Chapter 7

CHAPTER7

Rhys

The night windbit cruelly as I soared back towards Blackthorn, icy shards that did nothing to cool my simmering disappointment. Scotland had been yet another fruitless search, the druids there promising salvation but delivering only lies veiled in honeyed words and my desperation. I was a fool to keep chasing these false hopes; and yet, hope was all I had left.

My body ached, wounds from the druid brotherhood still fresh. I had barely escaped their lair with my life when they turned on me, intent on harvesting my cursed gargoyle parts for their sinister spells. Even now, I could feel their dark magic gnawing at my stone flesh.

My monumental failure was a draught I was tired of swallowing. But no magic cure existed for this curse threaded into my very bones. I could rail against the injustice or sink gracefully into oblivion—either path led only to the same final darkness.

I had so little time left, each grain of sand slipping away inexorably. It was already the middle of October. Graduation loomed, ending my reprieve. Soon, I would take a post as Blackthorn’s silent sentinel, frozen in stone.

Banking low over the forest, Blackthorn’s towering spires pierced the moonlit mist ahead. Home, and yet not home—more a purgatory I was condemned to haunt. I should leave this place, I thought wearily. Let the curse take me elsewhere, among strangers. Watching those I loved slowly forget me would only twist the knife deeper in the end.

My wings faltered at the thought, and I nearly plunged into the forest’s grasping canopy. Righting myself angrily, I cursed my own maudlin thoughts. Lingering self-pity accomplished nothing. I could not change the curse, but I could still shape the days left allotted to me.

Perhaps I should make amends, take comfort where I could find it. My eyes were drawn unerringly towards the dormitory wing, and a familiar window on the fifth floor. Seraphina’s light always burned late into the night, an inviting beacon for wandering souls like me.

How strange that her presence should bring me solace when we scarcely knew one another. And yet, she stirred long slumbering desires in my stone heart, awakening hopes as dangerous as they were impossible. I could no more love again than grasp moonbeams in my monstrous claws.

No matter. Just seeing her shining face again would salve one wound, at least, among the many ravaging me, body and soul. My course set, I pressed onward through the night.

Her window was unbarred despite the late hour, an open invitation. Still cloaked in shadow, I perched outside the panes, peering within. There she was, my ethereal girl, sound asleep amid tumbled silvery hair.

Seraphina slept restlessly, her lovely features tense even in repose. “What phantoms haunt your dreams tonight?” I wondered sadly. The soft lamplight gilded her skin with luminous ivory, and my cursed heart ached at the sight. So perfect, so untouchable.

Uninvited, I was intruding on her vulnerable state. But concern for her clear distress rooted me in place. Those creased brows and restless murmurs signaled a soul pursued by inner demons.

As I kept silent watch over this gifted young witch, her presence soothed my tattered spirit like a healing balm. Here was something pure and good still left in this world. I must take greater care not to taint that light with the darkness that trailed me.

A muffled gasp broke the stillness—Seraphina shifting fretfully beneath her sheets. “No... get away...” she moaned, clearly in the throes of a nightmare. I stirred, unsure whether to intervene as she thrashed.

With a cry, her grey eyes shot open, staring sightlessly. I hesitated, pinned by indecision. But as she slowly focused on my shadowed form hovering outside her window, recognition dawned, chasing the last wisps of fear from her gaze.

“Rhys?” Her voice was scratchy with sleep. “You’re back.” Relief softened her face as she sat up in bed. My body relaxed in kind. She was unharmed, thank the gods.

I offered what I hoped translated as a reassuring smile on my beastly face. Seraphina’s lips quirked in response as she slid from the bed to unlatch the window. “Well, don’t just hover out there. Come inside where it’s warm.”

The invitation caught me off guard. I hesitated. “I shouldn’t…” I managed reluctantly. “You could get in trouble over this.”

But Seraphina just laughed softly. “I think I can make an exception, all things considered. And besides...” Her face grew serious. “Your company is most welcome.”

Reassured, I slipped over the sill, careful not to tear the curtains with my claws. This remarkable girl continued to surprise me at every turn. I only hoped I could prove worthy of the faith she showed so readily. Straightening, I stood uncertainly in the middle of the room as she shut out the night once more.

“I hope I didn’t frighten you, waking to find me lurking outside your window,” I rumbled. The words sounded even more ominous, spoken aloud in my gravelly voice.

Fuck.I winced.

But Seraphina just laughed. “I’ve endured worse frights lately, trust me. At least yours is a friendly face.” Her eyes gentled with concern, reading my unease clearly. “Rhys, are you unwell?”

I looked away, throat tightening. Did disappointment emanate from my very pores now? “You needn’t worry about me,” I deflected gruffly.

“But I do.” Her hand found my arm, radiating earnest empathy. “You’re… wounded and exhausted. You’ve borne a burden alone for too long, haven’t you?”

My stoic mask cracked beneath the soft question. This girl saw through to my core as no other could.

When I didn’t answer, she continued lightly, “Well, you’re here now, and we’ll just have to find a way forward. But tonight, you should rest.” She beckoned me to sit before the fire.

Overpowered by her sweetness, I did as she asked. Then, without a word, she fetched a basin of warm water and soft cloths. With delicate care, she cleaned and dressed the gashes marring my flesh, her fingers whisper-light. The wounds from my escape were ugly and deep, but under her ministrations, the pain faded. Her nearness was a balm greater than any elixir.

Bemused, I watched as she carefully groomed my stony wings and tousled hair, her gentle touch soothing away the journey’s weariness and the day’s bitter sting. Lulled by her humming, I found myself nodding off in the chair’s enveloping warmth. I was distantly aware of Seraphina draping a blanket around me before the world faded to peaceful darkness.

I awoke some time later, still ensconced in the plush chair before the dying fire. Seraphina must have let me sleep through the night. The blanket was tucked around me; her lingering scent enveloping me in floral notes of jasmine and rose. I marveled again at her selfless care for a cursed creature like me. Even in slumber, her presence soothed my weary soul in ways I’d never known.

For the first time in long months, my sleep had been untroubled by restless dreams of the curse. The lightness lingered even as dawn’s rosy fingers stirred me from my peaceful reverie. I stretched, momentarily confused to find myself still nestled in Seraphina’s chambers. Then the memory flooded back of her kindness the night before, taking in a monster without question or fear, asking nothing in return.

I found her sleeping curled in a window seat, golden sunrise haloing her delicate features. My rare smile came easier as I watched her. However black my days grew, Seraphina remained a point of light for my wayward soul to navigate by, a beacon of hope that cut through the lonely dark.

Perhaps in her gentleness, I could find renewal to continue struggling against futility a while longer. The druids’ cure had proven false, but Seraphina’s compassion was real. I would shelter that flickering candle flame within me when despair’s biting winds raged.

Steeling myself against the long war still ahead, I ghosted to her side, careful not to wake her. “Thank you,” I whispered before launching again into the brightening sky.

The days to come held no promises, but I would face them with new perseverance. For Seraphina’s sake, as much as my own, I would fight on.