here and just do simple chores would help her deal with the trauma and eventually heal.”
Sofia and Maria had more in common than Sofia would have ever guessed.
Both children were rubbing their respective eyes. “I think it’s bedtime,” Sofia said softly, and then, because she did not want Penelope to grow up as reclusive as she herself had become, she added, “If you’d like to sleep in Henri’s room, you can, sweetheart.”
Penelope perked up and clapped her hands. “Yay! Thank you, Mommy.” She flung her arms around Sofia’s neck, hugging her so tightly that Sofia had to pry her arms apart so she could breathe, and then she turned to Henri. “I’ve never had a sleepover before.”
Soon enough, the kids were tucked in, Penelope on the bottom bunk and Henri up top, and after two stories and lots of kisses, the three adults stepped out into the hall.
“Normally, Ketu and I retire to our room at this point,” Antoinette said. “Gives us a break after being around other people all day long. But I’m happy to go downstairs if you want to. We can sit outside and split a bottle of wine.”
As tempting as that offer was, Sofia shook her head. “I’m sure you have a ton of work to do. And I’m exhausted.” It was a lie; she was wide awake and actually feeling a bit jittery, but she did not want to impose any more than she already had.
“Okay then. Good night. See you in the morning.”
She watched Ketu and Antoinette walk down the hall to the other end, and once the door closed behind them, she headed back downstairs. Sitting outside with a glass of wine actually sounded like a lovely idea.
As she helped herself to the bottle of rosé in the fridge, Sofia decided she needed to figure out how to pay Antoinette back for her generosity. She would start in the morning by getting up early and making everyone breakfast. A quick perusal of the kitchen told her there were ample ingredients to make omelets and bacon and toast, with a side of fruit.
Feeling less like a burden already, she stepped outside and gently closed the door behind her. There were no lights on, which was smart as it reduced the number of hovering bugs. The slowly swirling fans hanging from the porch ceiling helped too.
That was good, because the air was stagnant—hot and heavy, with no breeze to speak of. No doubt a fall thunderstorm was heading their way. Moisture was beading on her forehead, her upper lip, and her chest. She ought to go back inside where it was cooler, but she’d always been a sucker for the calm before a storm.
She’d need to shower before going to bed, but in the meantime, she wanted to sit in the gazebo under that imposing oak. Crickets and frogs calling to each other greeted her ears as she walked across the damp ground. She assumed the birds had all settled for the night, but then something scurried across her path and a great barn owl swooped down and clamped its jaws around the critter before flying up and disappearing into the darkened sky.
A wicker couch, two chairs, and a coffee table were positioned inside the gazebo, which also had mosquito netting that could be zipped closed to ensure the bugs stayed away. A Rubbermaid storage container sat off to the side, and that’s where Sofia assumed the cushions were kept to protect them from the sort of weather that was most definitel
y heading their way.
Placing her wineglass on the low table, she bent and flipped open the storage bin. Two solar-powered lanterns hung from the side of the carport, casting just enough light for her to make out two cushions.
When she turned around, a man sat on the wicker frame, one arm extended across the back, his right ankle resting on his left knee. Sofia gasped. “Darius. What are you doing here?”
In a swift movement, he stood and grabbed the cushions from her grasp, knocking over her glass in the process. It bounced against the wooden floor but did not break, although all the wine poured out and leaked down between the slates.
Darius dropped the cushions onto the couch and then sat again, appearing as if this were a casual visit. But Sofia knew better. When he gave off the most relaxed image was when he was most dangerous.
“Visiting my dear sister, of course,” he replied, inspecting his nails and not looking at her. “I think the real question is: what are you doing here?”
“I-I didn’t have a choice. But I swear, no one knows anything about me…you…our association.” Well, except for Griffin, but most of what he knew, he’d guessed, and that wasn’t her fault. Besides, Griffin had no idea of the implications of the limited facts he’d pieced together.
“I’m sure you remember what will happen if anyone finds out how you are connected to the former reeve.”
Yes, she was fully aware. He’d leave her alone if she swore to never go near their father, never attempt to lay claim to an inheritance that was rightfully half hers, never tell anyone what she knew about Darius and his drug business. And if she did not do all of that, he would kill her mother, who, for some unfathomable reason, he blamed for his own mother leaving his father.
Sofia had encouraged her mother to leave town as soon as the ink was dry on the contract. Just in case. Although now that he was sitting here making vague threats, she was suddenly afraid it wouldn’t be enough. Darius was clearly a resourceful guy; Sofia was now more certain than ever that he could find her mother.
