“Is the library close?”I wasn’t sure how big the palace was.Being flown around tended to leave a person with a distorted perception of space.
Samuin slowed his pace so I could keep up with his long stride.“It is under the central tower of the palace.”
“Which is located…?”
“It is on another level of the palace.Under normal circumstances, I would fly you there.”
I blinked.“These are not normal circumstances?”
Samuin shook his head.“Unless it is to protect you from danger, I cannot touch you.Any scent other than your mate’s on your skin, and my liege will be overcome by deadly rage.”
I snorted.
He gave me a look somehow more serious than his usual one.
“You’re not joking, are you?”
“Any male risks death by my liege’s claws and fangs, should he lay a finger on you.The mate bond demands it, it is instinctive.”
“Does it work the other way around?”Not that I was starting to believe in the bond’s existence, I was just… asking for a friend.
“Of course.Although a human female’s sense of smell is not strong enough, I have read that even the suspicion of her mate having been touched by another is enough to cause a fit of rage.”
My stride faltered.“Jealousy, you mean?”
“My Queen has already felt what I speak of.That is good.It is one of the many manifestations of the bond.”
“No, I–” I shook my head to myself.It was impossible to lie to a gargoyle.“Jealousy is natural,” I reminded both him and myself.“It doesn’t prove the existence of a magical connection.”
Did the corners of his lips twitch?“It matters not.I still cannot fly you to the library.”
We turned left into another wide corridor, this one with ataxidermy collection displayed in glass cases along the walls.
My stride faltered yet again.I was thrown off by the first sight here that I didn’t like.“What are these?Hunting trophies of gargoyle kings?”
“Animals from the ground that have since gone extinct or are about to.A memory of them has to be preserved.These specimens were found dead.Their lives were not cut short by my brethren.”
“Thank you for clarifying that.”The look on my face upon entering this place must have conveyed how appalled I was.
I tried to keep walking without getting distracted by the sight of a dodo next to a sabre-toothed cat.Some preservation magic had to be at play here.Just how far back did this collection–and Gargoyles–go?
“Samuin, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Why are you so invested in the ground?I get that you have to go there to find mates.But, you didn’t need to stuff a Tasmanian tiger to get in a woman’s pants.”
To my surprise, Samuin’s lips tipped up.A second smile from the most serious gargoyle in 24 hours?I was a certified comedian.
“These creatures are here not because of the Gods-imposed search for our mates.The ground may not be my kind’s home, but it has sustained the missing pieces of our souls one reincarnation after another.We owe it a debt we can never repay.”
Excitement surged through me.That sounded promising.“Is this why you fight against the flesh eaters now?Because they’re the greatest threat to the ground?”
“The flesh eaters’ king started the war centuries ago when he purposefully began spreading the curse of his blood.He has overstepped before but never on a scale this big.We must finish our ancestors’ fight and eliminate him.Once and for all.”
We exited the corridor with the natural history museum vibe and headed toward an imposing wooden staircase.Its spiral stairs leftenough space for those with wings to fly around it while ensuring wingless visitors could climb comfortably.
Samuin took flight as I went up the stairs, but he flapped his massive wings at a speed that kept him airborne at my level.I immediately took advantage of his decision to keep me company on the way up.
