Page 29 of Gargoyle Vigilante

With a sudden movement, Dante threw Caleb across the room once more. He slammed into the wall, pieces of plaster crumbling over him as he fell to the floor. Caleb remained there in a heap, unmoving.

Dante advanced on him, angry growls still pouring from his mouth. He gave Caleb a hearty kick, rolling him over. The traitor’s head lolled to the side, and his now dead, black eyes stared at nothing. Dante spit on him again right as wisps of white smoke started emanating from the corpse, growing thicker and more dense until Caleb's body was fully consumed in the swirling fog. When it cleared, there was nothing left but ash.

Slowly, as if every movement was filled with agonizing pain, Dante turned from the ashes and returned to his human form. Amir slapped a hand to his mouth, bursting into tears at the sight of his grievously wounded mate. Dante staggered toward Amir, stumbling before he fell to his knees.

Amir rushed to his mate, landing on the floor next to him. He cradled Dante’s head on his lap, careful not to touch any of his wounds. His chest tightened, and he choked on a sob as he stroked Dante’s hair back from his face.

“Ezekiel! Mal!” He shouted as loud as he could. “We need help!”

He no longer heard fighting but had no idea whether all the Rogues in the lair had been defeated.

"Dante," he murmured, heart pounding as he examined the wounds that marred his mate's body. Blood seeped from various gashes, and Amir feared the worst.

Dante smiled softly. "We're safe now," he whispered, closing his eyes.

"No!" Amir panicked, giving him a small shake. "Don't you dare close your eyes, you hear me?"

Dante chuckled weakly and nodded, his eyes fluttering open to meet Amir’s gaze. “So bossy,” he teased.

Amir let out a shaky laugh even as tears streamed down his cheeks. "I need you, Dante," he said, his voice breaking. "Our baby needs you."

“Amir,” Dante murmured. “You have to know… I love you. No matter what happens, don’t forget that since finding you, I’ve never been so grateful to be alive. You’re everything to me.”

Sobs wracked Amir’s body. “Then you stay alive, dammit, because I love you, too. I love you so freaking much.”

Mal rushed into the library with Ezekiel on his heels. They were in their human forms but in a defensive stance as they frantically gazed around the room, taking in all the destruction.

“Heavens above,” whispered Mal as Ezekiel tended to Dante. Mal ran both hands across the top of his head. “Amir, where’s Caleb?”

“He, like, vaporized.”

“T-traitor,” Dante croaked. “Fucking killed his useless ass.”

Ezekiel and Mal exchanged glances. Ezekiel leaned over Dante, scanning him with his palms. Amir couldn’t stand it.

“Is he going to be okay?”

Ezekiel gave him a soft smile. “He’ll need a few days to recover and lots of poultices to heal these wounds, but I don’t detect any internal injuries other than a few cracked ribs. I can easily take care of that with an auric infusion.”

Without opening his eyes, Dante held up his middle finger. “What about this? Detect anything now?”

Amir gasped. “Dante! That’s terrible! Ezekiel is helping you.”

Ezekiel heaved a sigh. “It’s okay, I deserved that one.”

Amir frowned. “Why? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Ezekiel shook his head. “When the Rogues started pouring in, my only thought was to summon our best fighters as quickly as possible. Caleb volunteered to get Mal, and I didn’t think to stop him, didn’t take into consideration that his duty was to protect you in Dante’s absence. So for that, I’m deeply sorry.”

“That’s okay, Ezekiel.” Amir tried to reassure him with a smile. Deep down, he knew Ezekiel had done his best giventhe circumstances. “I’m sure everything was chaotic.” He looked back and forth between Mal and Ezekiel. “But how did the Rogues get in? I thought that iron door was demon-proof.”

Ezekiel smirked. “Hypothetically. However, if someoneopensthe door, not so much.”

“Oh, so they followed someone inside?”

Mal and Ezekiel exchanged glances again before Mal answered, “No. Caleb let them in.”

Amir frowned. “What anasshole.”

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