Missy Jane - Born of Stone

The Gargoyle Masters were the creations of the King’s wizards and no one but the King, the wizards, and the Masters themselves knew exactly how they had come into being. It had been many years before Astrid’s birth but she’d heard whispers. After a series of horribly violent battles in the borderlands, the King called his wizards together. They remained locked up in the castle battle-room for many days and nights, and when they emerged, the Gargoyles emerged with them, fully grown.

Now she looked from one face to another and knew somehow Nel and Orestes were more connected than the others. Kephas placed a hand on Orestes’s shoulder.

“I’ve already sent Petros and Haldor in your stead, brother. Take your ease with your woman and we’ll keep you updated.”

His woman? His woman?

She immediately noted how no one, not even Orestes, blinked an eye at Kephas’s words. Was she the only one taken aback by them? The Masters never seemed to have women . At least, not one at a time for any length of time. To be called a Master’s woman was unheard of and…intriguing.

“You’ve grown quiet.” Orestes chuckled at his own words and the confusion on Astrid’s face. “Well, more quiet than usual, that is.”

She chewed on her bottom lip and set her cup of water aside. He had made a place for them to picnic before the fireplace, covering it with many hides lest her fragile skin grow cold. So far she seemed to be enjoying the food and his nearness. He had finally allowed her to put on one of his shirts after making love to her again, laughing at how it draped her like a sheet. A quiet word in their native tongue to one of his brothers secured her clothes for the coming days, but they had to be handcrafted. For now, he would simply enjoy her in his garments.

“Um,” she said quietly.

“Yes?”

“I have a question but I don’t want to anger you.”

She looked so honestly worried that he found himself moving toward her without a second thought. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his chest.

“Astrid, I swear to you, there is no question in creation that would make me angry enough to harm you in any way. I can’t promise I won’t be upset, or even that I will answer all of your questions. But I can’t think of anything you could ask to really anger me.”

She looked up into his eyes and gave a slow nod before taking a deep breath. For a moment, the movement of her breasts distracted him. Though his shirt billowed away from her, it was a white shirt with loose buttons. Even the barest hint of her cleavage enticed him.

“Well, it’s about your brother…Nel.”

He stiffened and she began to pull away, but then he tightened his hold and softened his expression.

“What about him?” he asked.

She searched his face a moment before continuing. “You seem very close to him. Perhaps more so than the others?”

Ah, so she had noticed. He would have chuckled over her cleverness if they weren’t discussing such a sore subject.

“Yes. I love and cherish all eleven of my brothers. But Nel and I were created together. In human terms, we would be twins if we had been born of a woman. As it is, we do many things together…usually.”

“But not lately? I don’t remember seeing him much in my time here.”

“How long have you worked in the castle?”

Her brow furrowed and he ran a finger between her beautiful brown eyes to soothe the wrinkled skin. When she glanced at him his breath caught. Would he always feel so arrested from a mere glance?

“Not for very long,” she replied, and it took a moment for him to realize she wasn’t answering his internal question but the one he’d asked her aloud. “Simon took me from the village just after Samhain. I had been working at the pub during the festivities but once they were over I had no other work.”

“Samhain was nearly a month ago. You say Simon took you. Did he do so against your will?”

She shook her head but frowned uncertainly. “No…not really.”

He lifted a brow in question. “That’s not the sort of thing one would normally be unsure of.”

She smiled weakly. “I know. What I mean is, he didn’t kidnap me but he did lie about where I would be working. I didn’t realize he meant to bring me into the castle until we were already here. It was dark and storming. I simply followed his lead and didn’t even know where he had led me until I met Master Wynnston the first time.”

“Where did Simon say you would be working?”

“One of the wizard’s homes. He said he worked for a protector of the realm, but I swear to you, he named one of The Twenty. I can’t remember now which one. I had no other work and hadn’t eaten in a couple of days. I really couldn’t refuse his offer.”

“And what were the terms he offered?”

She sighed in remembrance and it hurt his heart to hear such a sad sound from her lips.

“Too good to be true for certain. I really should have known better. He swore I would be fed every day at least once, perhaps twice on Sundays. He said I would be given two dresses to start and whatever was needed to keep them mended. He also said I would have fresh straw for my bed every month.”

Anger boiled in Orestes’s veins. So little. Food once a Gods-be-damned day? Straw for her bed and only two simple dresses she would mend herself? And Simon hadn’t even kept such meager promises to her. She had been lured by nothing and received even less.

He took a deep breath and released it slowly, hoping she wouldn’t mistake the anger he couldn’t keep hidden as directed at her. Though he really didn’t want to know, he had to question her further.

“Astrid…did you receive any of that at all? How often have you been fed and where have you slept?”

“He did give me one dress, but I’m sure you saw it didn’t last well through the work and everything. I slept beneath a counter in the kitchen and I only ate when there was enough left after the last meal.”

He closed his eyes and breathed through the urge to roar in outrage. “ After the last meal. You mean after my brothers and I had already eaten? You were given scraps from our table?”

When she didn’t immediately reply he opened his eyes to find her frightened gaze locked on him. She was trembling but he had been so angry he hadn’t even felt it. He pulled her onto his lap and was happy she went willingly. With one hand, he gently cupped her face and held her gaze with his own.

“Never think I’m angry with you. That’s the farthest from the truth. I’m angry because of how you’ve been treated. I swear my brothers and I would never have allowed it if we had been aware, and all I can do is beg your forgiveness for our negligence.”

She melted into his arms. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“Now you will have feathers rather than straw for your mattress and all the food you can eat at any time you feel hungry. And though I prefer you naked, you will soon have silks and satin to cover your skin.”

She stiffened and a look he could only decipher as fear crossed her face. “So much?”

Her fear confused him but he nodded. “And more if you desire it. Why does that frighten you?”

“Is this a cruel joke? Do you plan to give me so much only to take it away as easily?”

He didn’t mean to scowl at her but knew he had when she cringed.

“Of course not. Have you not learned enough of me these past few hours?” he asked. Tears immediately sprang into her eyes and he felt like an ass. “No, my sweet, don’t cry. I’m sorry. There’s no need to cry.”

Was there anything that rendered a man as helpless as a woman’s tears? He’d faced fully armed monsters three times his size and never batted an eyelash. But the sight of Astrid’s tears terrified him.