Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up 4)

I followed it down, the others allowing me to go first. I stuck my landing, meaning that I hit it wrong, staggered, and then fell flat on my face. The snap of wings announced the arrival of New Guy, who held out a firm but gentle helping hand. Lord only knew what he thought of the illustrious female gargoyle.

Pushing that thought aside, I stepped forward and found a tall, well-muscled man lying on his stomach in his birthday suit, his dark skin glistening with sweat and his head turned to the side. Both arms were tucked under him in a defensive position and his back rose and fell with breath. Not dead.

I changed into my skin, trying not to show how uncomfortable I was being naked in front of a stranger.

“Hey.” I wrapped bands of magic around him to keep him put before edging closer. “Do you die and come back? Should I kill you to win, like the phoenix? I don’t know anything about thunderbirds.”

“All you had to do was kill the phoenix. I wasn’t part of the trial. I left that battle out front to get out of the way. I’m just the other guy.”

I lifted my eyebrows as I felt Austin draw closer. “Oh? But you were just…attacking us.”

“Are you stupid or something?” He tried to reposition and groaned. “You all attacked me first! What am I supposed to do, just take it? The phoenix is more dominant. Like I said, I’m just the other guy. I got the summons. I met her along the way.”

I grimaced as Austin ran into the trees, his fur restored to snowy white, the burned patches gone. He changed into his skin, his gaze devouring every inch of me, making sure I was all right.

“This guy says he’s not part of the trial?” I said to Austin.

Kingsley paced within the trees, still in his tiger form, his eyes on the new gargoyle standing just beside me. Austin didn’t pay him any notice.

“The phoenix was the more dominant of the pair,” he said, turning to look at the downed man now that my safety was accounted for. “Is he bound?”

“Yeah. Should I undo that?” I asked hesitantly.

“What kind of clown show is this?” said the man on the ground.

“She’s new to magic,” Austin said.

“So…we didn’t have to go after him?” I asked hesitantly.

“No…” the man on the ground said, and it sounded more like a long groan. “Why did you call us if you didn’t know what you were doing?”

“I didn’t call you specifically,” I said, kneeling beside him, hunching so most of my body was covered. His face was angled in the opposite direction. “I basically made a list and called whoever fit it.”

“Some list,” he murmured. “Did he say you’re new to magic?”

“Yeah.”

He flinched when I laid my palm on his back, closing my eyes and feeling around his body, like a magical X-ray. Austin stood beside me, probably in case this guy tried to pull a fast one.

“Broken arms, bruised ribs, and your neck hurts,” I said, leaving my hand where it was. “It must hurt to lie on them.”

“It does.”

“O-kay. Well, I can heal you if you’re telling the truth about your role here.”

“I hate my life,” he muttered.

“Go ahead,” Austin said.

I started the process and then stood. I didn’t need to keep touching him for it to work.

“You’re a female gargoyle, aren’t you?” the man asked, still not moving.

“Yeah. Your arms aren’t going to heal properly if you keep lying on them.”

“I don’t want you savages to damage them further.”

“Right, but…right now, you are damaging them further.”

He flopped over onto his back, a leaf stuck to his privates, reminding me of those statues that had fig leaves carved onto them after the fact. His body was perfectly sculpted, his muscles shining with sweat in the moonlight. He had tight black curls, a handsome face with a wide nose, and a scowl meant for me.

“None of this makes sense,” he said, still holding his arms to his chest. “I haven’t heard of a living female gargoyle. Someone would’ve said.”

“Do you want help up?” I asked.

“Not really.”

“I’m new to magic. I’m the heir of Ivy House.”

“So?”

“So she imparts magic to the person of her choice. She chose me. The magic she imparts is that of a female gargoyle. Hence, I am a female gargoyle and am new to magic.”

“You have a crapload of power.”

“I just got a bunch of it tonight.”

He rolled his eyes to the sky. “I’ve never been very lucky. Now what?”

I looked at Austin. “They have to stay in Ivy House, right? There are no hotels close by with vacancies?”

He nodded slowly. “The danger should be squared away.”

Ivy House magic was back online, I could feel it. She’d make sure they stayed in line while they were in residence.