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Tabitha
She opened her eyes to see two small orange circles blinking back at her.
Someone was here, and it was someone she recognized.
Maybe.
Her head was still pretty foggy, and everything still kind of hurt. She’d definitely had her ass kicked completely by Orion. It was embarrassing enough to have gotten injured enough that she couldn’t do any magic. Going down so easily was simply humiliating.
Now, it seemed as though someone had witnessed her misfortune.
“You,” she whispered, closing her eyelids, which suddenly felt very heavy. “I know you.”
At least, she thought she did. There was something familiar about the person staring at her, although she couldn’t quite place it at first. Once the headache went away and her dizziness faded, she’d be able to figure it out. She just needed a little more time. Looking at the person in front of her was like seeing a celebrity on the street. You knew that you recognized them from somewhere, but you weren’t sure where.
“You helped me once,” the deep voice said. “Now, I’ll help you.”
That was when she realized who it was.
“You’re the lion.”
Tabitha kept her eyes closed. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been passed out for. She wasn’t sure where she even was anymore. The last thing she remembered was Felix trying to fight Orion and failing. Now there was a lion in front of her. He wasn’t in his lion form anymore, though. She’d only just glanced at him, but he was probably naked and a little bit shaggy and he probably needed something.
“Did you get another thorn in your paw?”
“I’m the lion,” the voice agreed, “but I do not have a thorn in my paw. Thank you again for your help with that.”
“It was nothing,” Tabitha said. “You would have done the same for me.”
“Can you sit up?”
“No,” she said.
“Try anyway.”
“You sound like Storm,” Tabitha whined.
Her vampire friend and former lover had always been very strict when it came to trying. Storm always wanted Tabitha to try things. She had to sit up, she had to work hard, and she had to believe in herself. Tabitha thought that when she left to come on this quest, she wouldn’t have to deal with anyone being bossy again. That had been so far from the truth. Felix could be bossy when he wanted to be, and now there was this lion dude.
He was making her do the same damn thing.
He wanted her to try, but she was tired of trying. She was tired of working hard. Tabitha wanted a break more than she wanted almost anything else. A break would be so, so nice. She could just lie here and close her eyes for a little while. The spot she was lying in was uncomfortable, but the sun was shining down on her still, so at least it was warm.
“You have to try.”
“You aren’t the boss of me.”
A growl.
He growled a little bit, sounding like a lion. Yeah. It was definitely the same dude.
Only, he wasn’t a lion anymore, was he? He was a man now. He was an old man, at that. Well, maybe not so old.
She opened her eyes again. He was probably sixty or sixty-five, if she had to guess. His long hair was sparkly and silver. There was something gentle and kind about this man’s eyes. He didn’t look like he wanted to hurt her. He looked concerned.
“Why are you here?” Tabitha whispered. “Why did you come to me? I didn’t call out for help. I didn’t yell.” Aside from Orion kidnapping her mate, the entire interaction had actually been somewhat quiet.
“I’m here to help you and your friend.”
“He’s not my friend.”
He was more than that, but this guy didn’t need to know that. Tabitha had learned long ago that if someone knew just how important another person was to you, they would use that against you. What if this guy did that? What if Lion Man ended up being one of Orion’s goons? What then?
Only, he didn’t seem surprised by Tabitha’s comment. Instead, he nodded, and then a slow smile spread across his face. He was pleased.
“I know. He’s your mate.”
What?
“How do you know that word?”
“Oh, little human,” he said, chuckling. “There is so much you do not know.”
“Human?” That definitely made her sit up right away. The man seemed happy when she sat, so Tabitha wondered if it had been some sort of reverse psychology. Had he tried to make her angry and irritated so she would sit up on her own? If he had, then it had definitely worked.
“Human.”
“I’m a witch.”
“Still human.”
Tabitha produced a little orb and held it in front of her. The man stared at the orb but seemed unimpressed with her show of power. She shot the orb out and pushed it hard through the base of a tree. It pulsed through, leaving a hole throughout the entire trunk. Apparently, she was feeling better because her powers seemed to be recharged. The headache had faded, and even though she was still dizzy, she could feel her veins coursing with the need to find Felix. Her powers weren’t going to fail her again.
“Was that really necessary? What did that tree ever do to you?”
Suddenly, Tabitha felt sick. She hadn’t taken the time to find out if Ursula had other secrets, other things she’d transformed.
“It’s not a person is it,” she whispered. “Please, please tell me it’s not a person.”
“What? Oh, no,” the man waved his hand. “It’s just a tree. Still, it’s pretty old. I don’t think you needed to shoot your magic ball through it in order to prove your point.”
“It’s not really a magic ball,” she said.
“It’s fine,” the old man said.
“Look,” Tabitha rubbed her temples. Suddenly, she felt a headache coming on, which was disappointing since she had just started to feel better. The men on this island seemed to know exactly how to get under her skin. “What is it that you want from me? Because if you don’t mind, I need to go find-”
“Your mate.”
“Yeah.”
“He’s been taken. Again.”
Tabitha looked up sharply. Nobody knew Felix had been kidnapped in the first place. As far as he knew nobody realized Ursula had stolen him away from his family. Ursula had shared plenty of origin stories with her guests over the years. Sometimes she’d told people that Felix was her long-lost nephew, sometimes she said he’d been adopted, and every once in a good long while, she’d say he’d simply crashed onto the beach one day.
She’d never, ever told anyone he’d been kidnapped.
“What do you mean, ‘again’?” Tabitha asked.
The man seemed to realize his mistake almost instantly. Recognition and understanding flashed across his face, and he seemed to realize his cover – whatever it might be – was blown. This wasn’t some random lion who had been transformed and left by Ursula. This guy was something else.
Someone else.
He was someone who knew about Felix’s history. He knew the witch hadn’t been what she’d said she was. He had come here for some reason. If Tabitha had to guess, it was for a very specific purpose. He may have come to save Felix or to hurt him, but he wasn’t surprised at who Ursula really was. He knew something.
“Who are you?” Tabitha asked. Her gaze narrowed as she took in the man’s appearance once more. He may have been transformed into a lion, sure. He wasn’t one now, though. His eyes seemed to twinkle, as though there was magic behind them. Was he a warlock? A wizard?
Was he a shifter?
“No one important.”
“Liar,” she snapped. “You know something you aren’t sharing with the class.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you say he’d been taken again? When was the first time?”
“It’s a turn of phrase.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t have much of a choice. We need to find him before Orion hurts him.”
“Who are you to Felix?” Tabitha asked again. “Tell me. Tell me who you are.”
At the very least, this guy needed to tell her that. She could hear other voices around them as more and more animals seemed to be turning back into humans. How many damn people had she turned?
“I was once his tutor.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m the person who’s going to try to free him. Hopefully, that’ll be with your help. Can I count on you?”
It was a weird thing to ask, she thought, but Tabitha nodded. If she wanted to save Felix, she could use all of the help she could get. He had been captured by Orion, and she needed to get to him before anything actually bad happened to him. She stood and followed the man. They walked away from the castle and back into the woods. Her little blue marking trail was still visible. For that, Tabitha was grateful.
“I sent an orb after them,” she pointed out. “You can see the little blue trail it left behind.”
“That was smart.”
“Only because Orion didn’t notice it.”
“It’s discreet enough that he wouldn’t notice it unless he was specifically looking for it.”
“We can just follow the marks and find where Orion is keeping him.”
“We’ll need to move fast,” the man said, and she nodded.
Together, they started walking. The lion man might have been a human again, but he moved with the lithe agility of a cat. Apparently, he’d learned a thing or two in his lion form. Now he seemed to practically crawl through the forest, carefully stepping silently. If Tabitha hadn’t been watching him with her own eyes, she might not ever have known he was there. He was that quiet.
“You’ve been over here before,” Tabitha said. She hated that there was a bite of accusation in her voice. He was allowed to walk around the forest, after all. There was something familiar about the way he moved, though. He knew these woods, she realized. Maybe going with him to get Felix wasn’t a bad thing. If this man knew the ins and outs of the forest, he would be able to help her find Felix fast.
“Yes.”
“And you were a lion.”
“For a long time, yes.”
“Why did you get turned into a lion?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you upset her?”
Tabitha felt like she was throwing question after question at the man, but she needed to know what they were walking into. If this man had known Ursula well enough to be cursed by her, then he might have known Orion, too. He might have some ideas for how they could free Felix. Hell, he might even know what was draining Felix’s energy.
“You mean, did I upset the witch?”
“Yes.”
“Of course,” he laughed. “Then again, she was always easily upset.”
That fit with everything Tabitha knew about Ursula. Tabitha had set out on a quest to kill the witch. Felix had killed her first. Everything Tabitha knew about the witch was negative. Despite being wildly charismatic, Ursula had apparently had a tendency to make enemies very quickly.
“What did you do?”
“You ask a lot of questions,” the lion man said with a sigh. Apparently, he was already growing tired of Tabitha. She hadn’t even finished asking him anything.
“I have one more.”
“Okay.”
“What’s your name?”
He looked at Tabitha carefully, as though he was deciding what to tell her. For a second, she thought he was going to lie, but then he took a deep breath.
“Maurice,” he said finally. “Maurice Monster.”