That didn’t mean Anna was happy with her situation.
Now he only hoped she didn’t grow to hate him for what he’d done to save her life all those years ago. And that she’d be willing to be his Kyrsu and fight by his side until they defeated all their enemies. He didn’t know what he’d do if she asked to return to her life on Earth without him.
Anna glanced sidelong at him and patted the ground, her steady presence reaching out to him as Maradryn continued to ask questions. Not needing a second invitation, he sat and then scooted closer, using one wing to hide her from view of anyone passing by.
“Relax, I’m not going anywhere without you. We’re a team. I made you that promise, and it doesn’t have an expiration date. Lifelong, my friend. Get used to it.” Humor accompanied her thoughts.
The tension between his shoulder blades eased. Grinning as foolish exuberance gripped his soul, he leaned down and gave Anna a gargoyle kiss.
“Gross,” she muttered and wiped the back of her hand across her cheek. “But it’s true. I’ll always have your back, and I won’t even mouth off to the elders like I did with that Reaver jackass. Promise.”
A snort from the other side of the fire drew his attention back to Maradryn.
“You do the nonverbal communication better than Rook and me. And we’ve known each other close to nine hundred years.” She looked at Anna. “You really are his Kyrsu. That’s the only time I’ve seen such a natural, unified front. Did you know you move together, mirroring each other? By the light, your resting breath and pulse are the same. You’re completely attuned to each other, and you don’t even realize it. No wonder Lord Draydrak is so keen to groom you both to be his war leaders. On the field of battle, you’ll think as one mind but possess two bodies. You’ll be lethal.”
Maradryn continued to scrutinize them until Obsidian had the urge to squirm under her gaze.
At last, she changed the subject. “Oath tells me you’ve already had to drive off that thick-headed Reaver.”
He growled, his earlier good feelings vanishing. “Yes, Reaver came upon us on our way here. Predictably, he insulted Anna.”
“That boy will never make Adept if he doesn’t learn humility, compassion, tolerance, and patience.”
‘I’d settle for basic intelligence,’ Obsidian thought.
“I fear one or all of those objectives may be beyond him.” Maradryn’s expression darkened. “If he continues to give Anna trouble, I will speak with the other Masters. We’ll act to discipline him.”
“Thank you.” Obsidian bowed his head in respect. “However, Anna cut him down with a few verbal spars and soon had him in retreat.”
The memory of Anna winning the skirmish with words alone still made him ridiculously proud.
Meadow returned and politely bowed to Maradryn and then informed the group that the other council members were on their way.
“Stay,” Maradryn told the other dryad. “Obsidian’s friends are always welcome at my fire.”
Meadow murmured her thanks before settling to Obsidian’s left. He nodded to her. When he glanced back Anna’s direction, it was to find Oath lying on the ground, his head resting on his forearms and his tail coiled around him as he looked upon Anna with absolute adoration.
“You won a fight against Reaver using words alone?”
“Wasn’t that hard. He’s not that bright.”
The worshipful look in Oath’s eyes almost made Obsidian laugh. She may not even realize she’d gained her first admirer among the citizens of Haven.
Others would soon see all the qualities that made him so proud of Anna. She would win them over—the ones worthy of the effort. The rest, like Reaver, Obsidian would break to his will or simply break them.
Maradryn soon turned the topic to Earth, and Anna explained about such things as politics, military, and various technologies with broad, sweeping hand gestures.
Partway through the conversation Meadow rummaged in a woven basket she’d brought with her.
From inside, she removed six of the clay-fired urns used for storing wine and other fermented drink. The tops were sealed with wax stamped with her family’s mark. It was one of her family’s specialties and was always in demand at the festivals. “Banrook said I should bring some of these in case the council gets thirsty. There is enough for everyone.”
Meadow offered Anna the first goblet, showing Obsidian’s Kyrsu the respect she was due.
Anna smiled her thanks and took a careful sip. After a moment, her eyes lit up. “The good stuff. Don’t be surprised if I come begging for more at some later date.”
Maradryn leaned forward, holding out her goblet to fill. Truth, bored with waiting, stole an urn for himself and Oath while Meadow filled Obsidian’s cup.
“Will you and Truth still be coming to my family’s fire tomorrow after the hunt? That is, if you’re not too busy now. Anna is welcome.” Meadow’s ordinarily outgoing and cheerful demeanor was absent, replaced by a more subdued and shy countenance. He thought he knew why, and it sparked a bit of unease in his belly.
“I...” He didn’t want to give her false hope, but she was also his friend and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “Of course I’ll come. I’m sure Anna would like to meet your family.”
“Later, for the dancing...” Meadow let her sentence die as she glanced over uncertainly at Anna, where she was still sitting sheltered under his opposite wing talking with Maradryn.
Oh. So that’s the reason Meadow was suddenly awkward. She didn’t know what kind of relationship he and Anna would now share. Or how Anna’s awakening would influence Obsidian’s newer friendships.
Anna was...
She was his... friend.
But more than that, she was his—
Hmmm....
Why was he having trouble classifying their relationship?
Because, whispered a tiny voice in his head, she’s more than just a friend. She’s your trusted confidant, big sister, teammate, and many times she was the only safe option to love.
Yet, even though all those terms were accurate, when he’d been younger, he’d also thought once he’d matured enough, Anna would just become his partner in all things... eventually taking on the role of mate.
It was a silly childhood wish.
But none of those terms did her justice. Anna was so much more.
She was his Kyrsu. She completed and complemented his soul. They were two spirits joined by magic and shared experiences. No romance existed to muddy those glorious facts.
But what if their relationship developed and shifted toward something less platonic?
The thought made him flush self-consciously. No. He was being foolish. Anna was just... Anna. A force of nature he needed in his life.
It was better—safer certainly—that she continued to think of him in a brotherly fashion.
His mentors had always warned him not to project his wishes upon his Kyrsu or risk stealing her will and stripping away any kind of choice from her.
Hadn’t Banrook been drilling discipline into him all these years for just this day?
He would do all in his power to keep Anna safe from what his dark gift yearned to do to her.
A hand patted his knee and Anna was suddenly leaning forward to peer around him and meet Meadow’s eyes.
“Shadowlight used to like music. I can’t imagine Obsidian has changed so much.” Anna’s shit-eating grin was firmly in place. “If he tries to chicken out, I’ll make sure he still puts in an appearance.”
Meadow likely didn’t know the meaning of ‘chicken out,’ but the answering smile that lit up her face transformed it from merely pretty into something warm and beautiful. Yet Meadow, lovely though she was, stirred nothing within him. Not knowing what else to do, he raised his goblet for a big drink.
When he looked up again, Anna was still grinning at him.
But a throat being cleared drew his attention back toward Master Maradryn. “Don’t worry. You’ll have lots of time to socialize later, but for now, the c
ouncil has business that needs tending.”
Meadow and Truth came to their feet swifter than if one of their mentors barked an order. The bigger gargoyle prodded Oath in the ribs when he didn’t move fast enough.
Anna pushed on Obsidian’s wing until he lowered it enough she could look over the top and watch the approaching Council of Elders. After noting their position, she leaned in close to his ear. “Meadow, she’s sweet. It’s obvious she likes you. If you two aren’t already a thing, you should be.”
He huffed in surprise at the pleasant sensation of Anna’s warm breath against his ear and where his mind flashed to in that moment.
No, Meadow didn’t stir him, but his Kyrsu just had.
Chapter 11
ANNA DIDN’T HAVE A freaking clue what had possessed her to add her two cents about Meadow. It wasn’t like she was any good at matchmaking, but there was something about Meadow—a wholesomeness tempered with an inner strength that just made Anna think the young dryad would be a good match for Obsidian.
Admit it, Mackenzie, Anna thought to herself. If he’s romantically involved with one of the dryads, then he becomes ‘safe’ and you like the sound of that a lot better than a bachelor Obsidian who might set his sights on his Kyrsu.
Time to put that whole can of worms out of her mind. She didn’t need further complications until she knew the inner workings of Haven. It had taken her weeks of careful observation to learn enough about the Battle Goddess’s domain to benefit. If she’d been a crier, she might have teared up at the knowledge she was now starting from scratch.
At least Obsidian had a thirteen-year head start. She planned to mine him for intel later. For now, she had a Council of Elders to win over.
The newly arrived council members—there were only three, two gargoyles and one dryad—joined them around Maradryn’s fire.
Banrook she remembered from before. Forgetting someone as big as him was hard. Obsidian was now the larger of the two, but Banrook was one of those types who sucked up all the oxygen in a room just by the magnitude of his personality.
“Anna, you may remember Master Verroc from when you crossed the time portal.” Obsidian pointed to the less muscular gargoyle.
Anna nodded respectfully to the elder.
She’d started picking out other little details that differentiated one gargoyle from another at a glance. Some, like Verroc, wore distinctive jewelry. At least she hoped the silver ear-stud with its pale blue stone was distinctive and there weren’t a hundred others just like it to confuse her.
“Don’t let Verroc’s smaller stature fool you.” Obsidian sent along their link. “He can and will hand you your own ass in the practice ring.”
“Speaking from personal experience?”
“Yes.”
“And this is Master Sumdara,” Obsidian said aloud like they hadn’t just been having a private conversation. “She’s one of our greatest dryad trackers.”
Sumdara lacked Maradryn’s Amazonian height, but she still possessed a warrior’s body, well-muscled and marred by more than a few scars.
Anna acknowledged this new dryad with the same respect she’d allotted the gargoyles.
Verroc cleared his throat. “Now it’s time to speak of things better not heard by others just yet.”
With that gruff utterance, he raised a hand above his head and summoned shadow magic. The darkness between the nearest trunks shivered and shook before pulling away from under the trees which had first cast the shade.
With another soft utterance, Verroc ordered the magic to form a dome over them all, sealing them behind a shimmering silver-grey substance that blocked out sound from the outside.
“There. Now we’ll have privacy. No one except this council knows the full extent of your power. They know you’re a human with magic, one altered by the Battle Goddess, but your gargoyle nature is still a secret. We’d like to keep it that way, at least until you’ve settled in and get to know Haven’s residents.”
“I thank you for that, but how haven’t they figured it out? That I was sleeping in stone seems like common knowledge.”
“Yes. But all think it was Lord Dray’s magic which accomplished the deed. We never corrected that erroneous notion.”
Dray. It was so strange that a being with such frightening powers and a title like ‘Lord of the Underworld’ was merely called Dray by his friends.
But Anna wasn’t given long to dwell on that thought for the Elders soon launched into what was apparently an interrogation. She answered them truthfully, holding nothing back—they’d sense any lie even if she’d wanted to keep something secret.
During a lull in the questioning, Anna reflected on that ability. An interrogator able to smell a lie, possess eyes sharp enough to catch the tiniest of tells, and even read surface thoughts?
Yep, back on Earth, that would be any intelligence agency’s wet dream. When all of this was over, maybe she could orchestrate a peaceful joint operation between gargoyles and a few of the acronym agencies. It never hurt to think about future career choices.
Obsidian touched her mind. “You’ll already have a career, a gargoyle war-leader.”
“Never hurts to diversify.”
But the council soon agreed on a line of questioning focused on her abilities. At first, she’d thought they looked for weaknesses to use against her. Then they talked about training. Ah. This interrogation wasn’t for devious purposes. It was for school.
Her time in the Battle Goddess’s kingdom had been more like a magical basic training package. This new training sounded a lot more academic.
Eventually, they finished grilling her and turned to discussing Obsidian’s training and how he was progressing.
“Well,” Banrook said as he gathered his feet under him, “I suppose we should release Obsidian and Anna, so they can enjoy the festival. Your training will resume the afternoon after the Spring Rites, but first, Lord Draydrak will want to see you both. Report to the temple that morning before your lessons.”
“We will be there.” Obsidian rose and then bowed his head at each of the Elders. Anna mimicked him.
“Besides,” Banrook added, “if we hold you up too much longer, some of our brothers and sisters might expire of curiosity. That Lord Draydrak has made it known he desires a human to share command of his army has generated rather a lot of speculation.”
“To put it mildly,” Master Verroc added in his dour tones.
Banrook gestured toward the surrounding shadow magic shield. A second later the dome misted away. “Go. Use the time before the hunt to introduce Anna to the others.”
“Would you prefer to sit the hunt out? The Elders will understand if you don’t feel up to it yet.” Obsidian asked after they’d left the council members.
She glanced over his shoulder to find those in the crowd nearest to their location staring with rapt attention. “Nope. I’m good. A hunt sounds perfect.”
Because, surely, not everyone at the gathering would come? The hunt would offer an escape from the scrutiny for a short time.
“Very well.” Obsidian sounded distracted, and when she looked up, it was to see him staring back at the crowd of gargoyles and dryads gathered a short distance away. They were talking amongst themselves now but still stared openly. “I think we’ll still be required to ‘show you off’ to the legion first before we can escape on a hunt.”
“Oh, come on. I’m a human, not a rare and mystical unicorn. Hell, humans and dryads don’t even look that different.”
“True. But they are also curious about where you’re from—Earth. To them, Earth is far more mystical than a unicorn. And they know Lord Dray has seen something in you that makes you worthy to lead. They want to see if they can spot it too.”
“Great. If I’m going to be under a microscope, might as well get it out of the way.”
Obsidian agreed with a deep chuckle. “In that case, I think we should find a place to dig in and make them come to us.”
“Works for me.” Maybe som
e of them would be too busy to take time from their duties to gawk at the Earthling.
Chapter 12
AS IT TURNED OUT, NO one at the gathering was too busy to meet Obsidian’s human Kyrsu. Anna had even grudgingly admitted it wasn’t as bad as she’d expected. But flying free was going to be much more enjoyable. The breeze blowing off the ocean flipped her thick ponytail from side to side. They weren’t even in the air yet and the wind was already working hard to loosen her hair. First chance she got she needed to put it back in rows.
“Here, take these.” He handed her a bow and a quiver full of arrows. That done, he dropped to all fours and bumped his muzzle under her hand in eagerness.
“Jeez, grow some patience,” Anna laughed. “I’m hurrying.”
Lifting his wing out of her way, he waited with a humorous glint in his eye again.
“Now who’s uncertain?”
“You’re impatient and delusional.” She swung a leg over his back and settled into place. While she waited for the rest of the dryads to mount up, she checked her quiver and harness.
Anna leaned forward to brace her hands on his shoulders and noted her nose was almost buried in his thick mane.
“Next time, we’re doing your hair in cornrows. By the end of this hunt, I will be so done with getting flogged in the face.”
“Stop whining!” Then he was flexing his powerful hindquarters and launching them off the cliff into empty space. “Enjoy the freedom of the day!”
Laughing, Anna spread her arms wide and embraced the sheer sense of freedom and belonging in this one perfect moment. Then the thunder of wings filled the sky as the hunting party took flight behind him.
It was at that exact moment she knew she would be all right; Shadowlight wasn’t really gone at all. He’d just changed his name and grown up a little. This life, strange as it might seem to her old self, was hers now. Now it was up to her to claim it.
Slowly, Anna’s wildly beating heart calmed, but she couldn’t wholly vanquish the childlike wonder of flying gargoyle-back above the bright blue waves.
The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9) Page 127