Page 4 of When the Weaver Met the Gargoyle (Leafshire Cove Monsters #1)

Chapter 4

Romulus

“ Y ou’re certain you are fine with doing this?” I ask Rustion.

Once the meddling witch, Tully, sent me a message that Laini and my appointment at the tailor was set for ten this morning, I’d sent the messenger on to Rustion to ask for an hour off.

Now, Rustion takes out a cloth and begins shining the edge of the bell. “Of course! I love being up here. Now, you go and get your proper attire for the event. I won’t need a break until sundown. Nisa is bringing me a bit of lunch.”

Nisa is Rustion’s wife, a quiet sprite whose orange skin and wings glow when she is happy. Sadly, her arsehole of a son dims her shine every time he is around or even mentioned in conversation.

Rustion shoos me down the tower stairs. “Go on, now.”

I wave a hand in farewell and disappear into the dark of the winding stairwell. When I reach Laini’s door and knock, the sun’s spot in the blue sky tells me we have less than half an hour to get to our appointment at the tailor’s workshop.

Laini swings the door open, her dragonfox perched on her shoulder. “Good morning, Romulus.”

“I don’t mind you calling me Rom.”

She smiles and joins me outside, shutting the door behind her. “You sure? Everyone else calls you Romulus. At least, that’s what Tully claims. I don’t get around much…”

“Why don’t you?” I want to offer my arm, but that feels disingenuous because I don’t want romance. I can’t court her. I won’t. I settle for walking beside her, keeping a keen eye on folks going to and fro. If I see Leo, I’ll steer us away so Laini has a good morning.

“Weaving tapestries takes a ridiculously long time, and I have one to finish before the party.”

“I’m sure Rustion will hire you.”

“You don’t know that. At least three other weavers are competing, and they’re all very good. I’ve seen their work.”

“I would bet everything I have that your work is better.”

“Have you even seen any of my finished tapestries?”

The autumn breeze lifts the edge of my cloak’s hood, and Spark reaches out a paw to toy with it. I begin to gently disengage his claw from the fabric so he won’t expose my head—my horns specifically—but the claw is stuck in the woolen fibers.

Laini stops and faces me. “Here, let me help.”

Her nimble weaver fingers fold back the edge of my hood, and she lifts and turns Spark’s paw. As she works the dragonfox free, the back of her hand brushes my jaw. Desire plummets down my body, and heat gathers low inside me. I lick my suddenly dry lips. She glances at me, her eyes large and imploring, as if she wants me to say something. I take a deep breath of her dewy rose scent. My body longs to press closer to her, but I fight the urge and remain utterly still until she frees me.

She starts again, letting out a breathy laugh and shaking her head. “Sorry about that.”

“To answer your question, yes, I have seen some of your finished pieces. The one that shows the lady of the waterfall tale on your workroom’s back wall, and Rustion has one already up in his study—it’s the piece featuring what I assume is what Leafshire Cove looked like during its early days.”

“Oh yes,” she says, her eyes dancing, obviously pleased that I know the subjects and noticed. “I didn’t realize he was the one who bought that tapestry at the summer fair.”

“See? You have the best chance to win the contract.”

“But he has loads of other tapestries in his manor.”

“Yes, but only one other that he selected. The others were there when he took the title from his father years ago.”

“You know a lot about him.”

“He’s like a father to me even though I’ve only known him for a little while. We’ve spent several evenings by the hearth in his hall, and he took me in when I was at a very low point.”

“He is a kind fellow.”

The sadness and anger in her expression—such a contrast to her words about Lord Rustion—tells me she is likely thinking about how Rustion’s son is nothing like his father. Dark Mountain stay my hand… I would love to crush that shifter’s face in .

We amble onward in silence, but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. It’s nice to be with someone who doesn’t feel the need to fill the quiet with jabbering. Laini glances my way, the corner of her full lips drawn up on one side. I want to nibble on that bottom lip of hers. Breaking my foolish reverie, she points toward a bank of clouds in the distance, their tails pointing toward Leafshire Creek.

“Do those indicate a magical storm?” she asks.

“No, actually, those only mean there is wind in the higher elevations. Magical storms turn the clouds into churning heaps that look like shorn wool piled for the market. Or they descend like funnels.”

“Interesting. And are there any other indicators you watch for up in the tower?”

I nod and catch my hood as it tries to slip off my horns. “The scent. Storms with magic give the air a smell similar to sage.”

“Huh, I never noticed that, even after living here for so long. Guess I’m clueless about everything outside of yarn.” She laughs at herself good-naturedly.

I shrug. “It’s not your job.”

We pass a group of travelers gathered outside the bakery, and Laini pales slightly. They look our way, whispering behind their hands and turning slightly in a pathetic attempt to look like they’re not talking about us. They definitely are.

“It’s not you. You’re perfect. It’s my…” I jab a thumb at my hidden wings.

Laini’s color returns, pink flushing her cheeks as she shoots a glare at the visitors. “I am sorry some folks are rude, Rom. Your posture isn’t any of their business. You are perfect, too.”

I can’t help but smile at her fierce tone. It’s rather gargoyle-like, that protective mood. Hmm. And from the way she said that I’m guessing she doesn’t realize I have wings hidden under here instead of a hunched back. Well, she’ll likely find out at the tailor’s. I can’t keep my secret much longer. I will enjoy what I can before the reveal and then retreat to my solo life in the tower if she decides to break off our party plans. It would be for the best anyway.

“Thank you, Laini,” I say, tasting her name on my tongue. I want to whisper it into her ear, to let her know how special she is.

Maybe we can be friends. If I don’t get too close, and if I can subdue the attraction I feel for her, maybe I could be less alone.

She gives me the loveliest smile, and Spark flits from her shoulder to mine. Grinning, she scratches the underside of the dragonfox’s snout, and he purrs louder than a cart with a four-horse team.

I laugh. “Well, he isn’t a quiet one.”

“Nope. He’ll have to stay outside while we are with the tailor because of his noisy nature and his propensity for setting things on fire.”

We reach the workshop, and Laini takes Spark from my shoulder and places him under the fading rosebush to the side of the gold-painted door. Under a swinging sign with a needle and thread, we walk into the tailor’s place. It’s full of townsfolk doing the same thing we are—securing a matching set of clothes for the Harvest Party. All conversation dies as we shut the door.

Placing a hand on Laini’s lower back to ease her through the crowd, I lean down to whisper. “The two hermits out of their holes has to be jarring for them.”

She shakes with a quiet laugh, and the other folks go back to their laces, bolts of fabric, and conversations.

Behind a desk, a female water sprite with small purple wings and blue, wavy hair lifts a hand in greeting. She’s not tall enough to peer over the desk, so she hovers, flapping her wings gracefully. Perhaps she is half pixie. “Join me in the back room, if you will?”

Keeping a hand on Laini, who is red-faced and quite clearly nervous, I steer us in the direction the sprite went. Once we reach the room—a place thankfully empty of anyone else—I step away from Laini. I don’t want to give her the wrong idea, plus she didn’t seem happy about me touching her.

The sprite sets an array of linen, wool, and silk on the table in the center of the room. “Good morning, I’m Plum. One of the Leafshire River sprites and the shop owner’s new lead tailor.”

Laini nods. “I’ve heard great things about your talent.”

Plum smiles. “Just tell me what draws your eye, and we will go from there.”

The sprite adds a few samples of embroidered somethings. I know nothing about fashion or what one wears to this town’s Harvest Party.

Laini studies the fabrics and finally touches one of the embroidered things. “I love this wheat design. Since it’s gold, maybe this dark blue would work with it?” She turns to me. “What do you think? Your skin would look nice next to that blue, I think.”

“I feel like one of your tapestry projects,” I say in a teasing tone .

She snickers. “In a way, you are.”

“Would you please remove your cloak?” Plum asks me.

“I…” I glance at the crowd just beyond the door.

Laini seems to read my mind because she goes to the door and slides the heavy black curtain across the archway. “Is that better? Is that okay, Plum?”

“Definitely,” the sprite says.

“Thank you, Laini.”

Plum flits over to the wall of tunics and dresses. She pulls out a blue dress with a wheat border and hands it to Laini, then she tucks a tunic and trousers in my arms.

“There is one dressing room down that hallway,” she says. “Please come out when you’re dressed so I can pin your alterations in place and get them fixed for you as soon as possible.”

She begins shoving the both of us into the hallway, but Laini stops.

“Wait. We will need cloaks.”

“You won’t. It’s hot as a summer’s day at the festival. I have been every year of my life, and those bonfires they light are serious about heating the area.”

“But we prefer to have cloaks. If you don’t think Rustion would mind the cost?”

He was covering the clothing costs since he had pushed me into going. “I don’t think he would mind at all,” I say.

I give Laini a grateful smile. She knows I don’t feel comfortable without the covering of a heavy garment. It’s amazing how this woman who just met me knows me better than anyone else. And she cares enough to speak up for me. It’s not that I worry about speaking up because I don’t have a spine; it’s only that I don’t want to scare anyone. When I raise my voice above a whisper, it is rather deep and loud. I’ve seen the effect it has on others. Plus, if I let a situation get too tense, my stone magic breaks free. That’s how the tragedy occurred in the last place I lived.

Plum hurries to another row of hanging clothing. While we wait, I look down at Laini, wanting to thank her but unsure of what exactly to say. She doesn’t return my glance, but she steps closer to me. It feels like she understands me. I don’t think she’s an empath, so perhaps she just reads people’s body language easily. Whatever the answer, I’m in awe at her level of kindness.

“Here you are!” Plum hands Laini two cloaks in the same blue as the other clothing.

Laini disappears into the dressing room, and I only have time to imagine her baring her curves just beyond the door for a few moments before she returns.

She’s stunning. The blue sets off the gorgeous hue of her eyes, and the plunging neckline makes her breasts even more alluring.

“Beautiful!” Plum says beside me. “What do you think, big fellow?” She elbows me.

“I, um, I. Good.”

Plum snorts. “Well, if that isn’t the best compliment a gal can get. He’s speechless!”

Laini blushes fiercely. “We aren’t… It’s not like that. We are only attending the party as friends.”

I swallow. “Yes. Friends.”

Too bad I want to suckle those breasts of hers, to lick my way up one and down the other, to make her gasp with pleasure. Damn it. I have to stop thinking like this. She’s too sweet to endanger with my emotions and subsequent stone magic, a power I can’t always control. I refuse to put her at risk of being injured.

“Is the neckline too low, though?” Laini says quietly in Plum’s direction.

I take my cue and retreat a few steps back to give her privacy.

“No, love. That’s how it should be. You don’t even need any alterations. Plus, you’ll have a cloak if you feel too exposed.”

“True. All right. I’ll change back, and then you can have the dressing room, Romulus.”

“Please call me Rom. No need for the whole mouthful.”

Why did I say mouth? Heat creeps up my neck and into my ears. I can’t stop staring at Laini’s lips now. I’m an idiot.

Chuckling to herself, Plum mutters something and leaves us in the hallway. Laini whirls and returns to the dressing room to change back into her regular clothing. She joins Plum in the back room, and soon, I’m taking my turn changing.

“You’re sweet for agreeing to go with him to the party,” Plum says quietly to Laini.

She is whispering very quietly, but because I’m an Allysium gargoyle, one of the ancient lines, my hearing is better than most monsters’.

Plum goes on. “Some people are cruel to him. I hate that.”

“He’s great to talk to,” Laini answers.

My heart swells at her praise. I slide off my tunic and trousers, then replace them with the party attire as I look around for the belt Plum provided.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Plum says to Laini, a smile in her voice. “It wouldn’t seem fair if someone with a crooked body like that was also cursed with a poor personality.”

I’m well used to being seen as someone cursed, but I have to admit that I’m glad Laini doesn’t join in on discussing what they believe is my twisted back. I finish putting on the fine clothing, but then I realize I don’t have my cloak.

“Laini?” I call, keeping my voice down.

But there’s no answer, and I can hear Plum chatting in the back room, likely talking to Laini. I’d have to leave the dressing room without a cloak. But if Laini could be brave with her low neckline or whatever Plum called it, I could open up a bit, too. It was just Laini and Plum, who seems nice enough. Perhaps they can be trusted to keep my secret?

I push the door open and meet them in the back room. When I clear my throat, they both turn to look, and I extend my wings a fraction. Laini’s eyes look like they’re about to pop from her skull. This was a bad idea. An absolutely awful idea.

“I didn’t get that cloak from you…” I stammer.