Page 61 of Research with Rivals
It was the first time I remembered that I freely chose to use the veil cat. She wasn’t a burden in this moment but an escape—a partner in my flight. My veil cat’s methods might have differed from mine, but as with her instinct about Ambrose, she understood things I couldn’t voice. We were one, even if she was a little more overt in her communication style.
Some new connection snapped into place between us as we finally understood each other. Branches and bushes flew by as I ran. My heart pounded in time with the paws pressing me forward. I didn’t fight her; she knew we needed to get away.
I wasn’t prepared to see him.
A low hiss slipped free as I thought of Ambrose stuck there with my father. It wasn’t exactly my finest moment, but Ambrose had told me to go. Maybe it wasn’t his job to deal with my missing parent, but he hadn’t seemed to mind the assignment.
Thinking of Ambrose reminded me I had somewhere to be. I could not miss this meeting. With everything else going on, the Vesten historian position hadn’t slipped my mind. I needed to impress the Vesten Point while I was here.
In tune with my thoughts, my veil cat turned slightly so that we were headed southwest. It felt like we were headed back to my original path—toward Vesten House. I trusted her to get me where we needed to be. She’d appeared when I called, when I needed to get away from my father, no questions asked.
This must be what Ambrose meant when he said he and his animal were one.
I wished I had more time to consider the momentous occasion that this was. Trusting that she understood me, that we were in this together, was the key. Something in me knew I could shift at will now, so long as I continued to trust in our partnership. I sighed as I ran, wondering if it had really been that easy.
The path was just ahead, but I didn’t want to sprint onto it in my feline form. I might have had an understanding with my veil cat, but I still didn’t have the information I wanted about how she’d come to be mine.
Well, the one person who could answer those questions tried to talk to you…
He’d ambushed me in the street. How could he think that was the best approach? No “Hi, I’m your father, sorry I haven’t been around for twenty years?”
I sighed again, knowing that literally nothing he said could have made me listen. I had thought that I was ready for theconfrontation, that I had hardened myself against the sting of his abandonment, but one look at him, at the misery written plainly on his face, told me I was nowhere near ready to hear what he had to say.
My father was a problem for later. Now, I needed to shift back unaided again. I knew I could do it, but my heart raced as I worried it wouldn’t work. Ambrose and Lord Arctos were sure to be there by now. They would discuss the options with or without me. My theories could help. I just needed a chance to present them.
If Ambrose shared all his ideas, he would be seen as the leader in our research. He’d get a head start with the Vesten Point and would be rewarded with the Vesten historian position. My lip curled in a snarl, exposing my teeth. Apparently, my veil cat agreed that we needed to shift as soon as possible.
I reached for my fire with force.Please.I pleaded with the veil cat—pleaded with myself.We need to get in there.
Was I talking to myself? Maybe. I wasn’t really sure of the mechanics. I knew that I could accomplish great things if given the chance. This was my chance. The flame ignited the shift back to my half-fae self.
As I stepped onto the heavily trodden path, I couldn’t help but smile. When I looked west, it wasn’t so much that I knew where the Vesten House was on the map of Compass Lake, but I could feel the tug toward Ambrose. For once, the connection proved useful, directing me where I needed to go.
A quick jog down the path brought the house into sight. I sprinted the rest of the way, only stopping as I scaled the back steps of the house. The heavy wooden door was more intimidating than I’d anticipated. I knocked quickly, before fear overtook me. When the door swung open, the last person I expected to see was standing there.
“Why are you answering the door?” I asked Lord Arctos.
“You’re late.”
My hands were on my hips. “I had to take care of something.”
“I see. You might as well come with me. They’ve already started.”
I forced my shoulders back. I wouldn’t cower under the weight of this green-eyed god. Had my timing been inconvenient? Sure. Could I have handled it literally any other way? Probably. But that didn’t mean anything. It meant I was a bit hotheaded where complex emotions were involved. But the problem Lord Arctos and the Vesten Point needed us to solve wasn’t a complex emotion—it was blood magic. It made sense to me in a way nothing else did.
Lord Arctos walked through the large house like he owned the place. His legs were so long that it was hard to keep up with him and take in my new surroundings. I might have told myself that I belonged in this conversation, but part of me was still shocked that I was in Vesten House at all.
I’m not even fae.
I stopped in the hallway, staring at the wall. A painting there had caught my eye. I knew I needed to stop thinking of my fae-ness in such black-and-white terms. It was time to acknowledge that I didn’t have to conform to fae standards to contribute to the court, to the continent. I could make a difference exactly as I was.
The veil cat purred in my mind.
Maybe ignoring my fae heritage, and disliking this not-so-mythical animal I shared space with, was as detrimental as the fae looking down on my human heritage. I shook my head. I’d been staring at a painting of Compass Lake for too long.
Lord Arctos cleared his throat beside me. “The tour was given to those who arrived on time.”
My glare was immediate, and there was a twinkle in his eye when he caught it.
