Free Sorceress Hunting (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 3) by Lisa Blackwood Page A

“I’m so not in shape for flying, but this has got to
have been my best cardio workout ever.”
    “You’re tiring?”
    Lillian held back a sharp retort and instead said,
“I’m a little tired.”
    “We’re almost there, but landing is more dangerous.
I’ll carry you to the ground this time. We’ll practice landing over shallow
water the first few times. Trust me, it’s a much safer practice.”
    Lillian wasn’t at all sure about having him help her
to the ground. It summoned visions of tangled wings and broken bodies.
    Gregory curled the edge of one wing a fraction and was
suddenly right over top of her. He flew so close she could feel his heat.
    “Get ready to fold your wings tight to your body at my
command. Don’t struggle or try to unfurl your wings until we are safely on the
ground. Understand?”
    The road was almost under them and she didn’t have
time to argue. Besides, she trusted him with her life. “I understand.”
    She still squeezed her eyes shut.
    “Fold your wings now.”
    She did and his tail snaked around her waist and hips
as his arms snapped forward to lock in a strong embrace around her chest.
    A squeak of surprise did escape her as his wings
fanned out to slow them, and the combined forces of gravity and momentum
threatened to peel her from his hold and leave her broken on the ground below.
    But Gregory didn’t fail her. With a few more violent
beats of his wings, they came to the ground with only a slight jolt.
    Her eyes snapped open to find herself standing on a
tree-shrouded road.
    She panted harshly but dug her talons into the road’s
gravel surface, mindlessly happy to be on the ground and to be in one piece.
    Slowly she came to recognize the area. They weren’t
far from the old saw mill the Clan and Coven used during their lunar Wild
Hunts. Well, the one they used to use before all the reporters, scientists, and
military arrived. The saw mill should still be a safe place to hole up for a
couple hours until she had her breath back.
    Gregory didn’t immediately release her though his grip
loosened to allow his hands to skim along her arms as if he searched for
wounds. He, too, still panted, his chest pressed against her back and wings,
his warm breath puffing against her neck and right side of her face.
    “Are you alright?” his voice rumbled in her ear, and
she detected a note of worry there.
    “I’m fine. A little shaken up, but no lasting scars.”
She turned in his arms and touched her muzzle along the underside of his jaw
while she simultaneously wrapped her arms around his waist. Her horns framed
the sides of his face, but he seemed not to care. As for her tail, it seemed to
seek out Gregory’s lower legs like it was trying to prevent him from going
anywhere.
    Tonight Gregory could have been badly hurt. She didn’t
know if he could have survived being riddled with as many rounds as were aimed
at him if his magic hadn’t been there. What if in the future he was unable to
call upon his magic because she didn’t give an order in time?
    Gregory gave an affronted huff. “I would never have
allowed them to land that many blows. Even if they caught me asleep and
unaware, these weapons wouldn’t kill me. I’d heal. Sometimes I think you forget
what I am. What I am capable of doing to protect you.”
    Lillian knew his words were true, but she had seen her
beloved brought low before, and he had died defending her in past lives. She
might not have those memories at the moment, but he’d alluded to such.
    Gregory nuzzled her, and then dragged her as close as
two bodies could be. “Silly little dryad, those times we faced off against creatures
far more deadly than a few humans—some of those creatures could kill even a
demi-god such as the Lady of Battles.”
    “Oh my god.”
    He held a finger up to her lips to silence her. “And
other times I lost you first, not because I couldn’t protect you but because
you would throw all you were into destroying the enemy before it