Alec hit the earth like a rolling boulder and fell back onto his stone wings. The man’s cruel laugh sliced like a sword lashing Alec’s gut.

He tried to initiate the shift back to human form. Nothing. His muscles had solidified.

Shite. This wasn’t like his statue form. No, it was a curse. Created by dark magic. And it was bad.

“Kai! What have you done?” The woman cried. She ran over to Alec and ran her fingers over his arm.

The warmth of her soft hand provided comfort, followed by a quiver of dread. He was trapped.

Would he ever find a way out of this prison?

“A gargoyle trapped in stone.” The man’s lips curled into a twisted grin. “What a fitting punishment, albeit an ironic one.”

A swell of rage twisted through Alec like a tornado. He envisioned breaking free and pounding that repulsive smile off the man’s face. But, when Alec attempted to clench his hand into a fist, not even a spark of life ignited.

“This is excessive,” she cried. “It’s not right!”

“He’s a trespasser,” the man spat. “A gargoyle spying on us. Naturally, I couldn’t let him go.”

“Look what you did to him!”

He ran his finger over Alec’s shoulder. “I’m quite pleased with my work. I’ve finally harnessed my ancestral powers—magic that’s been dormant for so many generations.”

“It’s wrong.” She covered her mouth and shook her head as she stared at Alec’s immobile form. “You can’t do that to him. To anyone.”

The man grabbed the woman by her upper arms and glared at her, flaring a protective instinct in Alec.

“We came here to enhance our magical abilities,” the man snapped. “To tap into the energy that flows in these lands. And yet, when I finally accomplish a spell I’ve worked on for ages, you berate me. You should be praising my accomplishments.”

“I would never, never, never praise such dark magic.” She didn’t cower from him although fear flashed in her eyes. “Harm none, Kai. None.”

She wiggled out of the man’s grasp and stormed to the cabin. He followed her inside.

Alec was alone.

Desperate to reach someone, he tried to open a communication link once again. But, nothing. Not even a fuzzy signal.

As he stared at the darkening sky, he considered his options. There had to be a way out of this predicament. Somehow.

Too bad nothing came to him. An edge of despair slipped in, reaching from the tips of his wings and creeping into his soul.

Panicking won’t help.

Right. He had to focus. Had to think.

The night turned darker, and still no solutions flashed like a hopeful star overhead.

The sound of a door opening caught his attention. With his limited peripheral vision while he lay awkwardly on his back, he couldn’t make out who had opened it.

Footsteps approached. As they grew louder, the uncertainty triggered a new tremor of anxiety.

The dark wisps of a woman’s hair were the first thing to come into view. It was the woman.

He would have exhaled if he could breathe. Her presence didn’t project malevolence the way the man’s did.

She chanted words in a language he didn’t recognize and raised her hands. What was she doing?

She circled around him, spreading something that looked like black dust. What was that? Salt? She repeated the same strange chant.

The stone that encapsulated him softened. As it weakened, Alec wiggled his fingers. And then his toes. Yes, they moved, too!

Several more seconds passed before he was able to move his arm and legs barely an inch. He could only twist in his rigid cage.

Still, he struggled to break free from it. The stone prison softened and turned more pliant. As he pushed through it, the surface shifted like tectonic plates grinding against each other to create mountains.

The woman moved back into his line of vision again. Her eyes widened with excitement as she eyed the results of her work. She repeated those strange words as she stood directly before him and waved her hand in a circle before his torso.

In the next second, he broke through, sending pieces of rock and dust scattering in all directions like an exploding star. He was in human form once again.

She gasped, and he caught her gaze. Their eyes locked, and something odd simmered between them. This dark, ethereal angel who had come to save him.

No, he was free. No time for questions that would delay him.

He whispered, “Thank you,” and unfurled his wings.

Something was wrong with them. They were too heavy, as if still weighed down. But, he was able to flap them clumsily, and so he did in a desperate bid at escape. His movement lacked grace, and it took him longer than usual to ascend, but he could fly once again.

“Veda!” a loud roar from below drew his attention.

Fuck, it was the man. Alec soared, still sluggish from the curse. If he’d had his full capacities—shite, if he’d had a quarter of his capacities, he’d go back and beat him with his own staff. With how weakly Alec flew, all he’d be doing was asking for a repeat invitation back to that cursed cage.

Once he’d reached a safe distance, concealed by the shadows of the forest at night, he glanced back. The man had retrieved his staff and waved it as he shouted at the woman.

Alec descended into the boughs of a tree to watch. When she cowered, raising her arms up to shield herself, his heart lurched. Gargoyle instinct pierced through the desperate urge to fly away.

The man didn’t strike her, though. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her inside the cabin. What was he going to do? Punish her?

It was because she had helped him.

Alec had to do something.

But, what? He couldn’t fly for shit, so there’s no way he could swoop in and carry her out of there. Not that he wanted to face an opponent while listless and unarmed. Alec guessed it was the lingering effect of the curse. Hopefully, it would fade.

It better fade. He couldn’t function in this half-state of existence.

At least, he wasn’t imprisoned.

But, if he returned there, he might be.

He stared at the closed cabin door. His imagination traveled to dark places as he envisioned the man punishing her.

Bloody hell, he’d have to wing it. He groaned. A well-thought out plan suited his sensibilities better, but he didn’t have much to work with in this situation.

“Ah, fuck it.”

He had to take a chance. Instinct compelled him to act, no matter how much he might regret that decision.

“What are you doing?” Veda cried.

Kai pinned her with his body as he attempted to tie one of her wrists to the bedposts No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t wiggle out of his grasp.

“What do you think? You betrayed me. Do you think I’m going to let that go unpunished?”

His eyes gleamed with fury in the candlelight of the cabin. She’d never seen them so cold, so unfeeling, with all the menace directed at her.

She couldn’t let him fasten the other wrist. If he did, she’d be helpless, trapped here. She wiggled her hand and kicked up at him, but his damn weight pressed down on her, preventing her from making any progress.

When he fastened her wrist with the thin rope, she groaned. “How dare you treat me this way? I thought we came here as partners.”

Kai slid around and grabbed one of her legs. “Funny, you didn’t act like a partner when you went against my will.”

“You cursed a man in stone!” She moved her foot in circles. No way was she going to make this easy for him. “Do you think I could stand by and let that happen?”

“He was spying on us. Do you think I’m going to let that happen?” He fastened her leg and glared at her.

Oh hell. Her breath turned to jagged pants. Had she made a mistake in freeing the man?

“What happened to you? I thought coming here would make things better. You promised that it would be a new start, without all the stress and politics and drama of the coven.”

He leaned back. “And betrayal by those I thought I could trust.”

“So, what does this mean? I’m your prisoner now?”

“You need to learn a lesson.” He stood and raised an index finger as he backed away from her.

Her heartbeat stuttered. “And what’s that?”

“Never betray me.” His voice was laced with warning. He spun and grabbed items off the table, shoving them into the pockets of his black cape.

He couldn’t leave her here like this. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to find that spy you released.”

Damn it. If Kai caught up with the gargoyle, he might be in worse shape than if he’d remained in stone.

“Don’t,” she begged. “Let’s find another way.”

She pictured the gargoyle. His magnificent black wings that spread around him like a god. His upper chest was bare, and full of bronzed contoured muscles. He wore a blue kilt like a Scottish warrior of a bygone era. And when their eyes had met after she’d freed him…

She couldn’t explain what had happened. It was the strangest of sensations that flowed through her, like they formed a connection in that instant.

Maybe it was just an effect of the magic she’d used, and somehow it had enchanted her for a moment.

Whatever it had been, it wasn’t important now. The gargoyle was gone. Kai was going after him. And she was tied up.

Had she made an epic mistake in helping the gargoyle, sealing both their fates for a darker end?

Kai strode to the door and grabbed his staff. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“You can’t do this!”

He exited and slammed the cabin door behind him.

Veda let out a shaky laugh. What now? Her fate might not be any better than the man’s. Kai’s temper was legendary, and his lust for vengeance had been growing.

She wiggled against the restraints. She contorted her wrists and ankles to painful angles, hoping to slide out.

“Oww!” The thin rope burned her skin, and it didn’t relent its hold one bit.

She’d have to think of another way. She glanced over at the table. It was piled with supplies. A small knife was likely in that pile, out of reach, tormenting her.

What a fool she was to leave their coven in the Taurus Mountains to come to the Highlands with him a few weeks ago. He’d painted images of Scotland as a land of enchantment. If they could find the crossing of ley lines, they’d be able to tap into a wealth of magical energy. They’d imbibe it like the sweetest of nectars and their abilities would grow.

He’d convinced her that it was the best option for her future, rather than staying with the coven. She’d fallen under the spell of that picture and the promise of an exciting new life. And it had been, for the first week or so, until he grew frustrated with the lack of progress in their searches. But during the last couple of weeks, she’d questioned her motives in joining him here. What they had between them was merely a journey. A partnership in pursuit of magical growth. It wasn’t love. And their goals veered down different paths. She wanted magic for good, to help people, yet he’d been trekking down a darker path seeking power.

She glanced at the bindings at her ankles. What now? When would he release her?

With that terrifying glint in his eye, it likely wouldn’t be any time soon. Nothing could calm him in that state, but time. Twisted by vengeance, he was blind to reason.

Oh damn. Her heart pounded as her mind conjured a dark outcome.

He could leave her here to die.

Coming here had been a mistake. Hopefully not a fatal one.

Alec surveyed the cabin from his vantage point in the tree. The wooden exterior didn’t reveal anything. The small windows didn’t provide him a view of anything other than bare walls. What the hell was going on in there? Was the man hurting her? Did she even need help?

Ah, fuck. At the very least, he had to ensure she was all right.

What exactly could he do? Much of this situation was a mystery to him. Any decision was wrought with murkiness from questions he couldn’t answer.

It looked like he was on his own heading unarmed into a battle. And for whom? A witch? Perhaps he was insane. One fewer witch in the world the better.

But, still, she was in her predicament because she freed him.

He grunted. As he climbed down the tree, his heart pounded.

When the door of the cabin opened, Alec stepped back to hide in the shadows behind an oak tree. The man closed the door and glanced into the sky, turning a full circle. Was he searching for Alec in flight? Probably. He crouched lower to blend in with the foliage’s cover.

The man ventured in Alec’s direction. Of course, that was where he’d last seen Alec head.

Alec stepped with light feet parallel to the edge of the forest, away from the man. If he could avoid being detected, he might have time to check on the woman. If she was all right, he was out of there. Job done.

It was a half-assed plan, but at least he no longer had to face the man in the cabin.

The trek across the forest floor stretched on with agonizing slowness. He kept his gaze on the ground and his steps light to avoid treading on any twigs that would give away his location. The waxing moon above shined down on him like a searchlight through the trees.

The man’s footsteps lightened as he ventured deeper into the forest. Alec crept to the break in the trees. Once he had enough room to extend his wings, he soared sluggishly the remaining distance to the cabin, and uttered a silent prayer that the man hadn’t set up a trap that Alec was flying right into.

He landed near the cabin door. After a few seconds, with nobody jumping out of the darkness brandishing a staff, Alec breathed easier.

He headed to the window and peeked in. The woman was tied to the bed. Her cape lay open and spread around her, disheveled, as a sign of struggle.

Rage erupted in him. He fought the urge to surge into the woods and hunt the damn man down, tearing him to pieces.

No. That wouldn’t help the woman. It wouldn’t help either of them if the man turned Alec back into a stone statue again.

Or, attempted something worse.

Shite. It wasn’t time to wrestle with decisions. It was time to act.

“Hello,” he whispered. “It’s me.”

“Who?” Her gaze traveled to the window. Her eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”

Good question. “A proper cup of tea would be welcome.”

She blinked and jerked her head. “What?”

“Kidding.” He grinned. “I’m here to rescue you.”