Page 3 of Arthur

The door opening drew my attention, and I fought a smile when my fathers entered the tavern. Very well. The goddess obviously had followed through and sent them along with me. Did that mean they were the ones who would be dealing with my One’s parents? I still had more questions than anything.

I was a bit surprised when they joined me at the small table, but I completely focused on Father when he pursed his lips.

“Did she tell you who?” Father asked.

“No.”

“Where?” he questioned.

I shook my head. “She said at the point on the lake. I took that to mean Zürich. I used my own senses to lead myself here to the tavern. My body is vibrating so much it’s becoming painful already. He’s here somewhere.”

“Want me to look upstairs?” Dad asked.

“No. I’ll locate him. Did she say anything to you at all?” I asked.

“Yes. It seems that we’ll be dealing with a familiar face,” Father said as he slowly stood up. I turned in my seat, trying to see what he did, but I couldn’t without drawing more attention to our table.

“Be right back,” Father said, and then he rushed off into the crowd of people. I looked to Dad and wondered how he dealt with Father at times.

“Should we be concerned?” I asked.

“Doubtful. Are ye excited? Yer to have yer One soon.”

I took a deep breath and wished I hadn’t. The stench in the room was overwhelming. “It’s an exciting thought, yes. Do you think I’ll have an easy time of it?” I asked Dad. He might have been an immensely powerful tiger shifter, but he was very levelheaded and often had been who I or my brother, George, had gone to when we were in need of advice.

“I think ye two will have no issues whatsoever,” Dad said and nudged his head in the direction that Father had gone. I turned my head just in time to see a very familiar head of blond hair come into view. I’d spent more time dreaming about that blond hair than I cared to admit. He was so much younger than I was.

“Patrick,” I whispered. His eyes widened before they filled with a sadness that I couldn’t understand. Was he truly unhappy to see me? I had only ever been kind to him, despite his parents. They weren’t the nicest people, and there had been many issues with them over the years they were with our coven. But I had thought that Patrick was always the sweetest and kindest, despite who his parents were. That didn’t explain why he was unhappy to see me.

Chapter 2

Patrick

My mother was determined to make my life miserable. My father left the only home I’d known almost a decade ago because it was what Mother wanted. I was twenty-six now and more than old enough to strike out on my own. Sadly, Father was much more powerful than I was, and he did as Mother asked.

“Patrick, you need to clean the tables,” Mother said harshly. I nodded in acknowledgment. It was all I could do. I was stuck here and had nowhere to go. I could try to leave again, but Father always found me, and when he did, there was pain. So it was just easier to not try to escape. I’d tried to leave more than once, but magic hurt when it was forced into your body with the intent to inflict harm. With a task given, I grabbed a wet cloth from the washbasin. I was wringing it out when there was a voice I never thought to hear again behind me.

“Hello, Agnes. I can’t say I’m happy to see you again,” said the familiar voice. It couldn’t be though. Master Edison wasn’t here. He’d never found us, as far as I knew.

“Edison. You have no reason to be here. We’ve done nothing to warrant such a visit,” Mother said. There was a true look of fear on her face. That was something I’d never seen, and I had towonder why it was that she feared the created warlock. He and his family had never been anything but kind to me. And I knew that Father had learned a great deal from those in his coven.

“Oh, but I digress,” Master Edison said. He gave Mother a smile that didn’t reach his eyes before he looked directly at me. “Patrick, it is very good to see you again. Would you please go out front? Arthur and Wallace are there waiting, and they’ll be most happy to see you.” This time when he smiled, it reached his eyes, and they crinkled at the corners. Like always, Master Edison somehow put me at ease.

“Yes, Master Edison,” I said. I didn’t even think twice about the fact that he’d told me to do something and I simply followed instead of listening to what my mother had instructed me to do moments before. As I left the back room, my body started to feel funny, and I wasn’t quite sure what was happening. I didn’t really care though. I wanted away from Mother and Father. And Mary Elizabeth. I was not interested in marrying Mary Elizabeth. I felt nothing for her, and I did not like her family.

I quickly left the kitchen and headed out into the main room. As always, it stank, but there was nothing I could do about it. I did my best to wash myself every evening after I finally cleaned up the last of the filth in the tavern, but I was sure I wasn’t doing much better than some of the patrons in the room. At least I had magic I could secretly use to help.

It wasn’t too difficult to locate Wallace and Arthur. Wallace’s red hair stood out, as well as his height. Even sitting, he was taller than most everyone else in the room—myself included, and I was tall. I was a warlock, after all.

My body tingled more and more as I approached the father-and-son pair, and when I reached their table, I made eye contact with the man of my teenage fantasies. Arthur Whitmore. He was out of my league, and there was no way I’d ever be blessed with someone as amazing as him. Fate wouldn’t pair us as we weretoo unalike. He was from a created line, and I, well, wasn’t. I was poor and always would be. He came from privilege, and that was something I would never know or understand.

“Patrick,” Arthur whispered. I smiled, but I knew there was sadness in it. I’d spent years longing to hear my name on his lips and knew I’d never have what I wanted most. If he hadn’t already, Arthur would someday find his forever person.

“Arthur. And Wallace. It’s good to see you both. Mas—err, Edison said to come out here. That the two of you would be waiting.” I glanced between them, wondering if they had more information than I did. I still wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but I was more than happy to be away from my mother for the moment. One thing I did know: she wouldn’t cause a scene in the tavern. She would instead take it out on me later tonight.

“Son, I believe you and Patrick have some things to discuss?” Wallace said. I looked to the tiger shifter before turning my attention to Arthur. I couldn’t imagine what we had to discuss, but if he wanted to talk to me about something, I would listen.

“Yes. Very much so,” Arthur said as he stood up, his eyes never leaving me. When he gestured for me to precede him, I started walking, sparing Wallace one last glance before I left with Arthur. I understood he would want to talk about whatever it was without an audience. We wouldn’t be able to talk in private in a packed tavern.

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