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  “I don’t understand,” I said with a slight shake of my head.

  He took my hand in his and squeezed tight. “It seems Eli hasn’t made you do enough reading. Gargoyle men have always outnumbered gargoyle women, and part of the reason we have our own city here in the middle of the sea, away from society, is so we can live by our own rules. Here, women are free to have as many mates as they like, as long as each current mate has his chance to approve any newcomers. No competition. No jealousy. Just one happy woman and her men.”

  Chapter 5

  I was still weighing Marcus’s words as we stood on the northern cliffside, waiting for the magic hunters to arrive. A harsh winter wind blew around us, and the silver moon hunkered behind dark and rolling clouds. Silence whistled across the jagged rock, an eerie prelude to battle.

  One woman. Many men. The idea had never occurred to me, and it was certainly something frowned upon in normal human society. Hell, it was something even frowned upon by the Shadow Coven, the only coven in the world that consisted purely of women. There were no shadow warlocks, and they liked it that way.

  If it weren’t for Jasper’s fate, I might have felt excited by the prospect. I couldn’t deny that I’d felt a spark of something with each and every gargoyle shifter I’d met—save for Sebastian. A connection. A flicker of heat. The idea that I might be able to start something with not one but several of them…

  But it was a thought marred by its own storm cloud. Because my conflicting desires had led Jasper to fall due to his oath. An oath that Eli had also muttered. I couldn’t bear the thought of putting that behind me enough to move on to another gargoyle in addition to Marcus. It was far too much to even contemplate right now.

  Shouts exploded overhead. Stumbling back from the edge of the cliff, I turned my attention to the skies. Shadowy bodies hurtled down into the city, parachutes streaming out behind them like clouds of mushrooms.

  Eyes wide, I glanced around me at the shocked faces of my fellow fighters. We’d been standing on the cliff, keeping watch, expecting the hunters to arrive by helicopter just as they’d done before. Hell, we didn’t think they could arrive any other way.

  But parachutes…it was genius. We’d never spot the plane from down here, especially not through the thick clouds, and they could be on us before we knew what was happening. They must have known we outnumbered them. The element of surprise was in their corner, and this was a situation none of us had prepared for.

  Marcus was behind me within moments, his strong hand resting comfortingly on my shoulder. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Have the witches spread out in the streets while us shifters take flight. The hunters are attempting to play the game of shadows, but it’s a very dangerous game to play with witches. The hunters have no powers of their own.”

  Comforting words, though they did little to ease the tightness in my gut.

  The witches were tired. Their energy was depleted. And they weren’t warriors, despite the power that thrummed in their veins. In truth, I’d hoped tonight would have ended without a single witch needing to fight. Between the gargoyles and I, I’d hoped they wouldn’t need to do a thing.

  “Go,” Marcus said.

  With a nod, I gathered the witches around me and whispered the plan, worried that my words might get caught on the wind and drift to wherever the hunters were now hiding. We decided to split up into teams of two and spread out through the windy streets and alleys nearest the north side of the city. From what we’d been able to see, the hunters hadn’t been dropped too far south. They were nearby, though the streets were as quiet as midnight.

  Tess and I formed a team. We hadn’t spent much time together in the past few weeks, and it was nice to see her familiar face, though it sucked that it was in this type of situation. Together, we ran through the streets, our feet quiet on the stone ground. Throughout the city, I could hear the unmistakable sounds of fighting. Men shouting, women screaming.

  My heart shook hard in my chest. There might not be many hunters dropping into the city, but that didn’t mean every witch would make it out of this alive.

  I just had to hope the shadows would be enough to save them.

  A hunter rushed toward us, and I jumped out of the way just in time. He raised a gun and pointed it at my chest. I smiled as he pulled the trigger. Time seemed to slow, and my vision zeroed in on the bullet that spun through the shadowy air. I lifted my hand just in time, and it ricocheted off my palm.

  The hunter’s mouth dropped open, and he stared.

  “Looks like you chose the wrong person to attack.” I smiled.

  “You’re the demigoddess,” he whispered, pulling a knife from his belt. “I’ve been warned about you.”

  Shadowy vines rippled at his feet as Tess stepped up to my side. They swirled around his legs, squeezing tight around his ankles and trapping him where he stood. He grunted and yanked against his bonds, but it was no use. Tess’s powers were far stronger than a mortal man’s strength, and he wasn’t going anywhere.

  I stepped up to him and stared into his dark brown eyes. “How many of you are there? How many more are coming? And when?”

  He spit into my face. “What are you going to do? Kill me?”

  Another hunter rushed from behind, and I spun on my feet, throwing out my hand as he shot at Tess. The bullet fell to the ground, and I stalked toward him. But instead of standing his ground, he turned to run.

  I followed, our feet pounding hard on the ground. We weaved through the streets, turning corners and ducking through alleys. Eventually, we reached the cliffs and the storm-tossed sea. He came to a sudden stop and whirled. From behind me, several of the shadow witches whispered into view. His eyes went wide, flicking from one witch to another before finally landing on me.

  Tess’s voice rang out loud when she spoke from behind me. “Time to give up running. You’ve lost. All your friends have been captured. They’ll live out the rest of their lives in the dungeons, along with you.”

  He spat at my feet.

  “You may have won this round,” the hunter said as he backed to the edge of the cliff, “but there are more of us coming in a few days. At dawn. You and your so-called shadow magic won’t work then, and your dozen fighters will be no match for our hundreds of hunters. Face it, demigoddess. You’re living on borrowed time.”

  And then he was gone, his body disappearing into the sea.

  Chapter 6

  My bones ached from the stress of the past few days. With a heavy sigh, I peeled off my clothes and eased into the bathtub. Mist swirled around me as the cold temperature from the unheated stone room hit the water, filling my nose with a tantalizing scent that reminded me so much of my gargoyle guardians.

  Stone and mist.

  I closed my eyes and leaned against the back of the tub, basking in the heat. In my time here in the city, I’d grown accustomed to the cold, but my body still breathed a sigh of relief at the cocoon of warmth that surrounded me.

  We had beaten the hunters, though not without a great deal of stress and fear. They’d surprised us, and it was a brutal reminder that they were likely to surprise us again. Perhaps the hunter had been telling the truth. Perhaps not. We didn’t truly know when they would attack again. It could be in a few days time, at dawn, like he’d said. Or it could be tomorrow. Or even within moments of now.

  Next time, we might not be so lucky.

  Footsteps echoed against the floor outside of the bathroom, a sound that drifted through the heavy door I’d left cracked so I could hear the blare of the alarm if it sounded. A moment later, the door swung open and Eli appeared before me. He wore nothing but a thin towel slung around his waist. I gasped and swallowed a lungful of water. His bronze chest glistened underneath the light of the candles, and there was a very obvious bump underneath the towel.

  It was all I could do not to stare with my mouth hanging wide open.

  “Ro?” His eyes went wide as they dropped to my chest, which was thankfully hidden by a mountain o
f bubbles. “I’m sorry. I had no idea you were in here. When I saw the open door, I thought…”

  “My bad.” I swore my entire face was the same color as the red towel I’d left draped on the stand next to the tub. And it wasn’t because of the water temperature. “I shouldn’t have left it cracked. It’s just…after everything that’s happened, I didn’t want to miss hearing the alarm if something else goes wrong. I mean,” I said, continuing to babble on, “I really shouldn’t be taking a bath right now. I should be training, helping you all make a plan for the next fight. Relaxing in a bathtub is a terrible idea, now that I’ve said it aloud.”

  I grabbed my towel from the metal stand in an unspoken signal that I was ready to get out of the tub. But Eli didn’t take the hint. Instead, he strode closer with a heavy sigh. My veins throbbed. What was he doing? Why was he now perching on the edge of the tub, his towel hanging precariously between his thighs?

  “Take your time. Have a bath,” he said. “We need you at full capacity. We need all of us at full capacity. And we won’t get that if we don’t take the time to recharge. Yes, another fight is coming. But it won’t be coming within the next half hour. Or even within the next day.”

  “Or so we think,” I said, my eyes still locked on the smooth skin of his back. In the past few days, I’d begun to see Eli in a slightly different light, and I hated myself for it. But I couldn’t help the way I felt. He was kind. Gentle. And yet strong in a way that was different than the strength of the others. He didn’t have to flex his muscles to demonstrate just how deadly and powerful he could be.

  He gave a slight nod. “The hunter could have been lying, it’s true. However, I don’t think he was.”

  “Why not?” I raised my eyebrows. “It’s not like he had a good reason to give us a real warning.”

  Eli lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “He was angry we beat them. Hell, he was more than that. He was furious. Sometimes people make mistakes when emotions come into play.”

  My skin prickled, and I glanced away. I knew the truth of that better than most. My emotions had caused more problems than they’d fixed. And they were now making me yearn for something I knew I could never have. In fact, I shouldn’t even be in this room, wearing nothing but bubbles to hide my naked form from the one man in the world who could never see it.

  “Eli, I think you should—”

  “Go?” He raised his eyebrows. “Come on, Ro. Please don’t push me away now that you know about the oath. This is exactly why we were worried to tell you about it in the first place. I’m bound to protect you. Blocking me out means I can’t do that.”

  “But blocking you out also means you can’t turn to stone for the rest of eternity,” I said in a whisper as tears took shape in my eyes.

  “Rowena, listen to me,” Eli said, sliding off the edge of the tub so he could kneel before me and look deep into my eyes. “I’m not going to turn to stone. For one, it’s the last thing in the world I want. I happen to like living, you know? And two, well. You are strong and you’re fierce, but you need a guardian. I wouldn’t do anything to jeapordize that. I’m not going to leave you alone in the world to fight the hunters.”

  I blew out a heavy breath as my heart rattled in my chest. Strong words, ones he no doubt believed. Words he no doubt meant. I could tell by the intensity of his eyes. I knew I should feel relieved, and I did. But there was also a part of me that felt disappointed. Not that he refused to put his life at risk, but that he didn’t even seem at all tempted. That glimmer of want and need I felt toward him? It wasn’t reflected in any part of his words, his voice, his eyes. It was clear that Eli felt nothing for me other than a dedicated sense of obligation, of duty, of protectiveness. A good thing, truly. But...

  He stood and angled himself behind me, disappearing from view. A moment later, strong hands caressed my shoulders. A new storm of shivers shook through my body, causing me to tremble despite the intoxicating heat that had spread through my bones.

  “You’re clearly stressed,” he murmured as his fingers began kneading my right shoulder. “Relax, Ro. Even if it’s only for ten minutes.”

  My breath got caught in my lungs. “Er. What are you doing?”

  “I’m giving you a massage,” he said in a low chuckle. “Surely you’ve had a massage before.”

  “No.” My voice rose another notch. “I spent my entire life locked in a tower. Didn’t really have the chance to go around getting massages from people.”

  Least of all from a man.

  His grip on my shoulder tightened for a moment, but then he relaxed, though when he spoke, his voice was edged in danger. “I always forget the Queen had you stuck in there your entire life before she requested two gargoyles to guard you. For some reason, it always feels as if your captivity didn’t start until we arrived.”

  There it was. The reminder of Eli’s involvement in creating my gilded cage. I’d been told all my life that I was sick, human, weak. The Queen of the shadow witches had kept me locked in my tower to “protect” me but that had never been the full truth. While Eli hadn’t known the full truth either, he’d seen how she’d kept me hidden. And he hadn’t done a damn thing about it.

  He must have sensed my change of mood because his fingers slowed to a stop. “You still blame me, don’t you?”

  I thought about it for a moment. When I’d first learned the truth, I had put part of the blame on Jasper and Eli. After all, they were my guardians, and they should have put a stop to what had been happening. But my anger had dulled these past few weeks, even toward the Queen. They had thought they were doing the right thing, and sometimes it was hard to know what the “right thing” actually was.

  “No.” I blew out the word like a puff of bitter smoke. “There’s a lot of different things I feel toward you, Eli, but blame isn’t one of them.”

  My entire body went stiff at my own words. They’d popped out of me before I’d even realized what I was saying.

  Eli’s fingers began moving again, his strong knuckles digging into the tight tension at the base of my neck. Despite myself, my head dropped back against the tub and I closed my eyes, letting out a silent moan at the feel of his hands. He pushed and prodded, slick skin against skin. Smooth coolness against the heat emanating from the water. A painful ache began to grow inside me, burning through my very core.

  At long last, he broke the silence that hung between us. “A part of me wants to ask what you mean. Another part of me thinks it’s a terrible idea to find out.”

  “It’s nothing,” I said, my voice as tight as the ache within me. This was wrong. This was far too dangerous. If Eli wanted to stay close to me, wanted to protect me? Fine. He could do that. But this was far too much. We were alone in the bathroom together. I was naked. He was practically naked, only a thin towel between us. And now he was massaging me, making me feel things that might very well cause me to explode.

  I had to get out of here. We were dancing far too close to the edge, and it had to stop now. I wouldn’t lose them both because I couldn’t control myself. Even if Eli didn’t feel anything, I certainly did. And that felt like enough to rip my world to shreds.

  He leaned down to look into my eyes. I sucked in a breath. We were way too close. And the look on his face…it reminded me of a look I’d seen before. The way Jasper had searched my face before his lips crushed against mine.

  My heart lurched, and I jerked back.

  Confusion and hurt flickered across Eli’s face. “Ro, why are you looking at me like that?”

  “You were about to kiss me,” I breathed.

  “I…” He fell silent, and then he continued. “I won’t lie. The desire was there, Ro. I mean, look at you. You’re strong and beautiful. Fierce and kind. Loyal to a fault. I love all of that about you. I’ve tried not to, but it’s impossible to keep myself from feeling something for you.”

  Tears sprung into my eyes, both at the sweetness of his words and from the terror they made me feel. “You can’t, Eli. Jasper just turned to
stone because he kissed me. How could you even imagine doing such a thing?”

  “Just because I want to doesn’t mean I will,” he said in a soft voice. And then he reached out a hand, calling me back to him. “Jasper couldn’t control himself, but that doesn’t mean I can’t.”

  I shook my head. “I have to get out of here.”

  “Ro, please.” Pain flickered on Eli’s face. I knew what he was thinking. He thought I was rejecting him, brushing away feelings I’d never realized he had. Truthfully, Eli’s words had made my pulse race and my heart squeeze tight. He could never know that though. Because if he did, he might never be able to stop himself from doing the one thing he never could.

  With a deep breath, I grabbed my towel and stood from the tub. Water dripped down my skin as I hastily covered my body, but I hadn’t been fast enough. Eli’s eyes widened as he stared, and his entire face went blood red. He swallowed hard and gripped the tub, but I didn’t stay to find out whether his look of shock was one of desire or revulsion.

  I had to stay as far away from Eli as I could.

  Chapter 7

  “I thought I might find you out here.” Zoe whispered out from the shadows, padding across the stone floor in a pair of thick, fuzzy socks. After everyone had gone to bed, I’d taken my usual spot on the sofa to think things through. I certainly couldn’t sleep. Not after everything that had happened tonight.

  Most of all, I couldn’t get Jasper’s agony-filled expression out of my mind. But I couldn’t talk to Zoe, a stranger, about that.

  “Yeah, I guess it’s hard to sleep when I know that magic hunters could attack at any moment,” I said with a sigh. “They’ll be here soon. Or at least that’s what the hunter said before he nosedived off the cliff.”