As we start to walk, I lean away again, grab hold of Jaxon’s hand, and thread our fingers together. I may not be able to kiss him right now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love him. And it doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with him any way that I can.
Jaxon doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t object, either. And when I look up at him, I realize that the small smile he’s got on his face has an extremely goofy tint to it. Because of me.
I’m the girl who turns badass vampire prince Jaxon Vega goofy.
Not going to lie, it feels good.
“So where am I walking you?” Jaxon asks as we finally reach the main hallway.
“I don’t know. They switched my science class. I went from basic Chem to the Physics of Flight, but I don’t know why.”
“Really? You don’t know why?” Jaxon asks, brow raised, a teasing glint in his eyes.
“No.” I shrug. “Do you?”
“I mean, I can’t say for sure, but I’m guessing it has something to do with the big, beautiful wings your alter ego carries around.”
“My alter— Oooooh.” That has my eyes going wide. “You mean the Physics of Flight is about actually being able to fly?”
“Yeah.” He looks at me incredulously. “What did you think it was about?”
“I don’t know. Airplanes, I guess. That’s why I was so confused.”
“No, Grace. At Katmere, the class about flying is actually about flying.”
“I just— That’s— I mean…” In the end, I just shake my head. I mean, what else is there to say about that? Except: “Flight class. They think I should be in flight class.” What on earth am I supposed to do with that?
“Well, wings are pretty much a prerequisite for flying,” Jaxon teases as we turn down another hallway. “And so is figuring out how to use them.”
“Oh yeah?” It’s my turn to raise a brow at him. “Because I’m pretty sure you can fly without them.”
He laughs. “Oh, hey! I’ve got a new joke for you.”
“A new joke?” My brows hit my hairline as a grin splits my face. “Awesome. Lay it on me.”
The look he gives me is suddenly steaming hot, and it says very clearly that there’s a whole lot he wants to lay on me, and very little of it has to do with the cheesy jokes I love.
There’s a part of me that wants to look away, that feels uncomfortable with the sudden intimacy of the moment. But that isn’t fair to him—isn’t fair to either of us, really—so I keep my gaze steady on his, even as heat and uncertainty surge in equal parts through my body.
For a moment, just a moment, I think Jaxon is going to follow up on the feelings I don’t even try to hide, his midnight eyes turning to a deep, unrelenting black as his jaw goes tight.
But then the moment passes, and I can see him make the choice to let the tension, and everything that comes with it, slip away.
I don’t know if I’m relieved or disappointed. Probably a little bit of both. But when Jaxon takes a very deliberate step back, physically and emotionally, it seems only fair to go with it.
“So.” He grins down at me. “What sound does a gargoyle make when he sneezes?”
“A gargoyle joke? Seriously?” I roll my eyes at him.
He laughs. “What, too soon?”
He looks so pleased with himself that I can’t deny him anything. “No, go ahead.”
“What does a gargoyle say when he sneezes?”
I eye him warily. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“Stat-choo!”
“Oh my God. That’s awful.”
He grins. “I know, right? Want to hear another one?”
“I don’t know,” I answer, skepticism ripe in my voice. “Do I?”
“You do.” He squeezes my hand. “Why don’t gargoyles go out during the day?”
“I don’t want to know.” I brace for his answer.
“Because they’re too stoned.”
“Oh my God!” I make a face at him. “That one was bad.”
“It was awful,” he agrees.
“And you obviously loved it. I’ve created a monster,” I tease, shaking my head in mock horror as I lean into him.
But Jaxon’s eyes are shadowed now, the laughter slipping away as easily as it came.
“No.” Jaxon watches me with an intensity that shakes me to my very bones. “I’ve always been a monster, Grace. You’re the one who’s made me human.”
My stomach sinks like a stone.
Because while Jaxon is definitely becoming more human…I’m deathly afraid that I’m turning into the real monster at Katmere Academy.
23
Saturday Morning
Cartoons Never
Prepared Me
for This
Jaxon’s words stay with me all day, melting me whenever I think about them. About him. Making me more determined than ever to find my way back to him, fully.
With that thought in mind, I decide to skip lunch—both Jaxon and Macy have study-group plans anyway—and head straight for the library, where I’ll have a couple of hours of uninterrupted time to research gargoyles.
To research myself.
Which I really, really need to do, considering my knowledge on the subject is incredibly limited. And when I googled them last night, all I got was an architecture lesson when what I really need to know is why I am apparently prone to bloody attacks and amnesia.
I should probably set up an appointment with Mr. Damasen, see what information he can give me on gargoyles that doesn’t involve pages upon pages about how they’re really good waterspouts and gutters.
I mean, I didn’t know that much about vampires, dragons, or witches when I got here, but I had a basic understanding of what they were and how things worked for them—though Jaxon, Macy, and Flint have still blown my mind on several occasions.
But gargoyles? I’ve got almost nothing. Except that they don’t seem to like vampires much.
In fact, the extent of my knowledge about myself pretty much comes from studying the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in art class and from what I can remember of the Gargoyles TV show reruns I watched when I was little. My mom always got a little agitated when she found me watching that show… Now I can’t help but wonder if it’s because she and my dad knew what was coming.