Page 23 of Moonlit Guardians

“Killed?” I repeat. “For not bowing to Variant?”

She nods. “Noni not talking about knife killed or rope killed. They soul killed,” she sniffles. “Even Noni was hurt. Mastersaved her, though. Other fae not so lucky to have a Master like Noni’s.”

“Did I... ever hurt the fae?”

She bites her bottom lip for a moment, hands glowing as she holds them over my body. “You hurt lots of fae. But mostly the pretty Unseelie lady, Aima. She was hurt real bad and blame you for her sister.”

“Her sister?”

“The Midnight Queen kill Aima’s sister for her magic. It was used to make tricky dungeon spells and bad magic. Aima blame you because her sister was given to the naughty king as a slave to keep the peace.” Noni finishes up the spell and sits cross-legged on my chest. “She is hurting inside.”

“I thought she was upset with me because of Eilish…”

Noni shakes her head. “Aima confused. You did not mean to get her sister killed and she know that, but she angry and her heart bleeding. Only the giant satyr help her.”

I reach up and take Noni’s little hand. “I am so sorry for the pain my ignorance has caused. And I will try to correct the mistakes I’ve made.”

“Noni forgive you under one condition.”

“Yes?”

“You has to promise her that you gonna free all us fae when this is all over.”

“I promise to free all fae once the balance is restored and honor those who lost their lives to Morrigan as heroes.”

Noni hugs my hand. “Then Noni forgive you.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

DRAGAN

Desolate Border

Myerdoth slams two pints of Brood Ale onto the table where we sit at the back of the bar. I roll my neck to ease the tension in my shoulders as I gulp down the whole glass in one go. Myerdoth takes a more civilized approach as he sips his ale. I stare around at the nymphs, vampires, golems, elves, and other creatures that call the stronghold their home. Someone plays a haunting melody on a cello that sits center stage. “You know this isn’t exactly a place our kind tends to dwell,” I mutter as the server brings over another round of drunks.

“I like it here,” he answers with a shrug. “It’s dark like the Gorge, but there’s just enough light and life that I don’t feel as if I’m trapped in my stone figure.”

I wince, remembering just how big of an absolute asshole I was after breaking free of the Succubus Queen and her daughters. “I abandoned all of you to seek my revenge against Variant…”

“Perhaps.”

“Fuck. How can you even stand to look at me, much less be willing to fight beside me once more? I don’t deserve your loyalty.”

“The past we lived in is gone, Shadow King. We must think about the new future. Already you have changed the road ahead when you became the first gargoyle to walk in daylight.”

“Not all will want to follow these new ways. Some will want to return to the way things used to be… before Variant came to absolute power.”

“That is true. But without the ability to withstand the sun, we are at a serious disadvantage.”

“For the record, it isn’t very pleasant. Too bright and it makes everyone sweat so much, that everything tends to smell like sweaty balls.”

Myerdoth laughs through his nose. “Even so, when we find the Grimoire, perhaps Pyre or Theren can add the daywalking spell into the ritual so we aren’t confined to darkness forever. I would very much like to see a sunrise that won’t turn me to stone.”

“We should not lessen the true meaning of our creator’s gift of life by becoming something we aren’t.” I take my time on the next pint.

“Yes, but you were not there the day the Gorge was attacked. They allowed in rays of sunlight that kept us wrangled like sheep for slaughter,” the other gargoyle says with agony glistening in his gaze. “Our numbers were either turned to stone and shattered or they were slaughtered by our brethren we thought had died in the first war.”

“I have seen the corrupted gargoyles who fight with Variant.” And they sicken me. I despise them.

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