Stone Destiny (Stone Passion #3)

by Warneke, A. C.

  She felt his smile inside. Zilahr is my equal in every way, Dragon-Mate, she will serve your beloved well.

  The man she loved finally opened his eyes and gazed down at her with the most beautiful, serene smile and she felt all warm and fluffy inside. His green eyes darkened and his smile faltered as his gaze roamed over her naked body. With a wicked grin, he crushed her beneath him and claimed her lips in a fiery kiss.

  “We should have stayed in London,” Ferris fretted as they made their way through the crowds at the amusement park in Florida nearly three weeks later. Armand was like a child in a candy store, excited to see the world with his no longer jaded eyes and Ferris loved it, even when she worried about interfering too much with the past. She could justify flying over the Atlantic Ocean with their dragon wings because they both had enough power to mask themselves. She could almost rationalize their decision to spend some time in the states, visiting attractions that attracted lots of people and yet provided anonymity.

  She just didn’t understand Armand’s need to visit the Faerie Tale Land, a theme park that was modeled on classic faerie tales from around the world, from the Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood to Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty to the mythology of various cultures. Ferris worried that too many of the supernatural creatures would see them and word of their adventures would reach the wrong ears, though she couldn’t say whose ears those would be. But no one in the supernatural world would expect to see a gargoyle walking as a man beneath the sun so even if they recognized Armand they wouldn’t connect him to the gargoyle that sat on the roof of a castle in Saint Paul.

  Armand looked at her with his wicked grin, bringing their joined hands up to his lips and kissing her fingers, “I’ve always wanted to visit this place but I was a gargoyle during the day. I may not have another chance.”

  “Why didn’t you bring me here before?” she asked, watching his face light up with pleasure and happiness. He was so happy now, all of the time, and her heart hurt with the love she felt for him. She hadn’t thought it was possible to love him even more than she had when she was sixteen, when she was twenty-one, but she did. She loved him so much it sometimes frightened her.

  The look he gave her was heated with promise, “I only had a month with you, love. I wasn’t going to share you with anyone.”

  She felt the loopy grin appear, the one she always seemed to wear around Armand, especially when he was being so sweet and seductive. He was wearing a ridiculously tight tank top, showcasing his broad shoulders and muscled arms. Zilahr was wrapped around his left arm looking like an elaborate black and gray tattoo while Fray was wrapped around Ferris’s right arm in all of his golden glory. When they held hands, the two dragons touched

  There were very few full sleeve tattoos so the two of them garnered a lot of attention, mostly positive but a few sneers. That is, until they looked up and saw the beautiful man attached to the tattooed arm. Then the sneers turned to sighs of longing, something Ferris could certainly sympathize with but didn’t worry about. Armand only had eyes for her and he never even looked at another woman. It was as if they didn’t exist. And when he kissed her, when he brushed his lips against the sensitive skin of her neck, the world ceased to exist. He kissed her breathless every chance he got.

  “How do you feel about some cotton candy?” he purred, his lips tickling the shell of her ear.

  “In general, I am for cotton candy,” she breathed, letting her eyes drift shut as he sent tingles of pleasure through her bloodstream with his heated breath. “I mean, what’s not to like about pure sugar that is colored and spun out to resemble giant, puffy clouds?”

  She felt his smile against her neck, “Then how about some cotton candy?”

  Grinning, she nodded her head and managed to open her eyes, “Sounds delicious.”

  Leaning against him, grinning like a lunatic, she happened to look up and see a dark haired little girl standing all alone. She was dressed in a purple and pink fairy dress, complete with little fairy wings and she was absolutely adorable. As Ferris watched, large tears welled up in the girl’s big, blue eyes and Ferris’s heart went out to the little moppet. Tugging Armand’s hand, she led him over to the crying child. Squatting down, she offered a smile to the child who couldn’t be more than five or six years old. “Hey, there, sweetheart. Are you lost?”

  The little girl nodded, her piggy tails bouncing and her fairy wings flapping. As she wiped her running nose with the back of her arm, she spoke, “I wasn’t supposed to wander off but I wanted to get my sister something because she’s sick and couldn’t come on the trip with our grandparents but then they weren’t where I left them and I don’t know where I am.”

  “Oh, sweetie,” Ferris murmured, tears welling in her own eyes in the face of the child’s misery. Wrapping her arms around the little girl, she hugged the child, “How about I stay with you while my husband goes in search of your grandparents?”

  When the little moppet nodded, Ferris looked up at Armand with pleading eyes. She should have known he would have been just as affected by the lost little girl. With a quick nod, he moved through the crowd, in search of frantic grandparents. It shouldn’t take him too long because he had those gargoyle ways.

  Returning her attention to the little girl, feeling strangely connected to the child, she grinned, “Want to know a secret?”

  The girl’s eyes widened and she silently nodded her head.

  Leaning closer, she whispered, “Faeries are real.”

  “I know,” the child breathed earnestly, her blue eyes even larger than before. “Sometimes I think I can see them out of the corner of my eye but when I look they aren’t there.”

  Putting her head against the girl’s so they were cheek to cheek and facing the same direction, Ferris scanned the crowd until she found what she was looking for. Pointing out the lavender skinned sprite, she murmured, “They like to hide in plain sight.”

  “I see him,” the child whispered in awe. “He’s not alone, is he?”

  “He’s not,” Ferris confirmed, watching the small group of sprites dancing in the Irish garden display. “If you look, you can see so much more.”

  Silently, the two of them looked around the park, pointing out the various creatures that danced beneath the sun, invisible to most of the humans surrounding them. As they waited for Armand to return, they talked softly and giggled about the little pixies who were now putting on a show for the little human who could see them.

  “They’re amazing,” the child breathed.

  Ferris kissed the smooth, plump cheek and sighed, “I hope you never lose the ability to see the magic in the world.”

  “Never,” the child agreed with solemnity.

  “Melanie!” a frantic voice cried out and a moment later the dark haired moppet was swept up into a pair of loving arms.

  Ferris’s jaw dropped open as she slowly came to her feet, looking at the familiar image of her great-grandparents whom she had seen in pictures. Glancing down, she saw her uncle as a small boy, his blue eyes just as large in his face as he stared at her arm, at Fray. It took her a moment to realize that Armand was standing with them. It wasn’t until he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side that she even knew he was there.

  She blamed her obliviousness on the shock of her discovery. Slowly, she turned her head and saw the recognition in his eyes. He wisely stayed behind her, trying to use her to shield himself even though he towered over her by at least six inches.

  “Thank you so much,” Melanie’s grandmother cried, hugging the little girl for all she was worth. “You have no idea how worried we were until your very nice husband found us and told us you had found this little trouble maker. Is there anything we can do to repay you?”

  Ferris frantically shook her head no, taking a step backwards and bumping into Armand. With his arms around her waist, he took a step back and pulled her with him. She could feel his chest rumble with silent laughter. “It was my pleasure, truly. Um,
we’ve got to go.”

  Turning and once again bumping into Armand’s solid chest, she anxiously made her escape before she did any damage. Armand’s laughter filled the air and she couldn’t help but smile even as her heart was pounding madly in her chest. She should have recognized her aunt but she hadn't. Maybe there was a part of her that hadn't wanted to know until after she kissed the little girl and gave Melanie the gift of vision.

  “I’m going to miss this place but I’m glad to be going back. I’ve missed Gavin and Gwen and everyone,” Ferris sighed as she leaned into Armand’s embrace as they took one last look at the paradise that had been their home for just over a year. As excited as she was about going home, she was also incredibly nervous. How was life going to be once they returned to the real world? She had absolute faith in Armand and the love they shared but how were the others going to react? Not that she cared, at least not too much, but she didn’t want there to be any acrimony between the brothers. She and Armand had already gone through so much and they were truly one but no one knew about it.

  Kissing the top of her head, he nodded, “Being here has brought me peace, Ferris. Well, being here with you has brought me peace.”

  She smiled, stroking her hand up and down his chest, feeling the steady tha-thump of his heart, taking comfort in his absolute calm. Zilahr was curved around his shoulders, hidden beneath his soft, linen shirt and Fray was wrapped around her ribs. The two dragons were as inseparable as her and Armand, often taking their corporeal forms to fly off and have some alone time. If Ferris wasn’t mistaken, Zilahr was getting a little bigger around the middle but she wasn’t going to say anything in case she was just seeing things that weren't there. They would know one way or the other soon enough.

  Licking her lips, she asked, “Do you think I will have the… power to keep you human during the day like mom and Rhys?”

  “It doesn’t matter either way, love,” he assured her with absolute sincerity. “I have you and that is all that I need.” He chuckled, “Maybe you will turn into a gargoyle during the day and we can see if it’s possible for gargoyles to make love.”

  “Knowing you, I’m sure it’s possible,” she grinned, feeling her heart lighten, knowing it was going to be okay. They had to return a couple of months early in order to make their way home undetected because they were more well-known in this time and hence had more people to avoid.

  Their plan was to step out of the bubble as soon as the sun set and find a hotel room for the night. They were going to try a little experiment: they would make love while the sun was rising and if Armand remained a man, they would be able to fly home. If he turned into a gargoyle, they were going to have to hire a private boat to sail home. Naturally, it was going to have to be a company run by faeries or mermaids because the trip across the ocean was going to last several weeks and Armand was going to spend half of his time in his stone form.

  It was the primary reason they were leaving the bubble early because no matter what happened, they had to be on that roof as close to the time of their departure as possible. Getting up to the roof unseen was going to be another tricky matter that they were going to have to deal with. Maybe little Nod would be willing to keep their secret. He already had so much difficulty with linear time lines that maybe no one would notice if he started talking about Ferris and Armand being together when they weren’t, at least not yet.

  She was getting a headache thinking about the time line: the future, which hadn’t happened yet, was their past, which was long gone. They were probably going to have to call on Omar... Apollo. After all, he managed to keep her a secret for nearly four hundred and fifty years.

  As the sun set, they stepped out of the bubble and back to reality. A nearly silent pop let them know that the bubble was gone and there was no going back even if they wanted to return. With Armand’s arm draped over her shoulders, they took a step when a cloud of smoke abruptly appeared in front of them, blocking their exit out of the alley. As the smoke billowed, a colorfully clad Omari stepped out, waving his hand in front of his face and coughing, “Damn smoke bombs. They look impressive but they’re hell on the lungs.”

  A smile split Ferris’s face as she saw her old friend but she stopped herself from taking a step forward. Nervously, she glanced at Armand to gauge his reaction. The gorgeous man was wearing a ferocious scowl and if Ferris didn’t know him she would have thought he was furious. But his green eyes sparkled and she relaxed.

  “What’s with the disguise, old man?” Armand asked gruffly, not quite able to hide the amusement in his voice. “You no longer have to hide your true self from my mate.”

  Omari’s eyes widened a fraction of a moment before his lips spread into a wide grin and he morphed into Apollo. His blinding beauty was almost too painful to look at; he was brighter than the sun. “Ah! I came to inspect the collapse of a bubble and what should I find but two of my favorite people. Together. And, um, Armand, you’re not frozen in stone.”

  His brow drew together as he closed his eyelids, his eyes moving rapidly beneath. Suddenly, a beatific smile curved his lips as he pierced them with his hazel eyes and clapped his hands together. “Ah, yes, now I remember. I formed the bubble ages ago. Of course, it was only a few months for you, wasn’t it? I see everything worked out and….” He tilted his head to the side as he examined Armand, “You’ve been Dragon-Mated. Interesting.”

  The stern expression on Armand’s face broke and he stepped forward, embracing his father who could easily pass for his brother, “It’s good to see you, father.”

  Startled, Apollo hesitated only a moment before he returned the hug. A look of such bliss fell over the god’s face that Ferris felt tears fill her eyes. When the hug was over, Apollo stepped back and cleared his throat as a hint of color climbed into his perfect cheeks. “Yes, well, it’s good you two are back but you’re early.” He glanced at his empty wrist and added, “You have nearly three months left.”

  “Yes, well,” Ferris shrugged her shoulders. “We have to get home, you know, and we have to cross an ocean to do that.”

  He smiled playfully and snapped his fingers and the three of them were standing in his shop, only Ferris wasn’t sure if it was his shop in Chicago or Saint Paul or perhaps a million other places. Chuckling, he flung himself onto a chair and motioned for them to join him. “We are in Saint Paul, sweetheart. And I suggest the four of you keep your butts settled here until it’s time to join me on the roof. Just, no kissing and necking in front of me. I might get jealous.”

  Blushing, Ferris lowered her eyes to avoid looking at either of the two men in the room with her. Armand’s fingers drifted over her cheek before he tilted her chin up. Love and adoration shined so brightly in his green eyes she forgot how to breathe. Slowly, he lowered his lips to hers, placing a gentle kiss on her lips before he rested his forehead against hers, “I love you.”

  It was exactly what she needed to hear. Relaxing into him, she followed him down as they sat on an overstuffed love seat. Abruptly, Ferris shot up and looked between Apollo and Armand, the god and the gargoyle. She had the sudden, overwhelming urge to go outside and breathe in the air of this century, this city.

  “Ferris, no,” Apollo warned.

  “It’s just for a moment,” she said, already walking towards the door, her eyes beseeching the two men to understand something she didn’t. “I’ll be back in just a minute.”

  Before they could protest, she slid through the door and crashed into Ajreis. He looked at her, a wide smile brightening his human face, “Ferris! I thought you were back at the Castle painting.”

  “I… was?” she said, surprised by the upwelling of love she felt for her lifelong friend. Impulsively, she closed the distance between them and hugged him, grateful for all he had done for her through the years. “It’s good to see you, Aj.”

  He awkwardly patted her arms, obviously uncomfortable with the contact. “Fer, you saw me not fifteen minutes ago. You were threatening to throw paint on me if I didn�
�t go outside and enjoy the warm night. You were also wearing a streak of fuchsia paint across your cheek… You’re not the Ferris I just saw.”

  “Um, no,” she admitted. It was pointless trying to lie because he knew her too well. They had been through too much together to lie to him. Taking his hands in hers, she led him to one of the benches that was dotted throughout the city. “It’s complicated.”

  “Where you’re concerned it usually is,” he teasingly agreed. Reaching up, he touched her cheek and tilted his head to the side. “You’re happy, Ferris, really, truly happy.”

  Her smile lit up her face as she nodded, “I am and I have you to thank for it, Ajreis, my oldest and dearest friend.”

  He stared at her with an utterly blank expression. “What did I do?”

  “You gave up your nights to Felicity,” she beamed before her smile faltered and she realized what she had done. Slapping a hand over her mouth, she muttered, “Ignore me.”

  But Ajreis had heard her and he sat up straighter. “How? How did I give her my nights? What happens?”

  “I don’t know if it was the new moon or the full moon,” Ferris spoke from behind her hand, hoping she was doing the right thing. “But it worked and Armand was freed.”

  He stood up and started pacing, excitement coming off him in waves. Abruptly, he stopped and looked at her with a wide grin, “The new moon is in a few days. Felicity will be anxious to help.”

  Ferris tilted her head to the side and arched an eyebrow, “You know Felicity?”

  Red stained his cheeks; the cheeky imp had kept a huge secret from her. Unable to help herself, she laughed. “Don’t tell me, Aj, I don’t want to know.”

  “So, if it doesn’t work on the new moon it will on the full moon?” he asked, hope making his pale brown eyes an almost beautiful topaz. At her nod, he kissed her soundly on the cheek. “I’ve got a best friend to save and a girl to seduce… I’ve got to go.”