Page 25

Free Bird

Delores

The two giant sparkling gargoyles land with a thud that makes me stumble a bit, and Aubrey grabs my arm to steady me.

Fitz and Felix move in front of us in an instant, their bodies tense with readiness.

I can’t help but stare at the newcomers as they glisten in the waning light.

Fitz was right about not knowing shit about Rennie’s kind, though I’m comforted because other than my onyx hued mate, the others are in the dark, too.

“We have come to meet the exiled one,” the green one says, his voice stiff and formal. “By royal decree of the King and Queen of the Carpathians, you are officially deemed guests of our clutch.”

“Thank you for extending your hospitality,” Renard says as he bows to them. His expression is bland, but I can sense the roiling emotions warring inside of him through our bond. “We will honor the laws of your territory, leaving without taking more than we give.”

That makes me shoot a look at Aubrey, but he doesn’t react.

I decide that my ‘meeting stuck-up fuckwits’ act is needed yet again , so I affect a haughty gaze as I raise my chin.

My eyes meet those of the silent guard and his charge with confidence I don’t feel, as I channel my bitchy mother once more.

I didn’t know this would be such a tool as I was growing up, but I almost feel like I should send her a goddamn ‘thank you’ given how often I mimic her icy cruelty.

I said ‘almost’; don’t worry.

“Very well. I am Vasile, and my companion is Matei.” The jade gargoyle looks at the surrounding terrain for a moment, then nods to the guard. “He will now grant you entrance to our lands, guests of the exiled. Remember the oath he gave as you enjoy the fruits of our people.”

“Uh… some of us don’t fly?” I mutter, and the two sparkling creatures laugh.

That doesn’t seem like a funny statement, though I suppose if all four of the winged preds carried someone, we could make it across the deadly gap to the area they came from.

Aubrey will be pissed, but he’ll get over it as long as he gets to take me.

“You don’t need to,” Vasile says as he waves his hand. “Behold.”

Matei walks over to a spot on the ground near us, then raises his fist high in the air.

Before I can question it, he slams it into the ground, shaking the earth below us briefly before the air pops and an enormous stone bridge appears in the place where nothing but air was before.

My jaw drops and I have to reach up to shut my mouth because I’m too fucking shocked to even make a noise.

“ Holy. Fuck. ” Fitz breathes as his posture slumps a bit. “Holy. Goddamn. Son of a bitching. Fuck.”

Aubrey makes a dissatisfied sound, and I look at him in confusion. He shakes his head slightly before going back to staring at the very solid, very visible structure that now exists in a formerly empty gap. “You first, emissaries.”

Oh. Well, that’s a good idea—we definitely shouldn’t cross the damn thing without confirming that it’s not some sort of fancy illusion.

“You are far smarter than you appear,” Matei says, his voice a stony rumble. “We will, of course, guide you to the gateway. Once we are on gargoyle land, your oath holds firm and punishment for breaking it is severe.”

All Rennie said is that we’d honor their laws and be equals, but they’ve mentioned it twice.

I fear that means something more than what the simple words convey, and they will not explain it.

We will have to be very careful not to upset anyone or touch anything until he can tell what exactly his oath meant.

I suck in a slow breath, then twine my arm in Aubrey’s as I look at the two stony sentinels.

“Let’s go then. I’m tired as hell from this hike, and I’d like to find out where we’re going to be staying before I drop.”

The look on our hosts’ face doesn’t comfort me, but then, not much about this obviously magical presentation does.

The walk to the other side of the peak makes my stomach churn with fear, but I keep my features schooled just like the others.

I refuse to let these damn silent dudes know that I’m freaked out by having to rely on magic to get to their—whatever they call it.

I know they call their home a nest and their group a clutch, but I have no idea what the hell term they use for the collective group of homes.

Town, city, village… Whatever it is, I’m not scared to go into it as much as to find out how they have this capability.

If they are aligned with the Fae again and Rennie wasn’t told, we’re going to be royally fucking screwed.

“This is beautiful country,” Chessie says absently, and I have to hide my smile.

He’s such a good man. Despite the undercurrent of mistrust flowing between us as we watch the two gargoyles like hawks, he’s trying to make pleasant conversation, so the tension eases a bit.

“I haven’t been to Eastern Europe before, so I’m enjoying our journey.

Outside of the hike, of course. That was brutal. ”

“Those who are not our kind must earn their entrance to the Rookery.”

Ah, there it is.

“Earn it?” I ask carefully. “Even though we came with…. Renard?”

My mate gives me an approving glance when I don’t mention his title.

I guess he’s not allowed to use it anymore?

I don’t know, but he’s happy that I caught myself.

He clears his throat, then says, “Even with me, non-gargoyles must be admitted through the accepted trial set by the royals of the clutch. This is not what I remember, but it has been many years since I was here.”

Vasile’s shoulders tighten before he says, “That was by your own choice, young Laveaux.”

I open my mouth to protest, but Rennie shakes his head again and I grit my jaw.

It’s not fair to claim that he left on his own, nor that he has never come back because he just didn’t want to.

They kicked him to the curb for a teenage mistake that he couldn’t possibly have controlled, much like me, and he was left to fend for himself.

Their casual treatment of that is bullshit, and if everyone in this damn rookery place acts like this, we are going to have major problems.

I don’t care who the fuck they are, no one treats my mates like used tissues.

Huffing as we continue to the end of the bridge, I tuck my fury away for something worth causing trouble for.

The emissary’s comment was irritating, but Renard’s reaction was fair.

There’s no use upsetting the entire pot just because a little bit boiled over.

I have to be patient, and play the games the way they want, until we get what we came for.

As we walk onto the opposite ledge of the gap, I feel a burst of energy hit me and I stop short as it crawls over my body.

My eyes widen in panic, but Rennie seems fine, and the others only stopped because I did.

“What the fuck?” I mutter as I try to brush the tingling sensations off my arms and shoulder. “Is this place infested or something? It better not be fleas or I’m going to?—”

Matei looks at Rennie, his expression furious. “You did not mention this! That is a breach of protocol, and could threaten our status.”

His grin is slow and I recognize it—he didn’t tell them whatever it is on purpose and this has confirmed suspicions. “It is not a breach because I did not know. No one knew, Emissary, and they will all confirm it if asked.”

Vasile looks at him, then watches me, trying not to freak out as I squirm. His expression hardens, and he growls, “ ?ncheia?i alerta. ? 1 ”

My skin ceases to crawl and I let out a breath of relief as I can focus again. “Thank fucking Hermes stinky shoes! It felt like I was being eaten alive, for fuck’s sake.“

“What was that supposed to prove?” Felix growls as he looks me over carefully. “Your stupid oath said nothing about a test we could pass or fail. Maybe it’s you who is in breach, gargoyle. We’ve come in peace and in the spirit of family connections.”

The guard frowns, looking offended. “We have done no such thing, tiger. Our emissary refers to the fact that this ex-member of our clutch brought Fae blood into our lands without notice. We could not have warned you if we tried. Your companion is the one who is playing us all for fools.”

If one more fucking person drops a giant bomb on me as if it’s no big deal, I’m going to lose my shit.

“Someone with Fae blood?! That’s what that was supposed to warn you about?

!!” My eyes cut to my mate and I glare daggers at him.

“No, we didn’t know , and he did not tell us this was something you might do.

He’s not lying about that , at least. What he did lie about was through omission, and to us, which he will pay for, I promise. ”

Rennie has the grace to look chagrined, and the two gargoyles nod as they see how angry I am.

Vasile sighs, shaking his head as he mutters, “Some men never learn, and for that, we are all poorer. Come with us to your lodgings so you might clean up. We cannot take you to meet our royals or their council if you are dirty and full of fury.”

“Yeah, I’d like to get the nasty trail off and check every inch of my body for bugs, so…

. lead away.” Sniffing in irritation, I tug the tigers along by their hands, following the gargoyles as I leave Rennie to deal with Chess and Aubrey.

He’s on my shit list for a bit, even though I think I know why he did this.

“Just because you have a good reason doesn’t mean you can lie,” Aubrey growls as they stomp behind us. “It’s a sore subject for so many reasons that I can’t count them all. Why did you ever think it was a good plan?”

“I didn’t think it was a good plan, Flames.

I decided it was the most expedient plan to confirm my suspicions, and I knew there would be consequences far less severe than other methods.

” Renard responds to him calmly, without a trace of regret, and I huff to myself as my hearing allows me to catch their words.

“You’re going to be in the stone dog house, you know,” Chess says seriously. “She would have agreed to it if you’d asked.”

“But if I asked then I would have been lying to them and that is a much worse result, trust me, mon ami .”

So he thinks.

“You can all stop discussing me like I’m not here and I can’t hear you, damn it.” I whip my head around, looking over my shoulder. “We can discuss this shit once I feel clean and get the creepy crawly feeling out of my head. Just… shut up for now so I can calm myself.”

That gets a chuckle out of the gargoyles leading us, and I glare at their backs, too.

“No one asked you clowns, either. Everyone be quiet or I swear to Hera, I will unleash on anything within striking distance.” Even the members of his ex-clutch fall silent at my hissed words and I smile to myself in satisfaction.

They should fear me, especially now that they know exactly what I am.