Page 99 of Stone Seduction
I smiled, the memory a warm one. The Silver Shrine to the stone gods was a huge, ornate place of worship only opened once a month. Highly polished, forever gleaming, diamonds fixed into the eyes of each god. Special. You couldn’t just rock up and enjoy the prettiness. Each month, the citadel weavers allowed a select few inside to enjoy it, the system all about taking it in turns.Which meant we had long stretches of waiting before we feasted our eyes upon it again.
Not me and my sis. We found a loophole on the ocean side of the citadel, getting our trespass on whenever we wanted.
“Let’s get somewhere warm to plan,” I suggested.
“My house,” Tom replied, shaking his brown curls.
Leaving Luke’s vicinity withered my insides, but the sooner we came up with a plan, the better.
“Follow me.” Tom moved into point with Dane beside him. My buddy took the bags off him.
Maren held onto hers, refusing my offer of help.
“I like this better than sitting in there,” Eden said, jutting a thumb at the bandstand. “Being proactive is good for the soul.”
“You’ve got chocolate around your mouth.”
“Oh crumbs.” She soon cleared the mess.
“Enjoy that, did you?”
“Immensely. What a gift to have. I’ll definitely be making him my bestie.”
“Good luck getting through Dane.” I kept my voice low.
She chuckled. “I gathered.”
Tom led us past Aubergine Road. I made a mental note to take my sister there later to experience the place where everything was purple. She’d love it.
As we crossed a wide square close to Midas Cherry, a green shimmer bled across the sky.
I stopped, looking up. “What’s this?”
The green brightened, smothering the dusky colors.
“Is that gargoyle magic?” Tom asked.
Every gargoyle present said yes, feeling it in our bones, a gentle crackle of knowledge racing across our skin.
A rumble sounded up ahead, getting closer.
I braced for battle, always prepared for a shit storm. Eden matched my stance, Dane falling into his own.
“Stay behind me,” he told the human.
Maren swam up to her friend’s side. “Stay back.”
Tom’s wide, frightened eyes met mine. “What’s going on?” His body glimmered green. I quickly used my second vision to check everyone’s protection. It was much brighter than before, strengthened by the magic in the sky.
Dane turned his head in response to Tom. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Absolutely,” Maren agreed.
The rumbling became a familiar sound, one I often heard in Gula. The thunderous roll of chariot wheels on royal birthdays, the king’s guard showing off their ceremonial prowess in the streets of the royal city of Gleamstone during the week-long celebrations.
Royal gargoyle chariots in Brinecrest? Whoa. Were we about to receive a visit from the king?
The first chariot rolled into view, a knight in full silver armor, green plumes puffing out of their helmet. Six more followed, fanning out around the square, a whole load of other royal knights flying above them.
