Page 13 of Monster Daddies

"Your wish, little human, is my command."

Okay, so I passed out.

Who wouldn't when the silent house finally responds?

Chapter Six

Jodrick

She drops like a stone.

One second, she's smiling, whispering sweet thanks into the air like a secret prayer, and the next—gone.

Limp.

Crumpled on the nursery floor with that cat circling over her, hissing at me like I’m some kind of monster.

Okay, I guess I am.

Panic slams into me with the force of a thousand years. I'm through the walls before I even realize I've moved, stone skin crackling as it shifts into flesh, wings snapping back just in time to keep from knocking over half the room. I fall to my knees beside her, my hands trembling as I lift her up.

The cat hisses again and headbutts my legs in warning before sitting back to glare at me, as if daring me to do something wrong. All I can focus on in the moment is our pretty mate, passed out.

"Avalon," I breathe, brushing a curl from her cheek. "Oh no, no, no. Come on, little human."

She's so warm.

So soft.

And much lighter than I imagined. Her weight settles against my chest like she belongs there—and I suppose, she does, considering who she is to me.

I inhale her scent—something sweet with a hint of the forbidden—and it nearly undoes me.

I know I shouldn't have spoken to her. Viraat is going to be furious with me.

But sheasked. Shewantedus. She had need of us. Her guardians. What was I supposed to do? Ignore her?

No. Viraat can be as mad as he wants.

It was time.

I cradle her carefully, standing in one fluid motion. "Well, little human. I'll just have to remind you later, that you asked for this."

My feet know the path better than my head does and I make the way back up to the turret and tower both Viraat and I call our home. I hold her close the whole way, one hand cupping the back of her head like she's the most precious thing I've ever carried.

Because she is.

The wind greets us before we even reach the roof, cool and sharp with the smallest bite. The moment I step onto the stone terrace I feel Viraat's presence.

He's perched in his usual spot, wings outstretched, eyes narrowed like he's been waiting for an excuse to be mad at me. Which I suppose is very much like him.

"What did you do?" he growls, his voice low and lethal.

"Nothing." I shrug. "Okay, so I spoke to her, and she passed out."

"You spoke to her?" he shouts, his voice so loud it sounds like boulders crashing against each other.

"Hush!" I urge before continuing my explanation. "She spoke first. Sheaskedfor us, Viraat." I clutch Avalon tighter againstme. "She thanked me for the book you wanted her to have, and then she asked for a way to come and sit with us, read with us."