“I’m fine, thanks.”
“Really, it’s no trouble—” I reached out and grabbed for the ale, which had slipped from their grip and tilted as it made its way toward the frozen ground.
“What do you want?” They stopped, stance defensive. Their quiet voice had an edge of desperation, and I realized that the sheen in their eyes was not just extra moisture from blinking back the frigid air.
I raised my hands up, the ale jug thumping against my chest at the swift motion. Frustration roared through me, the need to soothe them nearly overwhelming. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to help.” The stunning violet eyes pierced me with a glare. “I’m here getting some things from the apothecary.” I dug in my pocket with my free hand and produced the little parcels.
“You were here before.”
“Yes.” We came to a stalemate, just staring at one another’s faces. Theirs was a study in opposites—sharp cheekbones and soft jawline. Pale skin highlighting their dark eyebrows andeyelashes, but the color didn’t seem natural for some reason. “I’m Tap. Pleased to meet you…?”
They turned and dashed off again without responding. I should have let them be, but I couldn’t leave without knowing more. “Please, allow me to apologize!” I broke the silence between us as my feet hit the dead grass of the churchyard. “I feel as though I’ve gone about this all wrong somehow.”
There was not even a single glance spared for me as they mounted the stairs and disappeared into the church.
I stood there for several long moments, debating what exactly the correct thing to do would be.
“Bold of you to come back here, demon. I thought we understood one another despite not actually speaking the last time you visited this village.”
I turned the direction the voice had come from, and my breath puffed out in front of me as I looked up to the roof. “Hello.”
The stone kin man shook his head and leaped from the roof, heavy wings stretching wide to slow his fall as he landed near the rear of the church. I walked toward him, trying to still keep my eye on the church door, but he took several steps into the cover of trees beyond the property line, and I lost my sightline.
“I’m Tap,” I said, putting my hand out. I recognized his features, the scowl in particular. “You must be another of Magnus’s sons.”
Surprise pulled at his dense black eyebrows. “Another?” He made no move to shake my hand, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He was taller than me by just a small margin, broad in the shoulder like Coltor, and he had Magnus’s eyes.
“Yes, I’m well acquainted with Coltor. Your father and my brother Rylan are quite close.” His expression remained unchanged, and I found myself scrambling to offer some tidbit of information that would convince him we were not enemies.“I’ve met your sisters as well. Lovette is a gifted healer, and Imogen is a marvel at the forge.”
He tucked and hid his wings, reverting to his fully human form. This seemed positive, like he didn’t deem me enough of a threat to remain in his larger, more formidable gargoyle skin. “Do you live in Revalia then?”
I shook my head. “No. Two of my brothers do, though. I reside at the crossroads.”
His stance relaxed, and he finally extended his own arm. His grip was brutally firm as he shook my hand. “Well met then, demon, and my apologies. I’m Tormund.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“What brings you all the way out here?”
“Your apothecary. They have a selection of things I can’t find anywhere else.” It wasn’t entirely a fabrication, though not the whole truth either.
“And your interest in the church?” he gestured vaguely at the ale jug in my grasp.
My chest tightened. “Personal.” His eyebrow raised. “Curiosity then. Is this your post?”
“Yes. I’ve been stationed here for quite some time. Speak plainly, what is it that interests you here?”
“The person that was in the churchyard, the one that dropped this. I’m… drawn to them.”
Tormund grunted and rubbed at the dark-brown beard covering his chin. “Elaborate.”
I decided there was nothing to be lost with honesty and blurted, “I believe them to be my mate.”
He froze, and a gruff laugh rumbled out of his chest. “Unexpected, indeed.” His head ticked to the side, but he said nothing further.
“Why are you posted here?” I asked, though I already suspected I knew the answer.
“There are secrets kept in that church that require protection.”
