Page 34 of Wanderer

All day he told me stories about the town, his parents, and friends. There was a lot to learn about Gareth Bowen, not just his middle name—Rhys—or that his family originally came from Wales. I already knew he taught magic studies at the college, that Tatsuya was his closest friend, and that he was an only child, which he was grateful for.

No, it was learning about him as I watched him with the people of Greyhaven. He put everyone else’s needs before his own. He never had a bad word to say about anyone, even when his patience was wearing thin after explaining things for the third time. I found out firsthand that he couldn’t say no to anyone, and I had to put that boundary in place for him many times, or he would have worn himself out trying to keep everyone happy. His magic was only just replenishing. He needed to rest, not work himself to the bone.

Being the bad guy was sort of funny. While I wanted the residents to like me, what was more important to me was Gareth and his health. He was all too happy to push his magic for anyone. It didn’t matter if they could do it another way that would take longer, he would just fix things with a flourish of magic, exhausting himself.

None of the people I said no to treated me badly for it. Some of them seemed to respect me for it, in fact. Gareth seemed to appreciate it too. He leaned into me more and more as the day went on.

We stood together under the stars, a light sprinkling of snow falling on us as the town celebrated the many winter festivals, giving space to people of every faith.

The attack came from nowhere.

One moment we were roasting marshmallows on an open fire conjured by a witch, the next a siren blared. Everyone reacted immediately. Children were handed over to teenagers and the elderly while their parents made for the boundaries of Greyhaven.

“East corner,” Fen yelled. “We need extra magic users there to patch the wards. They’re using brute force to punch through.”

Tatsuya ran over to us. “I’m going to shift and fly. Riley, want to fly with me?”

I gave a sharklike grin. “I think you forget I’ve got wings of my own. You can carry Gareth, right?”

Gareth clutched my arm before I could get two steps away. “Be careful of the barrier. I can’t lose you already.”

Leaning close, I pressed a kiss to his lips, then shifted, taking flight as an eagle. Even from a few meters above him, I could see the blush on his cheeks.

“C’mon. Let’s see if feathers are faster than a dragon.”

Being far smaller and more aerodynamic, I got there first. What I saw was chaos. On the other side of the wards, a group of angels were trying to use magic and their considerable strength to break through. I landed next to the ward stone, not daring to get any closer, but ready to shift and fight if anyone got in.

“Bring us the nephilim, and no one needs to get hurt!” one demanded.

“Oh, fuck no!” Fen, in his dragon form, yelled back. He flew right through the barrier, knocking several angels down.

It was as if his actions were a signal to the rest of our people. More followed him, each armed and ready to fight.

The battle was over in minutes. Gareth stayed next to me, his hand on the stone, shoring up the wards, after Tatsuya had dropped him off and joined Fen in the fight. The angels took flight with the dragons nipping at their wings.

“Do you feel like they half-assed that one?” Fen asked as he landed mid-shift next to me.

Gareth frowned. “Has anyone checked the other corners? Maybe this was a diversion.”

Sure enough, there were two other groups of attackers, all angels, in other parts of the town. Thankfully, Hestia was used to this tactic and always split her forces with a mix of fighters and magic users.

No one was injured, but no one wanted to party anymore either. When we returned to the town, the mayor was on stage.

“Thank you all for your quick reactions tonight. I’m only sorry that it has cut the festival short. Please return to your homes for now. Rest, check on your loved ones who are likely to be worried. We can clean up tomorrow.”

The town was safe once more, yet the attack had opened my eyes to how vital Gareth and his magic was to everyone.

“You don’t have to do this now. You were just using a lot of magic on the wards,” I told Gareth as we settled onto the sofa in the guest cabin. Going to Gareth’s house was just… it was a step I wasn’t ready for yet. Though if the heat kept playing up, I could be left with no choice. Freeze or cuddle up in my mate’s house? Hard one.

“Not as much as I thought. Since you’ve been here, I feel stronger somehow. Maybe it’s our bond.” Gareth peeled out of his winter gear and dropped it on the side table next to the door.

“Are you sure about this? It can wait.” I paced next to the sofa, feeling agitated that Gareth was going to be using magic on me. Sure, it was to figure out this curse, but I was going to need more time to be really comfortable with his magic.

“No, it really can’t, Riley. Time is ticking down to your leaving. Besides, I’m just going to pluck at the strands of the curse and see how far it’s embedded.” Gareth took a seat on the sofa. He was studying me closely. “I need you to tell me the details of the curse and why it was placed upon you.”

I winced. This was not going to be a pleasant conversation. “Right, so we got to where Mom was feeding vampires.” I tried to tell this as if the story was about someone else and not about my life. Getting into my feelings would stop me from telling Gareth what he needed to know.

“Yeah. If this is going to be too hard—” He tugged on my sleeve until I sat down next to him.