Page 46 of Magical Midlife Rescue (Leveling Up #11)

A rush of pride filled Tristan unexpectedly.

All the garhettes from Kingsley’s had gone home, back to their lives.

It seemed they’d liked the taste of battle, and then they’d told their friends.

They were a battle species, after all. They’d been held back because they didn’t have wings.

But the battle at Kingsley’s had proven wings weren’t necessary to kick some ass, and now the garhettes wanted an opportunity that Gimerel wasn’t providing.

Jessie absolutely would. Gargoyles weren’t like shifters: if the raiding cairn could take their opponent’s people, they did so gleefully. He’d rob this cairn blind of personnel.

The guardians above the cairn spread out, ready for impact. Tristan drove right at their heart as thunder rolled around them and fire streaked through the sky.

Jessie’s power throbbed once, twice, and then her spell tore loose from her outstretched hands.

A great wind rose up from near the slope, tossing the clothes and hair of the garhettes before gaining force and slamming into the guardians above.

The elemental magic shoved them hard and high, scattering their patterns and tossing some into the turbulent updrafts above.

Fire took over, billowing and blasting them, sending them careening into the sides of the mountains or down toward the distant ground.

Her strength and power were incredible. Eye-opening. The garhettes’ mouths dropped open, and Nelson took steps away from the stone banister.

Tristan put on a burst of speed.

More spells ripped loose, more explosions aimed at the air next to the guardians so Jessie wouldn’t do any real damage.

They’d get a thrill, a shock, and they might think she’d missed at first, but soon, it would be obvious she was clearing them out of her way.

She didn’t need to fight with tooth and claw.

The damage she could do from a distance was plenty to win this battle.

Nearly to the cairn, and the guardians were all over the place. Not one had been able to hold their position.

Garhettes looked up at her, dazed and smiling. More than a few put their hands up like children, wanting to be taken with her.

Jessie wiggled, and Tristan flung her toward the gentle slope and the cairn. She caught herself and flew until she was on level with Nelson, twenty feet separating them in the air. Her roar sent a thrill through Tristan’s heart, and then she fired off spells, slapping Nelson with magic.

He spun to find cover, trying to duck into the fortress, only to hit a magical wall. A tumult of spells peppered him, shoving him this way and that. He screamed, terror ringing in his voice. Pain.

Magic wafted from Jessie to the town, barely reaching Tristan. Humor, it felt like. Mocking, maybe. Basically, she was letting the cairn know she was toying with Nelson.

That alone would be enough to thoroughly embarrass the cairn leader, which was the point of this raid—make a mockery of him. Jessie and her people wouldn’t steal anything. They wouldn’t destroy a production cairn. Why would they? Gimerel didn’t have anything of value to offer her and Alpha Steele.

No, Jessie would fight her way into his fortress just because she could. And she’d leave a treasure fit for a gargoyle queen, all while her guardians and shifters took Gimerel to task. Her team was superior, as was her leadership, and she’d prove it.

Let Nelson try to spin that .

Austin’s crew paused in their advance, waiting for Tristan’s signal—all except for Sebastian and Nessa, who had already reached the edge of the slope and were sneaking closer to Jessie.

Both had taken an invisibility potion and would furnish Jessie with power so she could get the size and strength needed for her spell.

The weird mage had learned a few things from Kingsley’s battle, too, and they were trying it out here.

The dome glittered into existence. It formed base points on the natural rock face and ground before arching into the sky over the fortress. Jessie slipped into it and turned.

Tristan’s wings vibrated the air as Alpha Steele’s people exploded into the township.

They roared their attack as they spread out in perfect precision.

Alpha Steele ran toward Jessie, scattering people before him with screams and shouts.

Garhettes dove out of the way. Non-guardian gargoyles looked out windows or peeked through doors to see what was happening, and then ducked back into safety.

Jessie waited for her mate. No one approached her or charged.

Nelson stayed trapped on his landing, backed against the wall, staring down with a slack jaw.

He’d no doubt want to file grievances for this, but Tristan had planned this attack so that everything was by the book.

If those grievances were filed, Tristan would instruct Jessie on how to tear them all down.

She had knowledge on her side this time—knowledge and might.

Alpha Steele reached her side, stepped behind her as she faced the rest of the cairn, and roared. His people matched him, followed by the gargoyles in the sky. Tristan snapped out his wings, thrummed them, and prepared for battle.

Nessa

“I really think I should’ve gone with them.” Nessa watched the dome solidify before Jessie and Austin turned for the castle-type building against the sheer cliff face. The fortress, someone had called it.

The magical dome turned an angry red, and then glossy.

That meant it was locked into place. No one could go in—they could only come out.

It wasn’t as dangerous as the one in Kingsley’s territory.

That was, apparently, very important for this mock battle…

thing. She still didn’t really understand the point besides gargoyles being bored.

Jessie started into the fortress with Austin at her back.

The guards she’d meet would be nothing she couldn’t handle.

Tristan had advised that she go in alone, and then he’d shut up promptly when Austin lost his shit.

He had gotten so scary, Sebastian started shaking.

That alpha would not allow his mate to walk into danger alone ever again.

Nessa’s gaze rose. Tristan’s huge gargoyle form hung stationary in the sky. The enemy guardians were still trying to get their bearings, some caught in updrafts and others scrambling to organize around a leader without half of Tristan’s presence.

“Tristan said it’s best for all gossip to be organic,” Sebastian said.

She nodded, remembering. It made sense. This way, it wouldn’t seem like a publicity stunt. It would seem like one leader proving dominance over another, like in a usual raid, but with a huge twist.

Patty had agreed with Tristan, even though she had wanted to see it in person. The story would just be too juicy not to share. Imagine not stealing something, but rather going through all this trouble to give a gift?

No one had ever done anything like this.

No one had the money or power to do something like this.

Jessie couldn’t be faulted because she’d risked her reputation and status to give something back, bolstering the cairn and improving its wealth.

This was a classy move…even though a large portion of it was directly mocking the cairn leadership.

Meanwhile, Tristan would show Nelson what he was really capable of. That, with better leadership, Tristan could shine as brightly as the sun.

She stared up at his beautiful gargoyle form, a metallic teal that burned blue when he moved.

I’ve got you. I won’t let anyone get to you.

His arms had held her so tightly, thoroughly chasing away all her nightmares. She couldn’t remember ever sleeping so soundly, could never forget how it felt to wake up next to that hard body, his delicious smell, the throbbing length pushed against her backside?—

She shivered.

“You okay?” Sebastian asked, looking in concern at what she knew was her flushed face.

“Yeah.” She shook it off. “Yup. Just waiting for the show to start.”

She hadn’t gotten a chance to turn over. She still didn’t know if she would’ve. He’d roused, kissed her shoulder, and excused himself from her room.

“I’ll give you a chance to put your walls back up, little angel,” he’d said, winking. “When I win you over, it won’t be because you need me to. It’ll be because you couldn’t resist wanting me to.”

With that, he’d sauntered out. The gargoyle-monster liked to play games.

Joke was on him. He’d passed up his chance. She had put her walls back up and steeled herself, filing away all the mushy rawness that the day before had wrung out of her. She’d strapped on her armor and was ready for battle. He liked to play games? Great. So did she.

“I would’ve loved to see the setup in that fortress,” Nessa murmured as a basajaun roared, running by. Three garhettes screamed and dove out of his way. They rolled to a stop and turned to look, their eyes wide.

Even from behind, Nessa could see the basajaun heaving with laughter. He was probably thinking, Did you see their faces?!

Tristan’s gargoyles flew around him as if they were one entity. The effect was almost like a patchwork blanket moving across the sky.

“Wow,” Sebastian whispered. “He’s gotten better at commanding those gargoyles.”

He had. A lot better.

The enemy guardians looked like a mess of fliers, flapping their wings at various distances apart, at various heights, clustered in some areas and too spread out in others. The leader flew in front of them, tense where Tristan looked utterly composed and confident.

“This cairn has bigger guardians,” Sebastian said. “I mean, not all of them, but there are a lot more of the bigger gargoyles in this cairn compared to ours.”

“Yeah, not to mention more guardians in general. For this battle, anyway.” Nessa chewed her lip, suddenly nervous. “He needs to win. This all falls apart if he doesn’t.”