Page 13 of Outcast

“I do,” I confirmed. A streak of red appeared before Loki was strutting alongside us. I knew we had him to thank for our new bodies.

“I take it we worked past the shock, boys?” Loki mused as he met my gaze with his shockingly vibrant eyes.

“We did,” I confirmed. “Thank you for saving us.”

“Thank your queen,” Loki disagreed. “It was her favor that saved you and she’ll repay the debt.”

Well, that’s unsettling. What could a god possibly want from her?

“This walking thing is overrated. Why are we doing it?” Loki asked as he stopped, forcing our procession to stop as well.

“I don’t have wings,” Hiro pointed out. Loki shrugged as if that were irrelevant.

“Your other half does,” he pointed out. “And wings aren’t the only way to travel.” With a wave of his hand, the world faded, and we were standing in a stone room. It wasn’t the throne room we’d seen before, but one destroyed, fragments of furniture and books lining the floor. “Oh, someone had fun here.”

“They certainly did,” Achar agreed with amusement. “Shall we head for the throne room and meet our new queen?” The stoicism was gone and the old gargoyle was trying hard to hide his excitement... and failing.

“Fuck this,” Hiro rumbled before taking off at a run. I followed right behind him, almost as if I couldn’t be apart from him for long. “Harlow?! Drake?!”

“Hiro?” The words were far off but a second later, Drake was in front of us, looking shocked, then pulling his lover into his arms. “You’re alive.”

“I am, and myself,” Hiro confirmed as he clung to his... boyfriend? Mate? What’s the proper term for this connection?

Drake scooped him up so Hiro was forced to wrap his legs around his waist. Achar and Loki had joined us and didn’t interrupt. The two lovers whispered back and forth before locking their lips together. Pride and relief were the only things I could feel looking at those two. They both deserved this new chance at life.

“Roman,” Hiro said as they broke apart, wiggling until Drake put him down. “And this is Achar, he led us back before Loki popped in.”

“Roman.” Drake’s grin was wide as he clapped me on the shoulder. “The gargoyle life suits you. I should have known. Always the protector.”

He was right. The gargoyle’s had been Dark Haven’s and Hel’s protectors, where the demons did her bidding and fought for her.

“Where is she?” I asked. My chest was aching at the thought of seeing her but the moment the question fell from my lips, his expression darkened.

“I have no idea,” Drake admitted on a growl. “She was working with her mentor to put on clothes with her powers, manifesting and shit, and then she was gone.”

“She’s with Monty,” Loki reassured us. “A full mutiny.”

We all turned to him but the god was gleefully silent now.

“I’ll stay until your gargoyle commander returns,” Achar offered. “I’d like to introduce myself.”

Drake studied him before nodding. “Make yourself at home here, though, it’s not really homey.”

“We’re used to stone,” Achar said with a shrug as he walked away. When I turned back to Loki, he was gone as well.

It was reassuring that Harlow was with Monty and he was all right, but it wasn’t any less painful to be separated from her yet again. What could we do from here?

“What now?” Hiro mimicked my thoughts. “We wait?”

“Have we ever been prone to sitting around and waiting?” Drake asked with a laugh. “But before we plan to leave and figure out how to get to them, you need to meet someone.”

“How do we find them?” I asked. “This realm is immense. We just traveled for what felt like days even if the sky didn’t change.”

“She assumed he was dead and regenerating, or in the prison. Loki just confirmed he’s alive so that’s our first destination.”

“And who are we meeting?” Hiro questioned while looking at the ground. It was nice that some things didn’t change. He was still the same Hiro.

“Another god,” Drake said. “And a few of the wraiths that work here.”

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