Bound by Stone

by Jenna Wolfhart

  I let another moment pass before I relaxed my body and dropped my hands to my sides. “Fine, but just...just keep him away from me.”

  “Of course.”

  Sebastian scowled. “Whatever. You all do your thing, and I’ll take a look around the house. By myself.”

  And with that, Sebastian stomped away from the three of us and disappeared through a darkened archway. A flicker of irritation went through me, but I brushed it aside. Truth was, I wanted to look through the house, partly to search for evidence of the Oracle and partly to see the home that might have once been mine. But I wouldn’t stay in here with him.

  Eli turned to me. “Ro, you and I can check out the guest house behind this one. Marcus can take a look around the gardens.”

  “No,” I said, far too quickly. After what had almost happened between the two of us in the bathroom, I couldn’t be alone with Eli again. “I think I should go with Marcus.”

  I tried to ignore the flash of pain in Eli’s eyes.

  “If that’s what you want, Ro.”

  I swallowed hard and glanced away. “Yep. It’s for the best.”

  As we walked away from him, I could feel his eyes on my back. I knew it was wrong to push him away, but it was also wrong to pull him even closer. Surely he could understand that. Surely he knew I only wanted to keep him safe. Letting him get closer to me would only end in tragedy.

  “What was that all about, love?” Marcus murmured as we threaded through the lush gardens full of thigh-high flowers and perfectly-formed hedges.

  I blew out a hot breath and tucked my hand into the crook of Marcus’s arm. “I know I shouldn’t fight with him, but I just feel like it’s only a matter of time before Sebastian screws us over. What if someone comes along and offers him more than what we can give him?”

  “Then, he will likely take that offer.” Marcus draped his arm across my shoulder and paused to examine a thin pathway that disappeared through a wild cascade of bright green leaves and twisting limbs. “However, I was referring to your reaction toward Eli. You acted as if you wanted to get as far away from him as possible. Has he done something to upset you?”

  “Oh.” My shoulders slumped as a tightness gripped my heart. “It’s...nothing. You don’t want to hear about it.”

  Marcus frowned and shifted me to face him, tucking his finger underneath my chin. “Tell me, my love. What’s wrong?”

  “I was in the bathtub after the fight, and Eli accidentally came into the room.” My eyes drifted down to stare at the mossy ground. It was the same color as Eli’s eyes. “There was a moment I swore he was going to forget about his oath. I don’t want to be alone with him ever again because of it. I’d never be able to live with myself if something happened to him, too.”

  “I see,” Marcus said quietly.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, flicking my gaze back to Marcus’s silver-flecked eyes. “I shouldn’t be talking to you about this.”

  “Rowena, my love, I always want you to talk to me about this,” he said. “And I truly wish things were different. For you and for all of us. Eli is a good man. I would happily welcome him into the fold. Unfortunately...”

  “Oh, Marcus.” With a shuddering breath, I leaned up onto my toes to wrap my arms around his neck. He grabbed me tight and crushed my body against his, his breath whispering against my neck. Every part of me ached. My heart and soul and mind. But Marcus soothed every bit of that away, filling up the emptiness inside me.

  “My love,” he whispered before wrapping his hands around my thighs and lifting me from the ground. A moment later, we’d left the gardens behind, diving between the thick leaves and limbs, the only wild part of the garden.

  “Where are we going?” I asked as my heartbeat flickered in my chest.

  “I am taking you to a place where I can do what I should have done already. Claim you as mine.”

  Claim me as his. Blood rushed into my ears. If that meant what I thought he meant, then...I clung tighter to him, my thighs gripping his waist. “I thought you wanted to wait until the time was right.”

  “I’ve waited long enough,” he said as he nipped my earlobe. “Our lives are full of chaos. If we hold off until everything is perfect, then we might be waiting for a very, very long time.”

  He carried me through the forest and lowered me onto a patch of soft moss. Bracing his arms on either side of me, he dipped his mouth to my neck. I shivered as my heartbeat picked up speed. His tongue was soft and electric and warm. How did the slightest of touches from Marcus feel so thrilling? I arched my back to invite his mouth to go lower.

  He obliged. With a soft moan, Marcus slid down the length of me before prying off my jeans. A rush of anticipation shot through my gut as he dropped the heavy material onto the grass beside us. My breath caught at the look in his eye. Somehow, I’d been lucky enough to land this hunk of a man, and I couldn’t believe he wanted me. I smiled and crooked my finger at him.

  Hunger sparked in his eyes, and he ripped his shirt over his head. His jeans came next, and I swallowed hard at the very obvious excitement he felt toward me. When he lowered himself on top of me, the stone and violet scent of him consumed me. It was a scent I would never tire of, one that sparked a fire of need in my core. I wrapped my arm around the back of his neck and pulled him close, opening my mouth in a hungry kiss.

  He moaned against me and slid his hand between my thighs, finding a wetness there that spoke of my intensifying lust for him. I arched my back and sighed when he slid his fingers inside me, and my body squeezed around him. He was strong and powerful, filling me up in a way that made my entire body tremble. I wanted him. I needed him, in a way I’d never needed anyone before. I pressed my lips to his ear, and I whispered, “Please.”

  That was all it took. His fingers disappeared, leaving a raw ache behind them. With a shuddering sigh, Marcus’s heady gaze caught my eyes, and then he pressed himself gently between my thighs. My mouth opened in a silent scream, and my entire body shook at the wave of shivers that stormed across my skin. I had thought what we’d done before had felt amazing, but this? This was something else entirely. I hooked my legs around his and pulled him closer, needing to feel every part of him as deeply as I could.

  Our bodies became one, moving in a rhythm that started out slow but became faster and faster as the lust overtook my mind. My entire body trembled. My legs were weak, my arms were like jelly, and nothing else existed but the space where our bodies had joined. Marcus’s mouth was hungry on mine, his breath hot on my skin. He was mine, and I was his, and nothing could ever tear us apart. That thought alone brought me to the very edge, and soon, that sweet, sweet relief went pouring through my body, in unison with Marcus’s own passionate shouts.

  And then we collapsed in a heap, our bodies tightly entwined.

  Chapter 10

  A twig crunched somewhere nearby, and I pushed up onto my elbow to peer through the dense trees. Had Eli come looking for us? How would he react when he discovered us like this? He knew I was involved with Marcus, but that didn’t mean he’d be happy to find us naked and entwined, especially when we were supposed to be looking for the Oracle.

  The Oracle. I frowned at myself. As mind-blowing and amazing as sex had been with Marcus, I couldn’t believe I’d let myself get so distracted from my quest. We needed to find her ASAP, and yet I’d jumped into the bushes with Marcus instead.

  “What’s wrong, love?” Marcus murmured, his hands propped underneath his head as he reclined, eyes closed, against the mossy ground. He looked more at ease than I’d ever seen him, and that was saying something, his smug smile lifting the corners of his lips.

  “I heard something,” I whispered. “A twig snapping or a branch breaking.”

  “Could be Eli,” he murmured. “Don’t worry. He won’t be upset.”

  “Well, he might be annoyed we’re rolling around in the dirt instead of looking for the Oracle. I was the one who dragged you all here, after all.” I grabbed my shirt and jeans from the
ground and slithered into them, standing just in time to see a tall thin figure whispering through the trees. She was there and then she wasn’t.

  Suddenly, she stood right before me. Her eyes were round and hollow, the black iris melting into the pupil. She towered over me, but her limbs were thin, her cheekbones gaunt, and her aura reflected the opposite of strength. With long white hair that whispered at her waist, she almost looked like a ghost, her pale yellow dress melting underneath the bright sun overhead.

  “Ah, Oracle.” Marcus smiled and stood, completely at ease with his nakedness before this stranger, though I supposed she wasn’t a stranger to him. “We’ve been wondering where you are. Glad to see you’re alive and well.”

  Alive, yes. But well? I wasn’t entirely sure that was the right word for what this woman—or creature—was.

  “There is someone here calling this place his home. That is not allowed.” Her dark eyes glittered as she pursed her pale lips. “Imagine my surprise when I come to find a gargoyle fornicating with a goddess.”

  At her words, I wrinkled my nose. “I wouldn’t call it fornicating.”

  The Oracle paused to meet my gaze, her face a mask, hiding whatever she felt inside, if she felt anything at all. They called her an Oracle, but what did that mean? Was she a witch? A goddess herself? Or something else entirely? Something else...otherworldly?

  “I warned Hecate this would happen. You’ve become far too mortal. I mean, look at you. There’s barely an aura of power about you.”

  I tried not to take that too personally. For one, she was right. And for another, there was something far more interesting about her words.

  “You’ve spoken to Hecate about me? She knows I exist?”

  “Of course she does,” the Oracle replied. “You are her flesh and blood.”

  “Then, maybe you can tell me why she hasn’t bothered to come back into this realm to help me,” I snapped. “Does she know everything I’ve been through? Does she know about the magic hunters? Does she have any idea that I could have died? That all the mages in the world are dying? Why hasn’t she done anything about it!”

  My questions turned to shouts. All this time, I’d tried to give Hecate the benefit of the doubt, as much as I could. She’d left the realm. Fine. She didn’t want to return. Fine. But I’d always assumed that was because she just didn’t know what was happening. If she did, her lack of action felt like a stab in the gut.

  “She knows,” the Oracle said. “She thought it best not to interfere.”

  “And why the hell not? All of this, it’s because of her magic. She caused this by coming here in the first place.”

  “Exactly,” the Oracle said. “Her powers caused this. Coming into this world, interfering with human lives, she sees that it was a mistake. She does not wish to make the same mistake again.”

  Frustration ripped through me, and I threw my hands in the air. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t fair. Sure, her coming here had caused problems, but that was my entire point. Things had gone wrong, but abandoning the realm wasn’t the solution. She owed humans more than that. She owed me more than that.

  While I’d been arguing with the Oracle, Marcus had slid back into his clothes. He strode to my side and rested a strong hand on my shoulder. “While Rowena wishes the goddess could see things differently, she’s actually come to visit you for another reason.”

  The Oracle raised her eyebrows. It was the first shift in expression she’d shown since her arrival in the forest clearing. “What other reason could you possibly have for coming to Mont Circeo?”

  I glanced at Marcus, who gave me a nod of encouragement. At the end of the day, this was my request, my search for a reversal of the oath. He was encouraging me to take charge, just as he’d done before. Just knowing that he had my back gave me the strength and the confidence to push forward.

  “I want to talk to Hecate,” I said, lifting my chin. “I have a request that only she can approve.”

  “What is your request? An army? More power? Weapons to use against the hunters?” Her eyes drifted to the sword I’d propped against a rock. “You have everything you need. The goddess’s powers in your veins. The sword that harnesses them. And your gargoyle guardians pledged to protect you with their lives.” She flicked her gaze to Marcus and frowned. “Though this is not one of the two, and he is lucky for that. Otherwise, your fornicating would have ended much differently. But where are Jasper and Eli?”

  “Well, this is why I’m here,” I said, shivering as a sudden brush of cool wind shuddered through the forest clearing, as if the weather matched the atmosphere of this unexpected meeting. “Eli is on the grounds somewhere, also looking for you.”

  “I see. He must be the one declaring this is now his home, then.”

  “No, that’s probably Sebastian,” Marcus said.

  “Sebastian.” The Oracle’s eyes flashed as she curled her lip, yellowed teeth flashing underneath the glare of the sun. “He has never taken an oath. He has always shirked his duties as a guardian. And now you’re telling me that he is here in my home, trying to claim it as his? What have you brought upon me, Rowena Mortensen?”

  Er...this wasn’t going well. Thanks a lot, Sebastian. I couldn’t wait to get back to the mansion and tell him exactly where he could shove his stupid wings. If he’d cost us Jasper’s return to flesh, then I’d never be able to look him in the eye again. He would have to go. Where? I didn’t care. He could jump off the cliffs in his stone form for all I cared.

  Marcus cleared his throat and squeezed my shoulder, jolting me out of my newfound rage toward Sebastian.

  “Just ignore him. He won’t be staying,” I said to the Oracle. “We’re here for Jasper. He’s turned to permanent stone.”

  The Oracle’s face remained cold and expressionless before she finally let out a tsk of irritation. “Let me guess. You fornicated with him as well, breaking his oath to you.”

  “No.” My face flamed. I swore, if she said the word fornicated one more time. “He kissed me, but it was a mistake. He doesn’t deserve to remain stone for eternity. I’d like to speak to Hecate and explain to her what happened, so that she might reverse the curse. He is a good guardian. He’d do anything in the world to protect me. I think if you just let me explain that to her, she’ll agree.”

  “He obviously wouldn’t do anything to protect you, or he wouldn’t be in his current state. He knew the risks, and he touched you anyway.”

  “Yes, but—”

  She held up a hand. “Enough. I cannot be a party to this.”

  “What?” I asked, a fresh wave of panic shooting through my gut. “Look, you don’t have to even do anything. Just explain how I can get in touch with Hecate. All I want is a conversation. Is that so much to ask?”

  The Oracle sniffed. “I think it’s for the best that I keep that information to myself. If you speak to Hecate, I believe the result would have a negative effect on the mortal realm, and it’s in enough danger as it is.”

  Chapter 11

  The Oracle led us back to the mansion. Eli stood underneath the marble archway with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against a smooth white pillar that was three times the thickness of his lean body. He watched, expressionless, as we climbed the stairs to join him, the Oracle shuffling just before us. He didn’t seem shocked or surprised or curious. If anything, he’d been expecting us.

  “Oracle,” Eli said, slightly bowing his head as the strange pale woman approached him, her pale yellow dress floating around her like a silky mushroom of sunlight. “It’s nice to see you again. We were worried something had happened to you.”

  “I have noted your visits, Eli. Thank you for your concern.” She bowed back. “Things have been unsteady in the human realm as of late. I chose to stay out of sight for my own safety. I hope you can appreciate that. It’s nice to see you haven’t fallen prey to your stone form as I hear Jasper has.”

  Eli’s gaze landed on me, and then it shifted to Marcus. There was something stra
nge in his eyes. A wariness. An aloofness. An almost forced indifference.

  “I’m assuming Rowena filled you in on Jasper’s current predicament,” Eli said. “Will you be taking her to Hecate?”

  “No.” The Oracle’s tone went chilly. “And you’ll do well to remember the permanence of Jasper’s situation yourself. Now, come along. You’ve had a long journey. Allow me to provide you with a meal and a place to stay if you’d like to explore Mont Circeo, as it’s your native home, Rowena?”

  “Oh.” With raised eyebrows, I glanced at Marcus, who merely shrugged. I certainly hadn’t expected that, not with the cold and unfeeling way she’d interacted with us so far. Not to mention her irritation at Sebastian’s presence in her home. I’d expected her to kick us out with as little fanfare as possible. “That would be great, though I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”

  The truth was, her invitation had sparked a little kernel of hope within me. Even if she didn’t want to help me, I could at least attempt to help myself if we stayed on Mont Circeo long enough for me to take a deeper look around. Somewhere on these grounds, there was a hole in the veil. Eli had said it was in the caves. Maybe if I went there, maybe if I called out to Hecate myself, maybe just maybe she would answer.

  It was certainly worth a try.

  After the Oracle showed us to our rooms, she led us to an expansive room with vaulted ceilings and echoing marble walls. All of us except for Sebastian, who was still elsewhere in the mansion nosing around. There was a small fireplace sunken into one wall with three small sofas angled toward it. They were the only objects in the room. Seemed the Oracle was a bit of a minimalist.

  “If you are going be my guests, then you must understand the ground rules,” she began, threading her fingers underneath her chin. “Your visit will be temporary. No more than one week. You will not alter any room in any way. You will not alter the gardens in any way. You must not visit the caves, and you must not fornicate on my property.” She shot me a sharp glance at that last bit.