Page 15 of Moist!
chapter four
A scream sticks in my throat as I'm tugged through the dark. I stumble into a hard body. Tears spring to my eyes as my nose burns. A strong arm around my waist steadies me and I tense.
“Why hello there, little bird. You good?” Saxon gazes down at me, a slight smile on his face.
I make an unintelligible noise in the back of my throat and shove away from him. Hurt flashes in his bright blue eyes, then vanishes when he blinks. I shove my hands in my pockets to hide the trembling. I immediately whip them out again to rub my nose and wipe my tears away.
“Sorry, your chest is…hard.” I grimace, wishing I wasn't so awkward.
“Thank you,” he murmurs with a smirk. “Atlas shouldn't have left you alone. If it makes you feel better, I don't think he meant to. We're not used to…others being here. Want a tour?”
“Uh, you could just show me the way out. I have a feeling I'm not supposed to…see any of this,” I mumble, and he raises an eyebrow. “Based on Atlas's reaction and all.”
“Oh, that's not it at all. You're exactly where you're meant to be. Come on, bird.”
I mutter under my breath about the nickname, but he doesn't seem to notice. He grabs my hand and tucks it in the crook of his arm. A heady scent of moss infiltrates my senses as he leads me down a short dark hallway. He shoves aside a curtain of heavy vines and escorts me through them.
My mouth drops open as the space opens up, revealing a large pool illuminated from within. It's still a cave, yet it's cozy with alcoves dotting walls covered in a bluish-green glow.
“What is this?” I whisper.
“Home sweet home.” He tugs me closer to the pool.
“In here are fish. It's saltwater, so best not to drink it, but we have specific species of fish and different corals that glow.
You can swim in there. They leave us alone, but I don't know what they'd do with a human.
You'd probably be fine, though.Maybe stay out of there just in case.
Firefox lines the walls. It shouldn't be poisonous to you, but maybe don't touch it until we know for sure.”
“Sounds like a lot of things that could potentially kill me.”
He shoots me a grin. “For humans? Probably. Not us, though. Atlas may be grumpy, but he's harmless. Probably just needs to eat. Not easy being rock half the time.”
He leads me along the water's edge, and I peek into the alcoves. They look like sitting areas or small bedrooms. Most of them are dark, though.
“So how did the whole…stone thing happen?”
He tugs me to a stop outside another vine curtain. “We're gargoyles, Hazel. I don't know where we came from, but the world around us changed. Now, we live here. We've made the best of it, and it's not as bad as it seems.”
“And how long have you, uh, been around?”
He chuckles, though there's little warmth in the sound. “A while. Enough to see kingdoms rise and fall. We're young compared to others across the oceans. All a matter of perspective, I suppose. Happens every lifetime. You get used to it.”
The vines catch on my hat and tug it off when he pulls me into a smaller room.
I bat at the tendrils grasping at my hair and a few strands are ripped from my head.
I wince and scratch the sore spot. A loud groan echoes through the air and my gaze skips around until it alights on Atlas.
He glares at…not me. He's fixated on Saxon, thankfully.
“We don't have time for this,” he growls.
“Except we have all the time in the world,” Saxon says as he drags me closer. “Can't leave her in an empty cave. You know that's not how this works.”
“We talked about this. Take her back.” He mutters something else I don't catch, but apparently Saxon does.
“Were you even going to tell us?” he snaps. “If you could have gotten away with it, would you have told us?”
I slip my hand from his arm and put some distance between us.
His fingers tangle with mine, keeping me with him.
Ronan sidles up next to Atlas and crosses his arms. At least he's wearing pants, unlike Atlas, who's wearing a loincloth again.
I wonder how many times he changes throughout the day.
Neither of their garments leave much to the imagination and my eyes keep darting to their crotches.
Thankfully, they're both focused on Saxon for now.
“It doesn't matter,” Atlas growls and turns to me. “And stop looking at my?—”
“Knock it off, Atlas.” Ronan's lips twitch, and I tuck my chin to my chest. “She can't help it.”
I clear my throat and three pairs of eyes bore into me. “You realize I didn't break in, right? I'm trapped here with you, like it or not.”
“Trapped is such a harsh word,” Ronan murmurs. “Until we can get the snow cleared, though, she's right.”
“ If we can get it cleared,”Atlas growls, then stomps toward me.I half expect him to throw me over his shoulder again, but he brushes past and disappears through the vines.
Saxon snorts, his fingers squeezing mine. “Well, that went well.”