“Hi to you, too, Mika Stillwater.” His deep voice rolled through me.
“Hi, uh, Marcus.” I flushed. Get over yourself. You’re not here to ask him out. You’re here to help Rourke and the other gargoyles.
“Hi, Marcus,” Oliver said.
“Hey, Oliver.” The gargoyle got a small smile.
“Is Grant here?” I managed to get the words out without sounding strangled this time. Bully for me.
Those cool blue eyes fastened on me again, and I wondered what had ever made me think he might have been interested in me. It’d clearly all been a euphoric side effect of my near-death experiences. Marcus was an accomplished fire elemental in an FPD squad. He was so far out of my league he may as well have been on another continent.
“He’s out.”
“Seradon?” I asked. The squad’s earth elemental had liked me. She’d help.
“Out.”
“Winnigan?” My voice came out too high.
Marcus’s lips twitched and he finally took pity on me. “Everyone’s on vacation. I only stuck around because . . .” His eyes scanned over me and he exhaled with a rueful chuckle. “Because I’m an idiot waiting for something that’s never going to happen. Come on in.”
Before I could protest, he turned and padded barefoot back into the house. Oliver loped over the threshold and across the tile floor, and his puzzled glance over his shoulder prodded me into motion. I stepped into the house Marcus shared with the squad and shut the door behind me, hurrying to catch up with Oliver. We trailed the fire elemental across a wide room filled with couches and tabletop games and through open French doors into a sun-drenched courtyard. Marcus settled into a cushioned bench, stretching one leg along the entire length. Oliver hopped onto the wide rim of a fire pit and curled his body around the cool coals. I stood awkwardly at the edge of the courtyard.
“How long until they’re back?”
“One, maybe two weeks.”
“Two weeks!” Celeste dove into the courtyard, blocking out the sun with her enormous dark wings.
Marcus rolled off the back of the bench, sprang to the wall, and spun back with a slender sword in one hand, a ball of fire in the other. My heart lurched into my throat, and I leapt forward, shoving through wicker furniture the large gargoyle had carelessly scattered, but by the time I’d forced my way between Marcus and Celeste, he’d extinguished the fireball and the sword hung loose at his side.
“Anyone else I should know about?” Marcus asked, his tone casual but his body still tense.
“We can’t wait that long,” Celeste said, ignoring him.
“I know. Is Grant close?” I asked. “Can we reach him? Maybe an air message? What about the others?”
“He’s not in Terra Haven. He went to see the Asking Tree bloom, and the others decided to tag along.”
Of course they had. I’d be there myself if I hadn’t been busy with the dormant gargoyles. It wasn’t surprising that the captain just happened to be in the same place as Kylie, either.
Marcus narrowed his eyes at me and stalked back into the sunlight. “You clearly didn’t drop by to tell me you’ve missed me. What have you gotten yourself into, Healer?”
“It’s better this way. No one else needs to know,” Celeste said.
“We can’t do this alone. We already agreed—”
“Fine.” She examined Marcus from head to toe. “One person is better at keeping a secret than five.”
“But to fix the . . . the thing, I need more than just his help. I was counting on being linked with five FSPPs.” Linking meant I’d be able to draw on the combined strength of all five powerful elementals. With all their magic plus a boost from Celeste and Oliver, I had a chance of fixing a baetyl the size of the park. With just Marcus, our odds of success plummeted.
“Mika . . .” Marcus growled.
“You won’t need to link,” Celeste said.
“How can you be sure?”
Celeste shrugged. “A link wouldn’t do you any good. You’re a guardian. They aren’t. They probably won’t be allowed inside.”
My throat constricted, and I forced myself to take a deep breath. Celeste’s assurances did nothing to ease my trepidation, but I’d already agreed to do everything in my power to help Rourke and the others. Maybe she was right and I wouldn’t need the might of five FSPPs backing me. Maybe one would suffice.
But before I could fix the baetyl, we had to get there.
“Are you sure we can’t contact Grant?”
“Tell me what’s wrong,” Marcus said.
I met his steely gaze. Experience had taught me that Marcus was calm under pressure and highly skilled. If I suppressed the embarrassment of my crush, we’d work well together; we’d done so in the past. Plus, one FSPP was better than none.
“I know how to heal the dormant gargoyles, but it’s complicated and requires something outside Terra Haven. I need help,” I blurted out. “And if you agree to help us, I need your sworn oath that you will never reveal anything I tell you. Not even to Grant.”
Marcus’s expression closed down, and as he studied me, he twisted his wrist, swishing the sword back and forth around his leg.
“Please,” I added when the silence became unbearable.
He stalked to the wall and returned the sword to its hiding spot in the rafters. When he came back, he sat on the bench, legs stretched in front of him and crossed at the ankles. “Tell me.”
“Swear first, human,” Celeste said.
Marcus arched an eyebrow at her. “I swear.”
I accepted a boost from Oliver and formed a soundproof bubble of air to wrap around the four of us. Marcus crossed his arms but didn’t say anything.
“Do you know about cynosure baetyls?” I asked.
He shook his head, and despite his superior knowledge of the world and magical creatures, I wasn’t surprised. The gargoyles had guarded this secret with their lives.