“Instant?”
“Sometimes there might be a few seconds’ delay, but yeah. You write your message, hit send, and the recipient gets it.”
He gets a weird look in his eyes, like he’s reliving a painful memory. I put the phone down, deciding that was enough of a reverse history lesson for one night anyway. I lean back and yawn.
“Where are the others?” I ask.
“Guarding the house.”
“Why aren’t you?”
“I’m guarding you.”
I want to tell him I don’t need to be guarded, that I’m not some damsel that needs to be protected or rescued. But my voice dies in my throat and I want to squirm away from his intensity.
Because I find it so damn attractive.
“I can hold my own,” I say when I can finally muster up my voice.
“I believe you can. Not many humans can stand up to vampires and live to tell the tale.”
“If you hadn’t shown up, I don’t think I would have. Speaking of…you said I summoned you. But I didn’t.”
“There is powerful magic tied into this curse. Somehow you’ve tapped into that power. Maybe it’s like those radio waves you were talking about.” A smile pulls up his full lips, making him look all the more human.
“Maybe.” I pull the blanket tighter around my shoulders.
“Are you still cold?”
“A bit. It’s like the cold seeped into my bones. Ugh, bones. That just reminded me of the vampires.” I shake my head. “It’s all so weird.”
“It was weird when I first learned of it, too.” He slowly opens his wings behind him and moves over. “Here,” he says gruffly. “It will keep you warm.”
I sit up, eyeing the wing with curiosity. “It won’t hurt if I lean on it?”
“No.”
I carefully lean in closer and move against him, almost tucking myself in between his body and his wing. Resting my head on his shoulder, I’m certain there’s no way I’ll be able to fall asleep tonight.
* * *
My alarm sounds,and I jolt awake. The last thing I remember was Jacques taking me under his wing—literally—and closing my eyes for just a second. Well, thatjust a secondturned into a few hours, and unfortunately, a few hours was all the sleep I’m getting before going into work.
Rubbing my eyes, I sit up. My body hurts and my head throbs, reminding me that a vampire threw a rock at me.
A vampire.
Right. Everything really happened…didn’t it?
“Guys?” I call out, and my voice echoes through the large house. The clouds left overnight, and bright morning sun fills the room. The fire has gone out, and the air around me is cold. Holding the blanket at my shoulders, I move from the couch.
“Jacques?” I call as I go straight to the front door. I have a feeling I know where the gargoyles are. I unlock the door and step onto the frost-covered porch, looking at the backs of Thomas’s and Gilbert’s large frames.
Ignoring my cold feet, I pad my way out to look at them. From the little gargoyle lore I know, the sun turns them to stone. But I thought I awakened them and lifted part of the curse? Reaching up, I gently touch the wound on my head.
Everything did happen. I’m sure of it. I’m not crazy. I remember it all too vividly. The fear I felt when the vampires chased me. The way the knife pierced the vamp’s heart.
Jacques’s wing curled around me, keeping me warm.
