CHAPTER 28
U zoth’s hand snapped out and gripped Grady’s chest, clawed fingers digging in, stopping the man from plummeting off the roof.
Grady cried out. His arms flailed, and he clutched at Uzoth’s wrist with both hands. His nails dug into Uzoth’s skin. He made a choked noise, drawing himself towards Uzoth and casting a glance at the ground below.
“Grady?” Uzoth blinked slowly as awareness came back to him. “What are you doing up here? It is dangerous. You almost fell.”
He pulled Grady to him, holding him firmly with both hands around the waist. He tried to comprehend what had come to pass and why Grady was here.
Tears streaked down Grady’s cheeks. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“What is wrong?” Uzoth frowned. “Has something happened to your siblings?”
Grady shook his head. His lips moved. But no sound came out.
“Grady?”
“You wouldn’t wake!” Grady said hoarsely, voice quivering.
Uzoth stared at him. “Oh.” Over the past few days, Uzoth had felt himself slip deeper and deeper into stasis. “Yes. I have been moving slower the past few days.”
“I kept calling you. I yelled.” Grady’s eyes flicked over Uzoth’s face before fixing on his eyes. “But you wouldn’t wake. I thought you’d turned into a statue.”
“I apologise if I scared you.” Uzoth had not realised he’d stopped moving entirely. If he had not responded to Grady yelling out to him or climbing out on the roof, then Uzoth truly had been in the process of turning to stone. “But I am awake now.”
His heart beat far slower than it should in his chest. Blood still pumped. But it moved languidly through his veins.
Grady let out a breath. He nodded. “You are awake.” He closed his eyes, breathing heavily. “You are awake. You did not turn into a statue,” he said as if trying to reassure himself.
“I am sorry I distressed you.”
Grady took another deep breath and opened his eyes. He licked his lips. “Will you come down to the apartment?”
“Is something wrong?” Uzoth asked. “Do you or your family need my assistance?”
Snowflakes began to float down. Uzoth opened his wings, but at first, he struggled to unfurl them. He managed to wrap his wings around them, protecting Grady from the falling snow.
“No. Nothing is wrong.” Grady’s grey eyes stared into his. “Well, one thing is wrong.”
“What? If I can help in any way, I of course will.” No matter what had occurred between them, Uzoth would always assist Grady.
At least until he turned to stone and would not wake again.
Perhaps he should fly away so Grady would not have to see him as a statue. It would distress Grady to stare up at Uzoth’s ghastly frozen figure. But the idea of leaving Grady had no appeal to Uzoth. Even if he no longer lived, Uzoth wished to stay close to Grady.
But he would not condemn Grady to see his lifeless form gazing down at him for the rest of his life. He did not want to cause Grady that pain.
“What’s wrong is that you are not in my apartment. You belong in my apartment. With me, not out here in the cold.” Grady reached out and cupped the side of Uzoth’s neck, his thumb stroking. The warmth of Grady’s hand penetrated his skin.
Uzoth’s chest clenched. Could Grady mean what Uzoth thought he meant? Could he want Uzoth in his life? “I am used to the cold.”
“Well, maybe it’s time you got used to something else. Maybe you need to get used to the warmth of a hearth, and someone to love and be loved by.” Grady stepped in closer. “Maybe we both need to get used to that.”
Uzoth’s cold heart cracked open in his chest. “Do you mean that? Truly?”
“I do. I’m so sorry, Uzoth,” Grady said. “I shouldn’t have let you fly off like that. I was confused and exhausted. It was a fucking stupid mistake. And I hurt you. I’m so sorry. I want you in my life. No. I need you in my life. Everything is bullshit and garbage without you. I don’t want to be apart from you.”
“But what about your family?” Uzoth asked. “I do not wish to stop you from protecting them.”
Grady huffed. “They are adults now as has been recently pointed out to me. They can look after themselves a little.” He paused. “They don’t need me like they once did.”
Uzoth thought he detected a note of sadness in Grady’s voice.
“I mean, I will always look out for them. I won’t stop doing that,” Grady said.
“And I will also look after and protect both you and them,” Uzoth pledged.
“And who will look after you, O ancient gargoyle?”
Uzoth straightened his shoulders. “I don’t need looking after.”
“Everyone needs to be looked after sometimes. And I’d like to be the one to look after you if you’ll let me.” Grady smiled softly at him.
A feeling of lightness unfurled inside Uzoth. “Then we shall look after each other.”
Then Uzoth wrapped his arms around Grady’s waist and kissed his human as Grady’s words sank in. Grady wanted him in his life. Uzoth had not lost his human after all.
Grady’s warm breath brushed against Uzoth’s cheek. “I love you, Uzoth.”
“I love you too, Grady.” In Uzoth’s chest, his heartbeat quickened and returned to normal. His blood sped through his veins.