Page 36 of Let Go My Gargoyle
Sofia snorted.
“Exactly. I was the next best option when it all went down. So the Elders assigned me as the interim until they could meet and figure out what to do going forward. Three months in, I realized that I liked making the improvements, doing things that made a difference in dragons’ lives. The positive impact outweighs the difficulty of coming to the decisions, most of the time.”
“I admire you,” Sofia said when they paused in front of the closed door to Henri’s bedroom.
“And I admire you,” Antoinette said, surprising her. “I’ve always had help raising Henri, even though his father wasn’t in the picture. But you’ve been doing it entirely on your own. And Penelope isn’t even a dragon, so now you have to help guide her through a way of life you probably didn’t even know existed two days ago.”
Sofia gave a nervous laugh. “That’s true. And I’m not going to lie; I’m petrified of that day when she leaves to do her duty as a Daughter of Light.”
“She’ll be fine. She’ll have the best training. Becca had only known about her magic for a few days and she took down a small nest of warlocks. Part of it was instinctual, but also, Argyle and his brethren are excellent instructors.”
“Thanks. That makes me feel better.”
“That goes for Griffin too.”
“Huh?” Sofia glanced into the other woman’s eyes.
Antoinette nodded. “It’s obvious he cares for both you and Penelope. He will protect you both with his life.”
Sofia thought so too. The problem was, Griffin did not have enough confidence in himself to trust his own instincts.
“He’s going to protect us by letting his boss assign a different gargoyle to watch over Penelope,” she said.
“That’s too bad,” Antoinette murmured, and then she opened the door and they stepped into a room with Legos and miniature race cars strewn all over the floor, with a young dragon and witch in the middle, having the time of their lives.
When Antoinette announced that it was bath time, both kids sprang to their feet, and simultaneously groaned when she said it would be in separate tubs. Maybe Sofia’s dragon was right about them being fated mates.
Was that even possible?
***
"I promise, we don’t usually eat dinner this late,” Antoinette noted as they sat down to eat burgers and salad.
“Hey, I’m not complaining,” Sofia said. “Especially when I don’t have to do the cooking.”
It was a quiet affair, with only Sofia, Ketu, Antoinette, and the two children seated around the table, which Antoinette assured her was also not normal. Usually, any number of dragons stopped in for one reason or another, and as was Southern—and dragon—custom, if they came by during mealtime, they were invited to partake. Not to mention, Maria, Trennon, and Delilah all lived here, so usually at least one if not all of them made themselves available to food.
“The reeve of the colony Ketu lived in up in Detroit has a full-time chef,” Antoinette commented in between bites of her burger. “I’ve been thinking about creating that position here. I’d hoped Maria would be willing to do it, since she doesn’t really do much else, but the woman can’t cook to save her life.”
“Why does she live here?” Sofia blurted before she could catch herself.
Antoinette sighed. “Darius kept her prisoner here when he had his father sedated. She was Trennon’s caregiver. Couldn’t leave the house. Plus, according to Ketu, Darius abused her. I had hoped allowing her to live here and just do simple chores would help her deal with the trauma and eventually heal.”
Sofia and Maria had more in common than Sofia would have ever guessed.
Both children were rubbing their respective eyes. “I think it’s bedtime,” Sofia said softly, and then, because she did not want Penelope to grow up as reclusive as she herself had become, she added, “If you’d like to sleep in Henri’s room, you can, sweetheart.”
Penelope perked up and clapped her hands. “Yay! Thank you, Mommy.” She flung her arms around Sofia’s neck, hugging her so tightly that Sofia had to pry her arms apart so she could breathe, and then she turned to Henri. “I’ve never had a sleepover before.”
Soon enough, the kids were tucked in, Penelope on the bottom bunk and Henri up top, and after two stories and lots of kisses, the three adults stepped out into the hall.
“Normally, Ketu and I retire to our room at this point,” Antoinette said. “Gives us a break after being around other people all day long. But I’m happy to go downstairs if you want to. We can sit outside and split a bottle of wine.”
As tempting as that offer was, Sofia shook her head. “I’m sure you have a ton of work to do. And I’m exhausted.” It was a lie; she was wide awake and actually feeling a bit jittery, but she did not want to impose any more than she already had.
“Okay then. Good night. See you in the morning.”
She watched Ketu and Antoinette walk down the hall to the other end, and once the door closed behind them, she headed back downstairs. Sitting outside with a glass of wine actually sounded like a lovely idea.
