Page 51 of Guardians for the Vamp
Any chance the three of us has had to fuck has been quick, mostly happening in the back of a car or on the table after a SUC meeting. We’ve been careful not to come simultaneously since the one time that happened, we all passed out.
Tonight is the first night in a month that none of us have obligations. We’re at Layla’s penthouse where I’m cooking dinner for Vara and myself, and Layla is sitting at the kitchen island sipping on wine.
“I love your smile,” Layla says dreamily. “You’ve been doing it more.”
“It’s true. You have,” Vara says, glancing up from her laptop. She’s always working, even when she’s off, but she never misses a word we say. “Unfortunately, I find it rather endearing.”
“You just hate to admit you like us,” Layla teases.
Vara shrugs. “Sphinxes are very loving creatures. I just didn’t have anyone to offer my love and care to until now.”
“Love?” Layla asks, her voice slightly higher with a hint of panic.
“Please, don’t be so human about this, Lollipop. We’re mates. Ofcourse we’ll fall in love.”
I must have made a face or some sort of noise because Vara turns to me.
“You have doubts too, Thorne?”
While it’s true Layla and Vara are awakening something inside me, love is something I never imagined I’d experience. Not since my entire family was killed by hunters.
It’s been almost a hundred years.
It feels like it’s been a thousand.
When I don’t answer, Vara continues with caution. “I see the haunted look on your face anytime you look at us. You hide it well from others, but I recognize that mask you wear because I wear the same one. You’re scared to love us because you’re worried you’ll lose us. We’vealllived long lives full of loss. It’s understandable to be hesitant to accept this.”
She’s absolutely right. I’ve suffered too many losses… too many heartbreaks in my life.
Gargoyles are born to protect. We know that many of our kind fall to an early grave, mostly through battles against evil, but that doesn’t make it easier to mourn the losses.
I fought alongside my brothers. I protected cities my father and mother once protected. They all suffered many life-threatening injuries, but it wasn’t a battle that ended their lives. We might be immortal and can live forcenturies, but we can still die. For me, it’s by decapitation or a warspear to the heart.
“Voice your thoughts, Thorne. We’re here to listen,” Layla says, placing her palm on my forearm. I’m cutting up vegetables for the stir fry dish I’m making, and pause, sighing with my entire body at Layla’s touch.
“I was just thinking about the time I nearly died.”
“Is that how you got the scar?” Vara asks, closing her laptop and folding her arms over her chest.
“It is. It happened during a battle against a demon trying to kidnap humans to enslave them. He sliced me on the face with a warspear. The weapons are made with iron which is toxic to gargoyles. I was poisoned and ill for months. But I lived.”
I glance up at Vara, her brows pinched while listening to my story.
“My family, however, was not so lucky. I lost them in 1922.”
“I’m so sorry, Thorne,” Layla says, sorrow claiming her voice.
“Rumors of our existence began spreading amongst the humans in Europe. Hunters formed to seek us out. They tracked down and killed all supernatural beings, but some of these humans focused on gargoyles after believing our horns would bring good luck and ward off evil spirits. It’sclear the legends of our species have been misinterpreted poorly. Our horns do no such thing.”
I stop speaking as an ache forms in my throat. Tears threaten to fall despite it being decades since I’ve mourned my family.
I pick up a pile of cut vegetables and turn to the pan heating on the stove to toss them in.
“My parents were taken one night while on patrol. The hunters... they knew how to incapacitate gargoyles and used an iron wrought net to trap them. I was the youngest amongst my siblings, so I was ordered to stay and protect the small village in France that my family had been assigned to watch over. My brothers left to save them.” I swallow hard. “None of them returned. They were all murdered. I found their bodies. Their horns were taken.”
Layla wraps her arms around my waist, resting her head between my tucked wings. I relish her touch. It’s cold yet warms me throughout. Vara stands off to the side, her tail caressing my arm. I smile because it’s such a Vara thing to do. She’s keeping her distance while letting me know she’s here for me.
Clearing my throat, I continue. “The Council of Gargoyle Elders ordered me to leave the village immediately for my safety. They said there had been similarincidents of gargoyles being killed by hunters. That prompted the Council to change the rules.”
