Page 84 of The Gargoyle and the Songbird

Alvric’s eyes narrow, his gaze boring into me with annoyance. “Is there something you’d like to share with the rest of us, Graeme?”

I swallow hard. “No, sir. Just… considering all angles to best deploy our resources.”

Brock clears his throat, his gravelly voice cutting through the tension. “Well, then, there was that incident with the shadow mage, what, fifty years ago?” He runs a hand over his scarred cheek, his eyes distant. “He was snooping around the perimeter, looking for weaknesses in our defenses.”

His words are hesitant, almost apologetic. It’s as if he’s grasping at straws, trying to find any evidence to support our long-held beliefs.

Sten nods, his wiry frame tense. “And the vampire clan, the ones who tried to establish a foothold in the valley a century back. They were a real threat until we drove them out.”

Even these examples are flimsy, relics of a distant past. Threats that are many decades past?

Not exactly the pressing danger Alvric has always made it out to be.

Listening to their weak justifications, seeing the doubt and uncertainty creeping into their faces, I can no longer hide the truth from myself.

Ecco was right. Our clan’s purpose is based on a fantasy, a nostalgic vision, and nothing more.

I look at my uncle, really look at him, for what might be the first time in my life. The male I’ve always looked up to, the one who raised me and molded me into the gargoyle I am today.

Is he nothing more than a paranoid old man, clinging to outdated prejudices and baseless fears?

I stand abruptly, my chair scraping against the stone floor. “Excuse me,” I mutter, ignoring the startled looks from the others.

I stride from the room, my wings twitching with the need to escape, to fly far away from this place and never look back.

Everything I’ve ever known has been ripped out from under me, and I don’t know what to do next.

Weeks later,I sit across from Alvric at his dining table, the silence between us brutally cold. The meal before us is simple and unadorned, the flickering candlelight casting deep shadows on the cold stone walls, making the stark room feel even more unwelcoming than usual.

Despite the doubts and questions that have been plaguing me for the past three weeks, I haven’t been able to bring myself to leave my uncle’s side, to abandon the man who has given me so much. My sense of loyalty, my deep-seated need to honor my family and my clan, wars with my growing disillusionment and dissatisfaction with the life I’ve been living.

As I pick at my food, my appetite all but gone, my phone pings with a news alert about Ecco. I glance down, my heart leaping at the sight of her name, even as a pang of longing pierces through me.

She’s been so busy, and so have I. Our schedules never seem to work together. Communication has dwindled to a trickle. Our once-passionate connection has been reduced to a few hastily typed messages and brief, distracted video calls.

I don’t even know where she is right now, or what she’s doing. It goes against every protective instinct I have, all of which are shouting at me to be by her side.

It’s killing me, this distance, this sense of being adrift in a world that no longer feels like my own.

Alvric’s sharp words cut through my thoughts. “You’re distracted, boy. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

I meet his eyes, the weight of my conflicted emotions bearing down on me.

But it’s time.

I can’t hold the truth back, not anymore.

“I’m struggling, uncle,” I admit, the honest words unfamiliar in my mouth. “I’ve fallen in love, with the woman from my last assignment. I miss her and—and I don’t know if I belong here anymore.”

Alvric scowls, his stone features hardening. “This is your home, Graeme. We have a sacred oath to protect this pass and you are duty-bound to be the next leader of our clan. You can’t let some… somefemaledistract you from that.”

I bristle at his dismissive tone. “Ecco isn’t just some female, uncle. She’s...” I trail off, unable to find the words to describe the depth of my love for her.

Alvric shakes his head, his eyes narrowing. “She’s a siren, Graeme. And a celebrity. She lives in a different world than ours.You can’t build a life with someone like that. I insist you break it off, immediately.”

His words cut deep, echoing the doubts that have been swirling in my mind. But while I know our differences pose a challenge, Ecco is worth fighting for.

Our love is something rare and precious.

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