Stone Guardian(28)

Terak moved his hands into her hair, pushing the blond strands off her face with gentle strokes. He continued, “My father would have enjoyed meeting your father. From what I have heard, they were both very alike.”

“You know about my father?” she asked, curiosity sparking her eyes and dampening the last of the pain that remained there.

“I am leader of my Clan. It is my job to know of all beings whose decisions could affect the balance of this world. Your father is one such man. He is well respected, and though he issues no decrees, his words are taken seriously by those who do.”

Pride lit her features, her smile going wide and free. “Yeah, that’s my dad.”

The intimacy of their situation hit him then, his hands buried in her hair while his wings surrounded them, protected them in their own universe. Her own gaze held no discomfort yet, but it would in moments.

It was better to back away, remove himself from her space. He forced fingers that did not wish to unwind from the strands of hair to let go. He backed away.

He shifted his gaze away and now focused on her home, to give them both a moment to recover. The room was warm, blue walls and white furniture and an air that suggested everlasting summer. It suited her.

The title of the book on the table caught his eye and he reached down to grab it. From the corner of his eye he viewed Larissa as she made a half lunge to grab the book from his hand before she stopped herself.

“History of Gargoyles,” he intoned, reading the title. “I have never read this work. Is it any good?”

He turned his attention back to her to see her little chin raised. “I’m not going to apologize for trying to learn about you.”

Of course she shouldn’t. He would have not respected her as much if she took everything on faith. “I would not expect you to. A scholar always seeks more information.”

Her eyes still held their earlier warmth, though a small shadow entered them. “There is not a lot of information out there, and what little there is, it’s… mixed.”

Here he needed to tread carefully. Her hesitation over the last word spoke volumes. He wanted to keep the level of camaraderie they had developed. “I do not know what the volume contains, but I can say with certainty that we are not as bad as many stories would have you believe.”

Her fingers ran over the cover of the volume, which featured a gargoyle in battle mode. “If gargoyles don’t deserve the bad press, why do you have so much of it?”

“Separation and isolation creates fear and mistrust, on both sides.”

“Which is why you want to start living in the world?”

“Yes.”

“But not all your people do, isn’t that what you told me?” The shadow was growing larger.

He waved his hand over the cover and need to make her understand struck him with the force of a warhammer. Of all beings, he didn’t want her to look on him with fear. He didn’t want to lose the closeness they were developing. He wanted to be able to touch her face again. “Stories like this tell only one side. They never speak to the many betrayals gargoyles suffered at the hands of other races. My people do need to move on, but many cannot forget the past, a past where they learned that they can only depend on other gargoyles, lessons learned with blood and fire. They have learned that other races would destroy us if they got the chance.” He sat across from her, not wanting to force her to keep looking up at him. “But we must move forward now, not forgetting those lessons, but not letting them control us either. We no longer live in the Magic Realm, and I need your help to accomplish what I want.”

The shadow was gone. Her eyes now held only curiosity, the question in them not on his trustworthiness but on the worthiness of his plan. “Spell it out for me then. What exactly is it you want?”

“I want what every leader wants. I want to protect my Clan. My people have been in flux since the Great Collision. I want to bring calm and prosperity and peace to my people. I want us to be able to move in this world without fearing or bringing fear to others.”

She motioned at the book with the gargoyle drawn to inspire fear. “And you believe helping me will help you achieve that goal? That it will change centuries of mistrust on both sides?”

“It is only a first step, but yes, it is a valuable first step, one that will set my people on that desired path. While the outcome is not guaranteed, I can only hope so.”

She studied the book still in his hand. Reaching for it, her fingers brushed his as she took the book from his hand, soft and warm and gentle, the sensation sparking nerves and tendons in ways not even the fiercest of battles had ever caused. There was a split-second pause, a hesitation before she drew away and leaving him bereft. Without a word she went into her kitchen and the book was tossed in the trash, the look she gave him as the rattle of paper hitting metal hung in the air almost defiant, as though she was waiting for him to comment.