Sorceress Rising (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 2) (29 page)

Gregory removed
his hand from Lillian’s hamadryad and smiled at what the tree had shown them.

“Good-bye,
Tethys. I thank you for paying the debt so rarely paid. Until we meet again in
the Spirit Realm.” With a full body shake and a much lighter heart, he dropped
to all fours and watched as Lillian removed her hand from the tree with a
thoughtful expression.

The Riven, at
least, were destroyed. There would be other enemies, and other battles, but
Tethys had bought them much needed time. He promised to use that dearly bought
gift wisely.

“You saw clearly
what your hamadryad showed us?” he asked.

“Yes, but I hadn’t
expected that. Tethys sacrificed herself. For us, for our cause. For all the
humans of this world.” Lillian’s tone rang with honest bafflement.

“She was
misguided, not evil. In the end, she found her way again.” Bumping his muzzle
under Lillian’s hand, he guided her out of the glade and into the maze beyond.
“Come,”
he sent silently, wanting the intimacy of his thoughts touching hers,
“We
will rest and then on the morrow, see to all the problems this night has
spawned.”

Lillian tensed,
her eyes growing troubled. When he was on the verge of delving into which one
of tonight’s acts caused that look, she took a deep breath, squared her
shoulders, and nodded sharply. “You’re right. We need to rest and regroup.
Tomorrow is soon enough to learn what all this night has spawned. Perhaps we
will be lucky and it won’t be half as bad as I fear.” Her fingers found their
way to the base of his horns and rubbed with blissful pressure. His eyes
drifted closed. “But whatever comes, know I’ll always love you.”

“And I, you,” he
said with a playful butt of his head to her hip. With that, they exited the
maze side by side. Gregory hadn’t felt this content in days.

It wasn’t likely
to last, he knew. But for the rest of this night, there would be peace.

The End