Page 115 of Labor of Love

“No, only a handful of us do. It’s a rare skill to need out here.”

“I’ve hardly ever ridden in a vehicle, let alone gotten behind the wheel of one.”

“Really, then what in the world were you doing hitchhiking in a human city?”

“It’s where I was dumped.”

A low growl rumbled from the gargoyle, but Laney had been around their kind all his life and knew he had nothing to fear from Marcis, who’d already rescued him from wind, rain, and cars that kept hitting puddles close enough to where he was walking that he’d been drenched several times before Marcushad stopped. He’d even pulled into the nearest supercenter and used his own money to get Laney a warm change of clothes since everything in his bag had been drenched too. That he’d immediately clocked him as fae and offered both his protection and employment, was like the moon goddess had smiled down on him. Maybe she had, feeling sorry for him because the sky gods had poured all over the pity party he’d already been holding for himself as he’d trudged down the road.

“What do you mean, dumped?”

“The fae of Oceanview don’t take too kindly to discovering that one of theirs intends to wed a fae of mixed ancestry. They were even more disgusted to learn that I was already carrying his child. As soon as he learned that I wasn’t pure, glittering court of light, he broke the engagement and disavowed all knowledge and responsibility for the babe I’m carrying. Two of their enforcers removed me from their lands and drove me to the city. I’d never even seen a city before. There were so many lights. Flashing, swirling, changing colors and messages. I’ve never been so cold as when I was surrounded by all that metal.”

“Do you have the same feeling being inside this vehicle?”

“No, not the same feeling, more like itchy and a little shivery, but not like I was drowning the way I felt after they dropped me off.”

“That shit needs to stop,” Marcus declared, pounding one meaty fist on the steering wheel to punctuate his words. “It’s bad enough when it happens when a young one’s magic comes in and they see a hint of something shadowy peeking out of their line, but to do it once a vow has been promised and a child has been conceived is simply unthinkable.”

“If I’d known his people were like the homeland I came from I never would have hooked up with him,” Laney admitted. “I was just tired of wandering alone and looking for a place to belong to.”

“Well now you’re here and we do not cast out anyone unless they prove to be a threat to the safety of others,” Marcus declared. “Not that I sensed any sign of that from you. All I’ve picked up since you’ve ridden with me was a sense of contentment I’m rarely fortunate to experience.”

Laney smiled at that and lightly caressed the material beneath his fingertips. The bag might be worn and a little faded in places, but the canvas still felt good beneath his fingers, like a trusted friend.

“I’m glad. It’s what I’m good at,” Laney said as the vehicle slowed, Marcus taking his time to steer around to the back of the massive manor.

Marcus pressed a button above his head and one of the doors started rolling up, admitting them into a large space with several other vehicles similar to the one they were riding in.

“Why didn’t I see any other cars once we reached the forest?” Laney asked as they crept towards an empty spot. “Seeing all of these, I would have expected there to be traffic like there was leading in and out of the city.”

“Because they are used very rarely here,” Marcus explained. “We keep these because we often have business out in the human realm, and they tend to freak out a bit when they see the shadow of one of us flying overhead.”

Laney gasped at that, stunned when he’d spent years soaring over the treetops with his gargoyle friends before being exiled from his home. “Why, when you are all so beautiful?”

When Marcus turned to look at him, that glow was back in his eyes, along with a soft, curved smile that lifted his lips and showed off the tip of a pointed fang. “Really? You find the monsters beautiful?”

“No, I find gargoyles beautiful,” Laney explained. “And I don’t think of you as monsters.”

“Even in our less than human forms?”

“Can I be honest?”

“I expect nothing less, not just now, but in any conversation we have.”

“I love when one of you lets your wings and tails show,” Laney said. “There’s nothing monstrous about it. It’s fierce and wild and beautiful. I don’t see why we all have to glitter and sparkle all the time. It’s exhausting. I find the subtle shimmer of the quartz in your stone forms far more appealing than gossamer wings tipped with violet and gold.”

Marcus chuckled at that and cocked his head, his features softening even more. “Have you spent a lot of time around Gargoyles?”

“Most of my life,” Laney admitted. “Like I told you during the drive, I was trained to be a companion and to spend time brightening the days of those around me. Growing up, I received all sorts of lessons, from musical instruments, to dance, to how to organize a tea party for twenty and play the perfect host to ensure that the event ran smoothly and everyone had fun. I’d have still been performing in that capacity had one of my secondary abilities not kicked in during an incident and shown everyone that somewhere in my very recent ancestry there was a member of the shadow court.”

For a moment, Marcus reached out like he was going to touch his cheek, before shaking his head and allowing his hand to fall back to his side. Laney would have welcomed the touch, and a chance to sit longer and listen to whatever caused the aura of sadness that clung to the gargoyle, as well as the deep well of hurt that made those green-gray eyes look like drowning pools of misery.

“You will not find that sort of attitude here, I promise you,” Marcus explained as he turned the vehicle off. “Eldon is also of mixed ancestry, many of the fae here are. It’s become a haven for those who like you were cast out.”

That wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned Eldon, but each time he had his tone softened and the aura around him brightened, just a little, and filled with warmth.

“Is he your mate?”

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