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  “Oh...uh, we are sorry,” Kenyon replied, exchanging glances with the others.

  “In our defense, Elena, I guess none of us thought you would have remained after witnessing that element of our curse,” Magnus said.

  “What did Peter do?” Zander asked, reaching over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

  “He called his boss, who said he’d be right over. I wouldn’t let Peter into the suite until his boss, who happens to be my friend Jeff Midland, showed up.”

  “Jeff never mentioned you to us,” Adan said.

  “He never mentioned you guys to me either,” Elena said with a shrug. “It’s funny though, Jeff said when we first met a voice in the back of his mind told him to keep an eye out for me. He said he didn’t know why that was, until I opened the door to him this morning.”

  “That is interesting,” Henrik said, and the group exchanged glances again.

  “Anyway,” Elena continued. “Jeff admitted protecting you through the daytime is the personal assignment he’d told me about. Well, between him and Peter. I warned him he’d better spill the beans on what’s going on, and he said I’d have to get my questions answered by you guys. When I told him I wouldn’t be leaving, he offered to go to my apartment and fetch some clothes for me.” Elena smiled at each of them. “I wanted to make you guys something to eat for when you–you know–changed, but the sandwiches Zander made last night seem to have cleaned you out.”

  “Have you eaten today?” Zander asked, feeling terrible she’d watched over them all day without taking care of herself.

  “Oh, sure. Jeff brought me lunch when he returned with my clothes. But I’ve been worried about you guys.”

  “Aww, I think she likes us,” Adan said with a playful grin.

  “Oh, don’t get all soft on me now, it’ll ruin your ‘big bad’ images. Okay, so, we’ve got a long night ahead of us. Do you guys need to fly around and stretch, or maybe eat before we get started?” She looked to each of them. “I don’t mean to sound ignorant, but up until last night, gargoyles were mystical creatures in fairy tale books. Give me a day or two to do some research and get myself up to speed. Well, more or less. Since you guys are living, breathing gargoyles, you’re going to have to fill in the blanks for me.”

  “You got it, babe.” Adan chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist.

  Zander could not contain the sound building in the pit of his gut. Adan backed away from Elena, and shot a look at him.

  “I am sorry,” Zander projected.

  Adan nodded.

  “Why are you apologizing to Adan?” Elena asked, looking up at him.

  “Um, it was nothing,” Zander lied.

  The jealousy surging through his body when Adan had touched Elena alarmed him. He needed to get himself in check. The stirring inside him, he hadn’t felt in more years than he cared to remember.

  “Do you mind allowing us half an hour?” he asked, needing to sort out his thoughts and get a breath of air. “Taking our corporeal form after many hours in one position as a stone statue does require some exercising. Flying brings the blood flowing back to our stiff limbs and wings.”

  “Hey, we’ll bring dinner back with us,” Adan offered. “Does that suit you, lovely guardian of the gargoyles?”

  Elena snickered. “Yup, that’s fine. But be warned, I’ve had all day to write down my questions and thoughts. You guys have some explaining to do.”

  “When we return,” Kenyon said, giving her a wink, “we are all yours.”

  One by one, they leapt into the air. Zander stayed behind for a few moments alone with Elena.

  “Are you all right with all of this?” he asked, tucking her hair behind her ear again.

  Elena nodded. “A little overwhelmed,” she confessed.

  “I like your hair down.” He smiled. “You have such beautiful curls.”

  Elena’s soft chuckle had his loincloth stirring.

  “Thank you,” she replied. “Now quit stalling, get out there and stretch so I can get my questions answered.”

  Unable to stop himself, Zander placed a light kiss on the top of her head before launching himself off the side of the building to join his friends. Zander remained close to the building, always keeping Elena in his sights. She had settled herself in a chair at the table on the terrace and sat watching the six of them in the sky.

  At that moment, Zander realized he was losing his heart. When he’d awakened from his cursed state and saw Elena was still there, he’d been beside himself with surging emotions. Learning she had remained with them all day, made Zander more happy than he thought he’d ever been in his long existence.

  If he wasn’t such a freak in this cursed body, he would have praised the gods for bringing this beautiful woman into his life. Just for him. However, since that day many years ago in the meadow, Zander suspected for whatever reason, he existed solely for the pleasurable torment of the Fates.

  Over the years, Zander had suspected the Fates needed to have their fun as well, and for that reason alone, he had become their personal plaything.

  Well, not this time.

  This time he would defy the Fates and do whatever was in his power to keep Elena by his side. She had been introduced into his life for a purpose, and he was not about to let her go without a fight. Even when the Fates revealed the reason for their coming together, Elena would be his.

  As they flew across the night sky, stretching their muscles and exercising their wings, Zander and his fellow beasts took the opportunity to show off a little for their audience of one.

  Though he had not taken his eyes off Elena, he’d been away from her side long enough and with haste flew back to the terrace to join her.

  “I love watching you fly.” Her warm smile had his heart thumping so hard in his chest Zander thought the muscle would burst free. “You are so graceful and confident. It’s magical.” She sighed softly, and her smile broadened. “Watching you makes me feel light and airy, almost like I’m flying with you.”

  “Ah, so you do not really mind the flying then?” He chuckled as her eyes grew wide.

  “I didn’t say that,” Elena said, her expression turning serious for just a moment. “But being held in your protective embrace definitely makes the trip more enjoyable.”

  Before Zander could explore the secrets of the woman at his side further, the five others landed and placed several pizza boxes on the table.

  “Mmm, pizza,” Elena moaned, lifting the lid on one box. “Pineapple and hot peppers, good choice! Hey, wait a minute–how did you guys get pizza?”

  Adan gave a single shoulder shrug and reached for a slice. “Jeff. Tonight’s our regular pizza night. We meet him behind the parlor for our ‘delivery.’”

  “Of course.” She laughed. “Jeff has some serious explaining to do too.”

  Elena pushed herself away from the table and wiped her mouth with a napkin. After taking a swallow of her diet soda, she cleared her throat. “Okay. First, I’d like to know how you guys stay up here and no one knows about you besides Jeff and Peter.”

  “Well, because, milady,” Adan crooned sinisterly and wiggled his fingers in the air. “The penthouse in haunted. Mwwuuuaaahhhaaa.”

  “Riiight,” Elena snickered with a shake of her head.

  “Through a company under Jeff’s name, we hold a fifty year rental agreement for the penthouse,” Zander said. “He claims it is for business purposes, and the management doesn’t care so long as the lease is paid.”

  “How do you afford to pay the rent here? I don’t imagine you have jobs, I sort of assume you don’t want people to know about you. Where does your income generate from?”

  “When the king was overthrown and the castle destroyed, we looted what we could and hid it deep in the forest,” Mabon told her.

  “And it was never found?” Elena inched forward in her chair, enthralled with their tale.

  Mabon shook his head. “We hid our treasure very well, milady.”

  Elena’s
eyes danced with excitement as she asked, “Then what happened?”

  “Throughout the years we have counted on the generosity of those such as Jeff, with regard to our protection in the daylight hours,” Henrik said. “Over time, some of our ill-gotten treasure has been sold off to collectors, antique dealers and such, and the monetary sums invested on our behalf.”

  “Wow.” Elena sighed.

  “As long as we walk this earth we will never want for anything,” Magnus said with an insouciant shrug. “At least nothing which money can buy.”

  If Magnus had not clarified that, Zander would have. Though they had buried their desires and wants many years after waking in their cursed states, each of them still longed for their human days. They craved the touch of a lover. Each wanted to feel the warmth of the sun on their flesh once again.

  But such a life was not to be for them.

  The Fates had decided the six beasts’ lives long before any of them were even brought into the world. To be cursed was their destiny. To live as stone grotesques through the daylight hours and to roam the night skies as hideous creatures, the things of nightmares and fairy tales.

  Zander loved watching Elena’s expressions as various thoughts raced around in her mind. Though he tried not to receive them, some of those thoughts projected to his mind. He would teach her how to block her thoughts unless she wanted someone else to read them. Elena was curious by nature, inquisitive, and he could feel her interest was genuine.

  Within her, Zander felt her relief at learning there were other mortals who watched out for them in the vulnerable statuesque state.

  “Yeah, who would have thought those shiny baubles and trinkets could have netted such a nice nest egg?” Adan smiled.

  “Not to mention all the silver and gold coins.” Kenyon chuckled.

  “So you guys are financially secure then?” Elena asked.

  “Yes,” Henrik replied. “The last time Jeff spoke with the investors, they were talking in the excess of several hundred million dollars.”

  The six beasts exchanged casual nods.

  “We have very little use for money,” Mabon added. “Our needs are simple and easily met.”

  Zander sensed Elena become uncomfortable, but before he could question her, she spoke up.

  “Oh, I didn’t need to know... I mean, I’m not prying, or at least I wasn’t trying to. I just want to be certain you guys will always have a roof over your head–so to speak. And it sounds as though you will. That pleases me,” she replied with a nod. “I’m happy to know you take care of one another, and that you have Jeff to help you as well.”

  “You never need to apologize to us, milady,” Henrik said. “Your curiosity is refreshing. And we are all getting used to you being around.”

  “Hear, hear,” Magnus chimed in. “I feel something pure in your spirit. There is a reason our destinies have intersected. We are very pleased you are here.”

  A deep pink colored her cheeks, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. The sac resting underneath Zander’s stirring shaft began to ache.

  What in the heavens was this woman doing to him?

  “You have questions, Elena,” Zander said, and was taken aback by the hoarseness of his voice. “You can ask us anything at all. We will answer any queries you have.”

  “I assume you weren’t created this way,” Elena stated. Beside him, she shivered, and Zander found himself reaching his arm around her to offer her warmth.

  “The air is too cool for your flesh tonight,” Zander said. “Let us move inside where you will be more comfortable.”

  Elena nodded and stood up.

  Entering the suite, she wandered toward a sofa and sat down. When everyone had taken a seat and appeared settled, Elena repeated her question.

  “How did you become gargoyles?”

  “A spell was cast upon us,” Zander said. “For all eternity, we were cursed to take the form that you now see before you.”

  “When? And why?” she asked. “Who did you piss off enough to turn you to statues?”

  “You are curious, young one.” Kenyon chuckled.

  Elena glared at him from across the room.

  “My apologies, milady.” He chuckled again. “I thought your earlier warning was for Zander alone.”

  “Well, things were very different in the days when we were cursed,” Mabon began. “Though the six of us knew nothing of one another, the only common thread we shared was that each of our villages was ruled by a mad and evil king, Xavier.”

  “That’s my last name,” Elena said.

  The gargoyles exchanged glances.

  “Perhaps a coincidence,” Henrik projected.

  “Remember, I can hear you,” Elena told him.

  “Sorry, milady,” he said. “We speak through thought most often, it is merely habit.”

  Elena shrugged. “It’s okay. I just thought I should remind you. You know, in case you want to say something in private.”

  “Understood.” Zander offered her a wink.

  “Okay, so what did you all do?” She curled her feet to the side as she got comfortable on the corner of the couch.

  “I was caught stealing one of his highness’s royal chickens, so my mother could feed my ten younger siblings,” Adan said. “For weeks the king threatened to cut off my hands.”

  “Over a chicken?”

  “Remember, we are talking a very long time ago, Elena,” Zander reminded her.

  “How long ago?”

  “The year was seventeen-ninety-two.”

  Elena seemed to give that some thought. “Still seems rather extreme to chop off someone’s hand for taking a chicken to feed their family.” She shook her head. “The word ‘barbaric’ comes to mind.”

  “During his reign, the king outlawed alcohol–for the commoners,” Henrik began, and met her curious gaze. “Magnus and I built a still in the forest and were trading our forbidden libation for sundry items for our families. When word reached the castle, the king’s men came for us. We were thrown in the dungeon, and were there near two years before Zander’s arrival.”

  Elena looked to Zander for him to confess his sin. He was saved, for the moment, from telling her when Mabon spoke up.

  “I made the mistake of taking a swing at one of the king’s knights,” he said. “It was in the marketplace, and the man had taken a piece of fruit without payment.”

  “I was simply a drifter,” Kenyon said as he reached for the last piece of pizza from the lone box he’d placed on the coffee table. “I was sleeping in the woods after traveling for a day. A poke by the end of a spear woke me, and I next found myself locked in the dungeon.”

  “And I thought the judicial system bit now,” Elena muttered.

  Silent minutes passed before all eyes settled upon Zander. He attempted to ignore the looks by absently picking at the toppings of his pizza.

  “Well?” Adan prompted. “Your turn, Zander.”

  Elena needed her questions answered, and Zander was fine with that, sort of. Her curiosity and genuine interest just might be able to bring him some comfort in his tortured existence. But was it really necessary for her to hear about his past indiscretion?

  A low rumble sounded in Zander’s chest.

  “I was, uh,” Zander stammered, unable to find the right words. “I was found...in the company of a princess,” he managed to finally blurt out.

  “Well, what the hell is wrong with that?” Elena asked, her face scrunched up in confusion. It didn’t take long for her to put two and two together. “Oh,” she murmured. Something then flickered in her eyes, something resembling... “Were you raping her?”

  Although he’d expected it, the question still caught Zander off guard. It was after he shouted, “No!” that he realized there was no insinuation in her voice. “My apologies for hollering.”

  Elena nodded. “She was your lover then?”

  “Well, no...yes...not exactly.” He groaned in frustration.

  “It’s okay, Zander, I
don’t need the details.” Elena shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. “Thank you for answering my question and satisfying my curiosity.”

  “I will tell you more,” Zander offered, almost pleading.

  He needed Elena to know Princess Aceline was someone from his past, way in the past, although she was someone he thought he loved. Now, for the first time since the day in the meadow, Zander looked forward to the future.

  A future he intended to share with Elena.

  “It isn’t necessary,” she assured him with a genuine smile. When her hand settled on his thigh, he covered it with his own. “All right, now I know your crimes, or sins rather,” she said. “Tell me about the curse. How it came about. Whatever you recall.”

  “We remember as if it were yesterday,” Zander told her.

  “It was early July when the guards wrenched us from our dank, musty cells,” Mabon began.

  “Dark,” Adan continued. “It was still dark. Only one guard carried a torch.”

  “We were bound and chained together,” Henrik said, absently rubbing his wrists as if still feeling the metal tight around his flesh. “Then led to the tallest turret of the castle.”

  “The king stood waiting for us, beside him a wizard.” Kenyon then chuckled, from nerves not amusement. “I’d always thought wizards where just fictional characters of folklore.”

  Magnus stood and walked toward the open door of the terrace. “The king spoke, before the wizard began chanting in a foreign language, I think Latin. The mist...eerie, yet it carried a sweet odor.”

  “With this and for all eternity, I cast a spell of humility over you,” the gargoyles stated in unison.

  * * * *

  A violent shudder wracked Elena’s body. She didn’t bother to try to tamp it. It was abhorrent what had happened to these men. Elena needed to help them, but how?

  Their story would be unbelievable to anyone else’s ear, but Elena was a believer in faith, destiny and the desire of the Fates. The Fates ruled all, and there was a reason she’d been brought into the lives of these six men, and vice versa.