Eight
Gareth
Rather than track down my runaway mate and scare him even more, I took the day to go over the reading Fynn had gathered for me at the college.
Really, his help had been incredibly useful, saving me hours of skimming through books that had nothing relevant in them.
Since I was an employee, the administration let me take the books home.
I took a personal day so that I could compile the evidence for my mate.
Riley wasn’t going to just trust my word that he was safe from my magic, not after his reaction to being in the same room as me. I had to give him certainty with facts.
So instead of teaching or doing anything useful, I holed up in my house and read.
While I was reading, I made notes to see if I could track down sources.
When I took breaks to eat and shower, I thought about fated?mate matches in Greyhaven.
Were there any that could demonstrate what I was talking about?
Lists, endless lists. By the time the sun fell on the day, paper, takeout containers from my lunch, and coffee mugs surrounded me.
I might have showered, but I hadn’t slept or shaved.
I felt stretched thin. My emotions had been leading me, bolstering me until I was fraying at the edges.
This wasn’t going to be a simple fix. I couldn’t just show up in front of him and demand he listen to my proof.
I also had to consider the idea that Riley had two curses on him.
Though I hadn’t been close enough to check him like I was supposed to, I trusted Hestia’s judgement on this.
If she said there were two, then there were two.
Simple as that. My intuition told me Riley’s extreme reaction wasn’t natural and likely the outcome of one of his curses.
Why, though? Why would someone do that to him?
It was around eight when the doorbell rang. I was expecting pizza, but found my best friend at the door with the box instead of Rayna or one of her siblings. “Hey Gareth, can I come in?” Tatsuya held up my pizza. “I brought dinner.”
“Um, I ordered that,” I snarked.
“Well, I paid for it,” he shot back. “Saved Zayne a journey.”
One of Rayna’s brothers, Zayne, had a job in the messenger and delivery service. All the nephilim who lived in Greyhaven had chosen jobs that allowed them the freedom to have their wings on show all the time. Even better if the job let them fly. Our postal service was lightning fast thanks to them.
“Right. Thanks, Suya.” I moved out of the way to let him inside and wandered into the kitchen. The window was so dark it acted as a mirror, showing Tatsuya following behind me, his trademark frown on his face. “Want a beer? Wine?” I called as I opened the fridge.
Inside was pretty bare. I needed to restock pretty much everything. This research and meeting Riley had knocked me out of the routine that I craved and needed to fend off the loneliness, leaving me feeling all wrong.
My powers sparked under my skin, reacting to the imbalance within me. Of course my best friend noticed. “Beer,” he muttered, answering my question. His frown deepened. “What’s got you all sparky?”
“Riley.” His frown turned into a scowl. Ah, not a fan.
Trying to lighten the mood, I explained with a roll of my eyes.
“The fates are having a laugh at my expense here. ‘Sure, you can have a fated mate, Gareth. A super cute one too. We can’t make it easy for you, though. He’s terrified of warlocks, by the way.
’ Perfect, thank you, fate.” I sighed, feeling hopeless.
“Huh?” Like I’d hoped, his expression morphed into bewilderment.
“What? That’s all you have to say?” My temper rose at his nonchalance.
Normally I was pretty even-tempered, but lack of sleep, the bond with Riley, and this entire situation had my mood swinging like a pendulum.
Gods, I was a mess. I raked a hand through my hair and took a deep, calming breath.
“He could leave tomorrow and go somewhere I can’t follow.
” I heard the break in my voice. The desperation and panic I hadn’t dared to voice before.
“I could lose my chance to prove I won’t hurt him! ”
Tatsuya shrugged, completely nonchalant.
I clenched my fists, then reached for his beer.
It wasn’t his fault that fate had fucked me with no lube.
Besides, it was just who he was. He always came off a little brusque, when inside he felt things deeply.
I knew he’d never been a fan of fated mates, claiming it took away your autonomy.
He was the wrong person to talk to about this.
“You’ll figure it out. Besides, I think the fates threw you a bone.
” He popped the cap off the bottle I handed him.
“How’d you figure?” I asked as I found napkins and plates for our dinner. Not wanting to risk alcohol and my tentative control of my magic, I poured a glass of water instead.
Tatsuya took a long swig of his beer before he answered. “His car is busted. Walt needs at least a week to fix it. So he’s pretty much stuck here in the meantime. Sources say he went looking for a car, but couldn’t find anything big enough to pull his trailer.”
“Shit.” While I appreciated the fates for doing me a favor, I hated how trapped and alone Riley had to be feeling. Stuck in a town with no one on his side. I left the kitchen with Tatsuya following closely behind. Exhaustion was catching up with me.
“Yeah, the situation’s fucked. The thing is…”
“What?” I flopped onto the sofa, thoughts of food gone from my head. All I wanted was for Riley to give me a chance. I could help him. I knew I could.
Tatsuya looked at me with a sympathetic expression over his sharply angled face. “Hestia promised Riley that no warlock would approach him.”
His statement landed like a rock in my gut.
All my work was for nothing if I couldn’t at least speak to him!
“But he’s my fated mate! How am I supposed to convince him to give us a try if I can’t even speak to him?
” Fuck, fuck, fuck. I would not cry. The frustration nearly welled over. I took a couple of calming breaths.
“How are you going to convince him? He ran at the mere mention of the fact you’re a warlock, Gar.” Tatsuya chewed on his slice of pizza while I answered.
“With this.” I showed Tatsuya all my work. It was hard to miss with it being strewn all over the place. Finally, I just put my head in my hands.
Tatsuya gave me a sympathetic look and patted my knee in a semi-comforting gesture.
As much as I loved my friend, he was not the one I went to for cheering up.
He was too realistic. His hugs were great, though.
Rare too. He just didn’t do the touchy-feely stuff.
“There’s a chance he’ll realize he needs you and will come to you instead. He’s cursed, remember?”
“What if he doesn’t?” I muttered, eyes burning as I glared at the floor. Fate was really fucking me over. “What if he just leaves without giving me a chance?”
Tatsuya kneeled in front of me and held me by the shoulders until I met his eyes.
“Fate will find a way to bring you together. Trust it.” He pulled me close, wrapping me up in a tight hug.
“I’m here for you, okay? We’ll work something out.
” I must have looked pretty bad if he was breaking out a hug for me.
“Sure,” I said, my voice hollow. I broke free of his arms and picked up my food. “Better eat before it’s too cold.” I picked up my stone-cold pizza and frowned. With a thought, I heated it so that the cheese was bubbling once more.
“Do mine! I always set it on fire when I try.” Tatsuya flung his plate under my face, making my smile break free.
I heated his food and watched him scarf it down. “You’ve been working too hard,” I chided.
“You know what it’s like after a storm and in the run?up to the winter celebrations. Everyone’s bracing for another attack too. They always happen around these events.”
Greyhaven was a multi-faith sanctuary for all the supernatural, whatever faith they’d grown up in, so I knew how busy December was for my friend. “How are the preparations for the parade coming along?”
“The amount of paperwork is just stupid! I keep telling my sister and the mayor that we need to go digital. Other havens already have.”
I listened to my friend with half an ear while my mind wandered back to my mate.
There had to be a way around Hestia’s promise.
I would have to speak with her and figure out a plan.
If what I thought was true and Riley’s other curse was the source of his reaction to me—and hopefully other warlocks in the town—then I’d have to do something from the sidelines to help him.
I thought about all the other magic users I knew in Greyhaven, ones who could undo curses, but none of them felt strong enough to trust Riley’s safety to.
While I didn’t know the story of his curse or curses, what it entailed or any punishments he would receive, Hestia requesting me first suggested that the others wouldn’t be powerful enough to break it on their own.
My thoughts spun as I plotted to get Riley the help he needed and to keep my involvement quiet.
I could research things for the other witches and mages.
I would offer them talismans to bolster their power if they needed me to.
To give him what he needed, I would linger in the background until he either sought me out or left Greyhaven altogether.
I fell into bed with a heavy heart and a churning mind.
There had to be a way to help Riley. First, though, I’d have to get Hestia’s permission.
My sleep was the deep, healing kind where you wake up fully refreshed and willing to take on whatever comes your way, which was good since I received a call first thing asking me to meet the mayor.
Sometimes I suspected she was an oracle, not the goddess of hearth and home.
“While I appreciate that my promise to Riley put you in a bind, I will not go back on my word,” Hestia stated firmly as her hands touched the cornerstone for the wards. Her power flooded the rock, leaching the color from her skin as she drained magically.
Unable to bear her doing this alone, I added my hand and let my power join hers.
“I’m not asking you to,” I said calmly, as if we were holding a meeting at City Hall instead of repairing the wards protecting our town.
Overhead, the dome pulsed with our combined magic.
On the other side of town, Tatsuya’s sister was adding her dragon magic, giving the protections an extra layer of magic to prepare us for the coming festivals.
“All I’m asking is that you let me help whoever he goes to. That’s all.”
Hestia frowned and let her hand drop. She swayed, having given more of herself than usual. “He carries nothing dangerous. There’s no backlash to the curses as far as I can tell. Though it is possible that breaking the first one will alert the warlock who did this to Riley’s situation.”
“That’s why you’re putting more power into the wards, isn’t it? This wasn’t just about the festival.”
“No. The festivals always attract attention from the outside. I’m sure they won’t attack during the winter solstice or Yule; however, they may try before or after, thinking we are either unprepared or have become complacent. Breaking the aversion curse—”
“Is that what it’s called?” I flinched at her glare. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
She gave me a fleeting smile before the shutters came down and she straightened into the mayor we all respected.
“Yes, it’s an aversion curse. A clever piece of magic, though utterly abhorrent.
The warlock layered another curse onto Riley to ensure he couldn’t ask for help.
He must have feared that someone could break his magic, so he doubly cursed poor Riley, making him feel powerless and terrified when next to a warlock.
Given his reaction to you, I think it was the power of the fated?mate connection that kept him in the room to almost have a conversation with us. ”
“So you’re happy just to let him walk about with it?” I could feel my hackles rise at the thought of Riley suffering, of him feeling any fear because of this ridiculous curse.
Hestia shook her head sadly. “You misunderstand. Everything in Greyhaven is down to choice. If Riley seeks out a magic user, then yes, you can help them shatter the aversion. You cannot do this in person and break my word to him.”
“If he goes to another warlock—”
This time, she interrupted me. “He cannot. Besides, they have all been told to avoid him. He’ll find another to help him.”
I thought hard about who could possibly have the power in town. Only one person came to mind. “I think I know who he’ll go to.”