Page 99 of Hidden By the Gargoyle

I slipped a light cotton robe over my satin nightgown and left my room, my footsteps nearly silent on the stairs.

I walked through my silent house, listening to the silence of the spring night. Devil Springs wasn’t always quiet at night, especially during the week of a full moon, but tonight, it was perfectly calm and still.

Almost unnaturally so.

When I entered the kitchen, my steps stuttered.

He was there, stretched out in one of the chairs at my kitchen table, a glass of milk and a plate holding a huge slice of chocolate cake in front of him.

“You’re up late,” I murmured, getting over my surprise as quickly as I could.

I didn’t want him to know when he caught me off guard. Or that he affected me at all.

It wasn’t because he was a god. And not just any god, but one of blood magic. The magic that I had a strong affinity for.

No, it was because there was something familiar about him. As though I’d known him my entire life. And maybe for lifetimes before that.

But it was clear that I couldn’t ask him about that. Any time I tried to ask him questions or learn more about him or his past, he would shut me down or change the subject. It was never in a nasty way.

No, Talant would flirt or smirk or say something unbelievably arrogant to distract me and then pretend I’d never asked him anything at all.

His evasiveness combined with my lack of visions was making me edgy. And I didn’t like to feel edgy.

It had taken me two decades to feel in control of my magic, to not feel as though the premonitions and the intuitive magic were driving me insane.

It had also taken me that long to recognize that my abilities with blood magic were nothing to be ashamed of. And that the stigma attached to it by the coven in Devil Springs was unfounded.

I had finally settled into my power and into myself. I had created my place here and I was happy with it and with myself.

But Talant’s presence was stirring all of that up again, making me question myself. Making me anxious and knocking me off balance.

I set about making myself a cup of tea, taking the smoked glass jar that held my special blend out of the cabinet next to the stove.

“I wanted something sweet,” Talant replied, his velvety voice filling the kitchen even though he spoke softly.

The way he said it made me think the sweet thing he wanted had nothing to do with cake.

I ignored the shiver that wanted to crawl down my spine and put the kettle on to boil.

I also ignored the fact that I’d been making him cakes, cookies, pies, and other assorted treats since he’d awoken in that cave and come home with me. The first night, when I’d been too tired to do anything, he’d gone through the kitchen and put together a plate of fruit and cheese for me to eat in bed. He’d also brought a plate with a few cookies on it, asking me what they were.

Once I explained, I’d offered to let him try one. When he did, his eyes had lit up and he’d smiled as though he’d discovered something marvelous.

He asked me where I got them, and I told him I’d made them. The way he looked at me in that moment…it had made my knees weak.

So, as soon as I had regained my strength, I’d started making him treats. Even on the days I was ready to cast a spell that would trap him back under that damn mountain because he was driving me absolutely insane.

“Why are you still awake?” he asked.

For once, his question didn’t have a sarcastic edge. He sounded as though he cared.

“I’m not sure,” I answered, pouring hot water over the tea ball resting in my cup.

“Did you have a bad dream?”

I shook my head. “No. I haven’t been able to fall asleep yet.”

He fell silent. When I finished making my tea and turned around, I found him watching me closely, the plate that had held his cake empty. He must have inhaled it.

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