I felt a lump in my throat. What happened? Was something wrong with me?
Sensing my anxiety, Florian smiled and shook his head. "No, it's okay. Don't worry." He laced his fingers in mine and led me towards the fountain. "There's something you should see."
I glanced at Argon. He did not even blink. He looked utterly speechless.
"Look," Florian said tenderly as he gestured to the water. He was still holding my hand.
Before I peered into the water, I noticed the sudden paleness of Florian's hand from the corner of my eye. Was it not I whose skin was pale?
When I looked at our clasped hands, I saw my hands were made of stone.
I wanted to suck in a sharp breath of shock, but like before, I could not breathe. Rather, I did not have to breathe.
I looked at my reflection. A gargoyle stared back at me.
No, not exactly a gargoyle... This was a different creature. Wolf muzzle and ears, draconic fangs and horns, all forged from stone, composed the gargoyle head on a human's body.Almosthuman. The stone flesh was closer to sculpture than skin,complete with stony wings and tail.
Now I was not a motionless gargoyle, or a cursed human. I was something in the middle.
And oddly, I did not mind it. The knot of tension in my chest unravelled and released. All the feelings of self-loathing and guilt burned away like mist in the morning sun.
Was this what it meant to break the curse? Not to become a real human, but to be happy with myself no matter what I looked like?
I glanced at Florian, whose hand was still entwined in mine. He had been smiling at me this whole time.
"You do not care that I look like this?" I asked again, although in my heart I already knew the answer.
Florian answered by squeezing my stone hand with his flesh one. I was immensely grateful that despite my inability to breathe, I could still feel sensations.
"I love you, Devereaux," Florian murmured. "And you being a six-foot-tall gargoyle man only makes me love you more."
I laughed. "I never thought I would hear anyone say those words."
Eager to test out this newfound body, I leaned down to kiss Florian again. He met me halfway, slipping his warm, wet tongue into my mouth. I wondered what he was feeling. Did my mouth taste like anything? Did he feel like he was kissing a ceramic pot?
My thoughts floated away as simmering desire burned between my thighs. Good to know that was still working.
We broke apart at the same time, as if we shared a wavelength.
"We can kiss later," Florian said. "Let's rescue Pascal."
"Right. Ah, but... I might be too heavy for Midnight in this new form."
Florian grinned. "Actually, we might not need Midnight. Look, Devereaux."
He gestured to my back. I had forgotten about my wings. They were my stone gargoyle wings, but now much larger and proportionate to this form. I tentatively spread them like a fledgling bird. To my surprise, the movement felt natural and easy. Soon I was beating them hard enough to lift from the ground. Confidence surged through me, making my body feel light and airy despite its stone composition.
Florian beamed excitedly at my short flight. Argon was watching, too. He still looked flabbergasted by everything.
I hovered lower and offered a stone hand to Florian. "Come. We can fly to Pascal together."
Florian took my hand. I carefully lifted him up. Strength fuelled my body and I easily carried him in my arms while my wings beat higher, raising us into the sky. Below us, Argon and Midnight shrank into a purple and black blur.
Florian murmured in awe as we flew higher. He clutched his cane in one hand and clung to me with the other.
"Do you require both hands?" I asked.
"But my cane..."
