Page 19 of The Huntsman's Heart
That throne belongs to me and to my heirs. And once I have it, I'll make certain they both pay for what they've done.
So it’s not stone I’ll transform myself into. No. I must become the wind and the water. I must find a way to wear down what seems impenetrable.
I close my eyes and will myself to dream fierce dreams, but sleep never comes.
Guinevere
I’m still curled into my nest with my eyes pressed shut when I hear a deep masculine voice, soft and low, almost like a purr. “Hello, little bird. You’re a long way from home.”
I freeze in place. I cannot tell if the speaker means me, but he echoes my thought from earlier so perfectly, I wonder for a moment if he can read my mind. If this is another monster, perhaps he can, only none of the other monsters spoke to me.
I’m trembling, but I try to keep still, hoping perhaps whoever this is will think I am dead. I cannot think of a better defense.
I’m about to give up and open my eyes when another gruff, stony voice says, “Shhh, you oaf. You will wake her. Can’t see she’s sleeping? She looks as if she could use it too, poor thing.”
“Aww, let’s let her sleep then. Pretty little bird.”
The first voice scoffs. “You know, if she was as defenseless as she looks, she would not have made it this far into the forest without becoming something’s dinner.”
“She’s too pretty to be dinner,” says the first voice.
This unsettles me, and I consider opening my eyes or jumping up and making a run for it. Then an excited bark echoes through the courtyard.
“Oh great,” says the second voice. “The mutts are awake.”
There’s a scrabbling of paws getting closer and closer, and I can’t keep still anymore.
I sit bolt upright, lurching from my nest only to find a wet, slobbery muzzle in my face. A slick tongue licks a line up my cheek and I shriek in disgust.
“Knochenwolf! Grimmfang! Varkhul! Down!”
The three fearsome hounds are yanked back by their spiked collars, and I get my first look at my visitors. I blink up at them in astonishment, then rub my eyes to check that I’m not hallucinating. Before me stand the two gargoyles from the gate, only they are no longer made of stone! They’ve come to life justas I imagined when I first saw them. Their features are no longer cold stone gray. Now their faces are flushed with color, eyes bright and animated.
The one on my right looks up at me, his generous lips stretching into a warm smile. “Well hello there. Sorry about the pups. They have no manners.”
The so-called pups whine and tug on the hold the twin gargoyles have on their collars. Their broad chests and stocky bodies make me wonder how on earth the two males can hold them back. I have no doubt they are incredibly strong. Their bottom jaws jut out, exposing long fangs, and saliva drips from their lolling tongues.
I scramble to my feet and then remember the state of my dress. Embarrassed, I tug my jacket tighter around me. “Where am I? And who are you?”
The second gargoyle, with the sharper features lifts a brow. “I am Corvin and this is Raban. And you’ve just met Knochenwolf, Varkhul, and Grimmfang. But given that you’re in our castle, perhaps you should introduce yourself.”
I open my mouth to tell them to address me with a little more respect, but a third gargoyle drops gracefully into the courtyard, folding his enormous, white, feathered wings behind him and brushing a hand over the long white tunic he’s dressed in. I jump. He looks like an angel stepped out of a stained-glass window. The halo of golden curls on his head only adds to the effect. He ducks under the open arch of the structure I made my nest under and looks around at us all with a grin. “Well, well, well. It’s good to have some company.” Then he looks at me more closely. His eyes narrow and he cocks his head to one side. “What have we here?”
The others grow more alert too. A dog whines.
I lift my chin. “Princess Guinevere of Erenvold. And you are?”
The angel gargoyle’s brows lift and his grin is back. “A princess!” He makes an elegant bow. “Your Highness, I am Évandre. Welcome to Havenrock.”
Raban sweeps into his own bow, elbowing Corvin who reluctantly does the same. When Corvin straightens, his look is skeptical. “Forgive me,princess, but you were difficult to recognize as royalty dressed like that.”
I blush again and quickly correct my embarrassment into a frown of disapproval. “Well I defy anyone to survive an abduction, two monster attacks, and a night in the woods and still look tidy.” I brush my hands over my skirts, dislodging pine needles. “Now are you going to be of service, or shall I be on my way?”
Évandre straightens, tucking his wings more tightly behind him. “How may we be of service to you? Perhaps you’re looking for a castle to claim? Perhaps you wish to forget or to find comfort.”
I stiffen. “No! I wish to find my way home. To reclaim my throne.”
The angel shakes his head sadly, and the twins give each other a look I dislike. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”“What? You don’t believe me?”
