Ezzie blocked my path. ‘I know how you’re feeling. But we must wait.’
Looking into her silver eyes was an odd sensation. I clenched my hands at my sides and nodded. I needed a distraction to take my mind off things and to give me a chance to rein in my instincts.
‘What will those gargoyles do, now that the Sobrasi are dead?’ I asked.
‘They are bound to serve the order, and they hold to that with the same conviction as any guardian. Since Zindelo and Nadya are the only living Sobrasi, I am certain they will go with them.’
‘They won’t stay here?’
‘It’s unlikely. There is still much unrest in the Old Clans. I feel their services would be better suited there.’
‘Which just leaves us.’
Ezzie’s lips pursed together for a moment. ‘Correct.’
‘I’m happy for you, Ezzie,’ I said, after several beats of silence between us. ‘I know returning to your shadowen life is what you’ve hoped for. And, honestly, though it’s pretty selfish of me, I have to admit, I’m glad I’m not alone.’
Ezzie dipped her head low. ‘Sebastian, you have my loyalty. I was not always able to help you, as I would’ve liked before, but now, I offer you all the assistance I can give. You only have to ask.’
I grinned back at her. ‘Why don’t you just keep doing what you’ve been doing all along? Look after my brother and his clan. They’re definitely going to need someone like you to keep them in line. I mean they’re pretty much like the Lost Boys.’ I shrugged. ‘Only older. And with more ink.’
‘Lost Boys?’
‘I mean the Neverland ones. Not the Eighties movie ones.’
Ezzie shook her head and moved away from the door.
We continued to wait. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the bond I felt with Josephine. Lying in the dungeons of the Court of Shadows, it had felt like clinging to a flimsy piece of twine. Now, it was strong. It flowed through me like a steady current.
Josephine’s emotions tumbled across my soul as well. She was scared, but not distraught. I felt a confidence in her that was new and solid. Every so often, a word or phrase would pop into my head – something she was saying that had filtered somehow into our unusual telepathy.
Without warning, the door swung open. We both sprang back, hissing reflexively and baring our teeth. Hugo pulled up short. He threw his hands up defensively. I immediately straightened, and Ezzie did the same.
‘Oh, great,’ he huffed. ‘Now I’m going to have to deal with that from two of you. I don’t know if I’m ever going to get used to it.’ He closed the door behind him. ‘It was a mess in there. Looks like a tornado went through. Lots of stone bodies from the ones they killed before La Gargouille took care of the rest.’ Hugo glanced cautiously at me. ‘The Marksmen are taking care of that now.’
‘And the Gypsies?’ I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
Hugo made a sign with his hand. ‘Three dead. Two Marksmen and the bandoleer from the Joles clan. Lots of injures, but my mother can treat the shadowen wounds.’
‘Your clan?’ said Ezzie slowly.
Hugo let out a huge breath. ‘All fine. Banged up a bit, but they’ll live. Katie’s okay, too. Kris took out of couple of groties himself before he let anything get to her.’ He smiled. ‘I think he’s got a bit of a crush.’
‘Katie’s here?’ I said, almost to myself.
‘She’s fine, Sebastian.’ He crossed his arms. ‘Can’t say the same for Quentin Marks, though.’
My head jerked up at the mention of his name, and a snarl rippled across my lips. ‘What do you mean?’
My voice had gone gravelly. Hugo noticed, but he only shrugged.
‘You’ll have to see for yourself.’
Hugo took us around the outside of the cathedral to enter the sanctuary from the back. As I stepped into the marble vestibule, I became acutely aware of how I looked. Bare feet, no shirt, scabbed-over arrow wounds and dried, purple-black blood. Ezzie didn’t fare a lot better. She’d tied her ripped shirt underneath her wings, but the fabric was dirty and stained.
To my relief, Zindelo and Nadya were waiting for us and quickly offered up their dark-green cloaks. A few rips and ties up the backs, and Nadya managed to alter the cloaks enough to allow our wings to hang freely behind us. As I turned to thank her, the four gargoyles shadowed into the vestibule.
The male, who I now knew was called Badrick, bowed low in front of me, and the others copied him. The action made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t in charge of anyone, shadowen or otherwise.
‘You have our loyalty,’ said Badrick.
I cast a sideways look at Esmeralda. Her expression was stoically blank, but her chin lifted slightly. I got the feeling she was proud.
‘Thank you,’ I replied. ‘But you don’t owe me anything.’
Badrick expanded his wings once, then pressed them to his back.
‘You are La Gargouille,’ he said.
‘I’m just Sebastian.’
‘Whatever name you call yourself is your choice. But you are the first of our kind, the most ancient of us all. Therefore, we pay you homage.’
I couldn’t hide the shudder that went through my wings. Badrick’s words sank deep into my chest, even as I tried to dismiss them. I nodded back at him, but the gesture was the only thing I could think to do. The gargoyles dropped back and took up positions behind me.
Hugo and Zindelo opened the doors.
Ezzie fell into step next to Badrick as we walked into the sanctuary. My chest tightened immediately. My brother was right. It looked like a storm had hit the room. Pews were overturned. Statues of saints were toppled and cracked. Several stained-glass windows were shattered. A chandelier lay in pieces in the middle of the aisle.
Outcasts Gypsies were everywhere. Some were tending to injuries. Others were picking up broken glass and chunks of statues, trying to clean up the mess. Several groups mingled tightly together, talking in hushed voices. The dead had been carried out of the room, back to the Court of Shadows, I assumed. Marksmen went in and out of the side doors. I saw them through the broken windows, tending to the stone shadowen corpses outside on the lawn.
Josephine stood in front of the altar. Despite everything around me, my stomach fluttered at the sight of her. Even with dirt smearing her face and gravel stains across her skirt, she looked like a painting come to life.
She saw us enter and motioned us to join her.
Everyone followed her movement and riveted on us. My mouth went dry. Once, I thought nothing could be worse than the day I was introduced to the entire Circe de Romany by Nicolas. This was that moment, times one hundred. I kept walking, planting one foot firmly in front of the other. I had almost made it to the front without incident. Until I saw Katie Lewis.
Our eyes met. She left Kris’ side and maneuvered around a broken pew until she reached the aisle. I set my shoulders.
‘Hey, Katie.’
She hesitated, her eyes running a thorough scan of me from head to toe. ‘Hey.’
‘I’m glad you’re okay,’ I said quickly. I ran a hand through my hair, feeling awkward in a completely different way. ‘And thanks for, you know, trying to rescue me and everything.’
She blinked up at me, and we stared at each other for one long moment. Then Katie rushed in and wrapped her arms around me. The scent of her thick, fruity perfume slammed into me, hitting me with so many memories that tears sprang to my eyes. I hadn’t realized how tense I was until she hugged me, how much I’d been dreading what would happen to our friendship. The warmth of her embrace took all that away. My shoulders relaxed, and I felt my wings droop to the floor.
When she let me go, her eyes were glistening like bright blue stars. ‘You should know, you’re still a ridiculous social disaster,’ she said, punching me on the shoulder. ‘And an idiot.’
‘Guilty as charged,’ I replied.
The Corsis were suddenly surrounding me, clapping me on the back and crushing me in bear hugs like they us
ed to do around the shop. Hugo beamed at me, with a smile bigger than I’d ever seen it. My tears broke loose, and I let them fall. I didn’t care anymore.
A voice rang out. ‘The Queen of the Outcast Gypsies speaks!’
An older Gypsy, wearing a green hat, stood on the top of the altar steps. At his words, silence fell, even among the ones treating the injured. My eyes searched frantically for Josephine’s. Before I could form a panicked question in my head, a single thought from her buzzed in my brain.
Trust me, Sebastian.
I pushed down my skittering feelings and watched as Josephine stepped forward, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. She looked every bit like a queen as she opened her mouth and began to speak.
‘My friends, we have overcome a great danger that threatened to wipe out our very existence. But this victory has come at a high cost. Beginning tomorrow, we will mourn for eight days, as is our custom, for the Marksmen and bandoleers who lost their lives. And for Thalia Romany, our Queen.’
She paused, letting the weight of the deaths settle over the sanctuary. ‘I am Josephine Romany, daughter of Nicolas Romany. I didn’t ask to be my aunt’s successor, but I’m humbled to have been her choice. With your help, I will do everything I can to lead our kumpania into a better place. But to make things new, we must first bring justice to the wrongs that have been done.’ She looked at me. ‘Guardians of the Roma, I invite you to stand before me.’
I looked back at Ezzie and the other gargoyles. I continued down the aisle, and they followed after me. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I stopped. Ezzie took her place on my right side, and the others fanned out on either side.
‘From this point forward,’ said Josephine, ‘all gargoyles will be treated in the manner they deserve. Without them, we would not have been able to defeat the plans of the marimé Augustine.’ Josephine looked at Badrick. ‘You are no longer bound to any Roma, unless you choose to do so of your own free will.’
He bowed. ‘You have our gratitude, Kralitsa.’
‘Evil shadowen remain throughout our kumpania,’ she continued, looking to each of us. ‘And we will need our guardians in the days to come more than ever. Not as our servants, but as our allies. And, as our friends.’
Josephine lifted her head and surveyed the assembly of Gypsies. There were spoken agreements from throughout the room. I heard the Corsis over everyone else, and I smiled to myself. At last, Josephine raised her hand for quiet.
‘Having taken care of these matters, I have one last issue to be resolved before we can move forward.’ She nodded to a tall, thin Marksman at the bottom of the steps. ‘Bring them in.’
A block of ice suddenly dumped into my stomach. Several armed Marksmen entered the room, escorting two men up the steps. The first was Donani. The other one was Quentin Marks.
Red slammed over my vision so fast I didn’t have time to brace myself. A snarl ripped from my throat and I felt myself move forward. But just as my hands curled into fists, I felt something different.
Control.
The fierce emotions swirled inside me, but this time, a new revelation came with them. I knew I could manage them. I wasn’t a slave to them anymore. I took a deep breath, and then, the anger in me simply died. My vision righted. And though protective instincts still pumped strong in my blood, I was able, for the first time, to focus on the Marksman with complete, steady calm.
Quentin stared mutely ahead. His arm was cradled in a sling. A deep gash over his right eye had swollen it shut. There was nothing arrogant or triumphant about the Gypsy standing in front of him. Instead, I saw a broken man, and little more.
The man with the green hat spoke. ‘As neither of you had knowledge of Augustine’s true intent to murder Outcast Gypsies, you cannot be held responsible for his crimes. However, for the treatment of guardians placed in your care, you are liable.’
‘Donani Marks, of the Marks clan, your service to the Queen has always been commendable, but the new Queen no longer requires your services. You are stripped of your rank as the Queen’s Head Guard, and you will be assigned to another clan in the northern part of our kumpania.’
Donani dropped his head in shame. ‘As Kralitsa wishes.’
The man turned to Quentin. ‘Quentin Marks, of the Marks clan, you aligned yourself with the traitor Augustine for your own personal gain, and you used your position to mislead other Marksmen into following your orders. But your most serious crime is against our guardians. Therefore, the Queen has ordered a sentence of marimé for the period of three years. At the end of that time, should you have chosen to live your life in a wise and productive manner, the Court will reconsider the reinstatement of your Roma blood. Until then, you are banished from any and every Outcast establishment, and should you violate these terms, the sentence will be death.’
Quentin turned bloodshot eyes to Josephine. ‘Please, hear me out.’
Josephine looked away. The man in the green hat did the same. One by one, every Gypsy in the room turned away from Quentin Marks. I expected him to scream or protest. But he didn’t do anything – except meet my gaze. As I stared into his eyes, I pitied him. Maybe it showed in my face, because he suddenly turned without another word and walked out.
Josephine took a shaky breath. I felt her emotions clinging to me, like a heavy blanket. She wiped her eyes quickly, and when she looked forward once again, she was the Queen.
‘And now,’ she said in a steady voice. ‘Sebastian Grey. Please join me.’
My legs felt wobbly as I ascended the stairs, and I remembered the first time I stood next to Josephine. It was to read a passage from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I was even more nervous now than I had been then.
‘Sebastian,’ she said, looking straight into my eyes. ‘As my guardian, I’m afraid the safety and protection of this kumpania will now fall on you.’
I managed to crack a smile. ‘I sort of figured that went along with the territory.’
She laughed softly, that musical laugh I’d fallen in love with from the first moment I heard it. Then, her expression turned serious. ‘Do you accept this role?’
I felt the stares of everyone in the room, but I only had eyes for her. My wings quivered against my back. From a whispered plea in the cave under the Sutallee Bridge, to this moment, standing next to the girl who’d turned my world upside down. And made me want to live every day by her side.
I took a deep breath.
‘If you will have me, Josephine Romany.’
Her eyes shone like emeralds.
‘Always,’ she said.
And she pressed her lips to mine.
Epilogue – Sebastian
‘So this is where you’re going to live now?’
Hugo crossed his arms and glared skeptically around the small room I’d chosen in the right tower of the Cathedral of Saints. Thankfully, the bell tower on the opposite side hadn’t been used in years, and I was safe from the noise. The room was large enough for several pieces of furniture and, most importantly, for my wings to stretch out to their full length.
‘What’s wrong with it?’ I shrugged at Hugo. ‘I think it has lots of charm.’
‘I think it looks like something out of a bad movie. But okay.’
Hugo shook his head and set down the last of the boxes he’d brought back from Sixes containing my stuff. He wiped his brow and crossed to the window. He looked out over the city.
‘And you have to admit,’ I added. ‘The view’s pretty sweet.’
‘Yeah, you’re right about that.’
I reached into the box and retrieved my collection of Shakespeare books. I brushed them off and set them on the shelf next to the small desk we’d also brought up. I glanced over my shoulder at my brother.
‘I wanted to say thanks, by the way.’
He turned around and his thick brows shot up. ‘Thanks for what, exactly? For not telling you the truth at the beginning, or for branding you without your knowing? Or may
be for keeping you with our clan against your will and then almost getting you killed—’
‘Well,’ I said. ‘When you put it that way.’
He thrust out his hand. ‘How about we leave the past in the past?’
I wrapped my clawed hand around his in a shake. ‘Already been done.’
Hugo ruffled my hair. ‘You’re still my little brother, though. And you better not forget it.’
‘Never.’
I finished arranging my books across the shelf, separating them by category, and then I sorted through the rest of the things on my desk. Hugo picked up another box from the window and walked it over to me.
‘I saw Nicolas Romany in town today,’ he said.
I reached out to take the box. ‘Yeah, all the Romanys arrived last week.’
‘So how’s he feel about having a gargoyle for a son-in-law?’
The box slipped from my hands and clattered to the floor. ‘What? There’s no … I mean, I haven’t … we haven’t talked about … that’s not—’
‘Relax,’ said Hugo, chuckling. ‘I get it. There’s a lot of navigating to do.’
He knelt and retrieved the box. I sat on the edge of the bed, folding my wings forward so they’d hang over the edge, and I clasped my hands in front of me. Hugo set my stuff aside and leaned against the desk, folding his arms across his chest, waiting patiently.
‘With everything that happened after Augustine’s attack and witnessing the way Josephine handled the aftermath, the High Council decided unanimously to allow her to keep the throne, even though her status is—’
‘Unmarried?’
My cheeks burned, and I fumbled with a new rip in my jeans. ‘She’s an adult in the eyes of the Court now, so marriage doesn’t have to … I mean, it’s her choice … you know, if she ever wants to, but it doesn’t … anyway, I don’t even know if we … I mean, if it’s even allowed. I’m definitely not a Gypsy.’ I fanned my massive gargoyle wings for effect. ‘Aren’t Outcast rules pretty strict?’
‘Well, I guess it’s a good thing you’re in love with the Queen.’
Midnight Page 36