Stephen’s Mate, Mickey and Sarai went back inside to talk, leaving the men to speak of the good old times, before all of their lives were changed in an instant. It was the first time that they’d all come together. The discussion was done over a small lunch that Alistair’s wife and Mickey made. They mainly gave the men their space.
Vincent was waiting most of the evening to ask his uncle about Mallory. He somehow managed to ask. “Uncle, do you know anything about Mallory?”
“Are you talking about Balthazar's intended?”
“Yes, that one. She went to the Academy for a year. Great student, learned everything real quick.”
“I remember her, but I don't know what happened to her. Why are you asking?” Vincent swallowed hard as he didn't have an answer for it. While it probably wasn’t as bad as he thought it was to have a relationship with a senior student, who was over the legal age, it still wasn't something that he wanted to profess to the world.
“I was just thinking about her. You know, just wondering what happened to her.”
“From what I hear, she took off.”
He just frowned. Were they purposely making it harder on him? Why did no one have any real information? It felt like a wild goose chase.
“Well, wherever she is, I'm going to find her. Mallory and I have some unfinished business.”
***
After checking out a few places that Mallory had been known to go in Colorado, Vincent made his way back to London. He was needed at the Academy and didn’t like to spend that much time away if he didn’t have to. He was glad he had gone to see his brother, but it was time for business to resume. Vincent missed the Academy. He had been there pretty much every single day for several years now, and it was strange to be away from it for any length of time. It was just a part of him at that point.
He went to his academy first and checked to see if there were any new arrivals. He didn’t think that there would be, since most of that stuff was run through him first, but he just wanted to check.
Vincent’s mind was a million places at once. Not only did he have his brother alive and well, but he had learned some more information about Balthazar. While he had been in jail and Vincent had been able to rest easy for a little while, that peace was over. Word on the street was that Balthazar was back out, and Vincent knew it would only be a matter of time before his cousin tried to mess with them. Balthazar was never going to learn his lesson and he was still trying to follow in his father’s footsteps. He wouldn’t stop until one of them was dead.
***
When he was caught back up by the secretary in the office, he passed the youngest class. Vincent couldn’t help himself; he had to go check in on Ethen. The kid had somehow molded around his heart and since he hadn’t seen him in a while, he wanted to say hello and see how he was doing.
He walked in on a bit of sparring and usually it was more adorable than anything else. The little ones were so serious about it all, but ended up just knocking themselves down more than anything else.
Not this time, though, not with Ethen. He was up against a boy that was much bigger than him, several years older, and he didn’t seem fazed. The young boy had a look of serious determination in his eyes and again, it felt so familiar. He watched with amusement as the child knocked down his opponent. It shouldn’t have happened, but he was quickly winning the match, and Vincent found himself clapping.
“Well done, Ethen. I see you have been practicing since I’ve been away.”
The kid noticed him and ran toward him for a hug. He wasn’t expecting such a show of affection, but he bent down and felt his heart melt.
“I missed you, Cent!”
The way he said Vincent’s name sent another shot to his heart. Why was he so bothered by this kid?
Vincent walked toward his office and looked for Nathan. He was still thinking about Ethen. He wanted to know more about Ethen. He didn’t know who Ethen belonged to, but he knew Nathan must know. He looked for Nathan. He had to be around here somewhere.
Vincent saw him and waved him over. “Hey, Nathan, I wanted to ask you something while I’m thinking about it.”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Who does Ethen belong to? I wasn’t around when he was brought in for orientation, so I never met his parents.”
Nathan was quiet for a moment and then told him that it was one of his brother’s kids. Vincent didn’t know that, and he was a bit surprised, though, he wasn’t sure what sort of answer he was expecting to get.
“Well, tell him that he has a warrior on his hands. That little boy is going to be great one day. He’s already taking down bigger kids, and he even helped him up. It shows honor. I hope that if I have a son one day, he will be as honorable as that one is.”
Nathan nodded but didn’t say anything else. Vincent didn’t think anything of it.
“Good.”
Vincent felt better than he had in a while. He found out his brother was alive. He also found out that the woman he’d been thinking about for years was not married to his enemy and was actually single, in a sense. It was good news all the way around.
