Four
Gareth
My magic still felt a bit off from the last time I’d worked on the wards with the mayor, which was a few days ago.
I’d obviously overdone it. We’d gone six weeks without an attack from the angels after our representative met with the council to get an injunction against them.
Rayna was safe for the time being—until they found another reason to come for her—and we had some peace.
Didn’t mean we neglected the wards, though.
More and more of us with high-level magic were helping Hestia maintain the protections on the town.
We couldn’t afford for the wards to fail, or to drain our mayor completely. Not with Riku still in a coma.
I sent my magic deep into the root system of the plant, and there I found the cause of the problem.
With a little healing, I repaired the splintered main root and duplicated it, making a sturdy base for the tree to grow from.
It shouldn’t need my help again. Every plant I could save gave me such a feeling of satisfaction.
I loved my job, but helping here was great therapy.
Just knowing I’d saved this plant brought a smile to my face.
Backing away from the plant, I rose from kneeling with a groan.
Clearly, I’d stayed in one position too long while I fixed the problem.
I stretched out my back and legs before dusting off my grubby hands on my chinos.
At this point, they were more stains and weird marks I couldn’t remember getting than the smartly tailored pants I should have been wearing to work.
I was just grateful that my classes at Greyhaven College were pretty relaxed over the dress code.
They were used to me teaching in whatever I’d been wearing while I fixed things around the town.
In fact, if I turned up freshly manicured in a pressed, clean shirt, someone would send for a healer.
“All done here,” I called to True, the druid in charge of this particular greenhouse, as I grinned down at my handiwork.
“Thanks, Gareth. You’re a lifesaver! Oh! Could you check in with Dawn on your way out? I think she wanted you to check over some of her herbs.”
Nodding, I headed deeper into the complex setup of greenhouses, polytunnels, and high raised beds to find our resident witch.
As True had said, it was another plant in crisis.
Each and every plant we could get through a winter season was vital to our self-sufficiency plan.
Year upon year, we worked on our plan to grow and raise most of our food to cut down trips to nearby towns and cities.
A necessary thing for our survival, especially as the outside world relied more and more on technology that could out us before we were ready, or before the humans were.
Greyhaven wasn’t just our home. It was a sanctuary for many who couldn’t live in the outside world safely.
Either they didn’t blend in well, or they struggled with their powers.
I had neither problem, but I’d always been in Greyhaven.
I never planned on leaving either, not after the stories I’d been told by some of our residents.
Despite the growing feeling of isolation I struggled with, I knew my magic was vital to the town.
Without me there’d be less magic for the wards, no one to teach my magical courses at the college, or to step in and help with the plants like I’d just done.
As the years passed without my parents around, I’d built a place for myself.
Okay, I didn’t have a busy social life, but I wasn’t completely alone.
It still felt as if something was missing, though.
As if there were a hole in my heart that needed that special someone to fix it.
People called out goodbyes to me as I wandered back toward the school building and my office. I was just in the door, about to take a seat, when Cian, my TA and assistant, burst through the door. “Gareth! There’s a newcomer! Hestia wants to see you.”
I sighed and muttered under my breath. As much as I wanted to help, I was also tired after using so much magic. “When did they arrive?”
“Yesterday!” He was almost bouncing like a puppy.
A strange look on the gray, withered-looking old man.
Cian was a bodach, and as such, was unable to live freely in the outside world.
His appearance could be terrifying to those unacquainted with his personality.
Cian, despite his trickster nature, was the sweetest soul.
He had been around for so long now that no one knew how old he was, just that he’d made Greyhaven his home and wasn’t anything like the stories had made his kind out to be.
I frowned at the news. “Why wasn’t I called yesterday?” Hestia liked me to check out new people for any strange spells they could be carrying.
“Um, maybe because it was nearly evening?” Cian drawled sarcastically. “You work long hours, Gareth. Hestia values you too much to overwork you.”
“Hmm, you’ve been gossiping with Debra again.” He and the brownie had a bit of a thing going. Most of the town was rooting for them to finally make it official. “What do I need to know about this newcomer?” I couldn’t help but be curious despite my fatigue.
Cian filled me in on the shifter’s appearance in Greyhaven while I collected my things to brave the snow outside.
I bundled myself up in my thick coat, a scarf, and heavy-duty gloves before heading out.
It was a far longer walk than the one from the greenhouses to the college, since some students gained credits by learning to farm the land.
The idea of the long walk to City Hall really made me question why I hadn’t brought my car.
I pulled up short when I opened the massive doors to find a police car waiting outside. “Hey, Gareth, thought I’d give you a ride to see the mayor.” Tatsuya’s grin was wide, making the dragon’s eyes spark. This was a side of the usually more stoic dragon that most people didn’t get to see.
Gratitude for my friend swelled up inside me, and I sagged with relief at not having to walk all the way across town to see the mayor in this weather. Snow clung to every surface, and the walkways were slick with ice. Someone had been sleeping on their salting duties.
“Man, am I glad to see you,” I said as I got into the empty front passenger seat. After taking off my gloves and unwinding my scarf, I leaned over to hug him. “How you been?”
“The usual, you know how it is. The mayor said she wanted you to consult on this newcomer, so I thought I’d give you a ride…” He trailed off with a shrug. Something was off about the situation, setting me on guard.
“What’s going on?” I asked warily. Tatsuya wasn’t usually this reticent with me.
“Hmm, nothing.” He pulled away from the curb with confidence. Unlike the pavements, the roads were pretty clear at this time of the afternoon.
“Tatsuya.” I dropped a hint of warning into my voice and let my power spark through me. He knew me well enough to know I’d zap him if I had to. His dragon hide was thick enough to handle my magic, but it always got results.
“Fine, fine,” he sighed. “The dude is weird. Panicked and withdrawn, like a lot of people are before you bite my head off! But it’s more than that.” My best friend was frowning as he expertly steered the car through the streets. We only had a couple of minutes at most before we’d be there.
His words, or rather his tone, caught my attention. Tatsuya wasn’t someone who made something out of nothing. “What is it? You know I trust your judgment, right?”
He blew out a breath. “This is between us, okay?”
“Of course.”
“He smells wrong,” Tatsuya admitted bluntly. My friend was usually more diplomatic than that, especially on the rare occasions that we had new people arrive. Each new person was treasured. Tatsuya valued his job welcoming newbies, so this was… odd.
While most people would have laughed at his words, likely not getting it, I took them to heart. This was bothering him. “Wrong how? What kind of supernatural is he?”
Tatsuya looked at me gratefully. “He claims to be a shifter, and we saw him in his bobcat form…”
“So?”
“I know what feline shifters smell like, Gar.”
He really did. It wasn’t just that he had a good nose—which he did, the same as most dragons—it was that he was a step above a regular dragon when it came to his senses.
His magic was just more in tune with his dragon self, and that made it harder to fool him.
It was likely that this new guy didn’t smell any different to anyone else, it was just that Tatsuya’s inner dragon was telling him something was off and representing that with scent.
“Right. So, you think he’s lying? Maybe used magic to glamor himself into a cat?” The idea had me on guard. This person shouldn’t have been able to get through the wards if they were here to cause trouble, but no spell was infallible. Our wards had failed before.
A tiny smile lifted his lips. “I have no fucking clue. Just be on your guard around him. He’s not what he seems.”
Parting from Tatsuya, I made a promise that I’d be careful around this guy. Riley, he had said. Just the name alone sent a shiver down my spine. I couldn’t decide if I was afraid to meet him or excited.
Debra greeted me at reception with a warm cup of tea. “I put honey in it, just as you like it.” I laid my outer clothes on a side desk for Debra to put away and picked up the cup and saucer. Debra was very particular about using the correct teacups.
“Thank you. May I go through?”
She wasn’t listening to me, already rushing about and tending to my things. Her brownie nature had taken control. I cleared my throat to get her attention. Going back without permission led to bad things happening. Debra was fierce when it came to protecting the mayor’s inner sanctum.
“Oh! Yes. Go right ahead. They’re waiting for you.”
Carefully, I used both hands to secure my tea as I walked into the mayor’s office. The door, thankfully, had been left ajar. Hestia was sitting behind her desk, frowning at something the man opposite her must have said. From the back, all I could see was messy dark hair and olive?toned skin.
Awareness shot through me that something monumental was about to happen.
“Ah, Gareth, come sit down.” Hestia waved a hand toward the vacant seat next to the man.
Setting the cup on a waiting coaster on her desk, I took the offered seat and turned to look at the man who had Greyhaven abuzz.
An exaggeration, perhaps, but when my eyes met his dark orbs, the breath felt like it had been punched from my lungs.
I saw his fingers tighten on his chair as we both realized what we were to each other.
Sitting next to me was my fated mate.
The one person I never thought I was going to meet.
I mean, what were the chances of him turning up in Greyhaven?
It wasn’t as if I’d been venturing out to find him.
Greyhaven was safe and comfortable, aside from the attacks, but we had that under control!
I didn’t need a life of adventure, even if that meant maybe never finding the one soul meant to complete mine.
“Everything alright?” Hestia asked with a knowing smile. Sneaky goddess!
The man broke first and turned away from me, settling back in his seat.
“Everything’s fine.” His body language screamed that he was uncomfortable.
He looked ready to flee at any moment. I wasn’t sure if he was about to throw up or faint.
His hands shook before he gripped the arms of the chair.
His knuckles turned white from how hard he squeezed, as if it was the only thing keeping him in his seat.
Was there something wrong with me? Was he straight? Shifters were usually pansexual, according to the books and the few residents I knew. My heart began to beat faster with my anxiety. A cold sweat broke out over my skin.
Hestia looked at me with a quirked eyebrow. “I’m not sure,” I answered honestly, trying to hide my worry. “I don’t know why you summoned me here.”
“Well,” Hestia began, her tone pleasant, ignoring the tension in the room. “Let us start with introductions. Gareth, this is Riley. He arrived in Greyhaven and requires our help in breaking a curse.”
I sat forward, ready and anxious to hear the details. I wanted to help my mate if I could. Unwinding curses was a rare treat. I loved testing my magic like that. “Riley, Gareth is our head of magic studies at Greyhaven College. He is also a powerful mage.”
I blushed at the compliment. “I’m not that powerful. My dad—”
“Is a fine man. I hope he and your mother are enjoying their studies abroad. Here, right now, you are the most powerful warlock we have.” Hestia raised an eyebrow at me, daring me to disagree with her.
Riley stood then, his fight-or-flight response nearly triggering a shift. One moment he had claws, the next his eyes flitted between yellow and their normal deep, earthy brown. “This… this is a mistake.” He was in full panic mode. I wanted to do something, anything, to soothe him.
Hestia stood. At her full height, she was smaller than us, but her godly powers made her all the more imposing.
I knew straight away that she’d made a mistake.
He was looking around wildly when she spoke to him.
“Riley, I did say yesterday that I would get in touch with a warlock.” Her tone was gentle, more placating than I’d ever heard it.
“I can’t!” He looked at me with pleading eyes. They begged forgiveness even as he struck me deeply. “Not a warlock, no!” With a last cry of frustration, Riley shifted into a bobcat and ran from the room.
“Oh dear.”
Understatement. Shock and horror filled me. Tears pricked at my eyes, and I struggled to breathe for a moment.
The mere knowledge that I was a warlock had my fated mate running away from me, despite apparently needing my help. What was I going to do?