Claire:This is gold
Me:This is my life
Claire:And I’m eating it up like it’s reality TV
I sighed and decided not to answer. Focusing on my pizza, I finished the last of it and went to stand. I knew Severin had cleaners, but I was raised better than to leave a mess. I had just added my plate to the dishwasher when I felt another presence. I spun in place, then saw my next master smirking from the doorway. Peter. He was taller than I imagined, his long blonde hair was pulled into a bun. The pictures I’d seen of him showed a modern-day Viking, a strong man with long hair and some stubble.
“Oh,” I said, clutching my heart. “You scared the shit out of me.” Then I recalled this was my future master and not one I should speak so casually to.Fuck, Severin had made me lose all my manners.
To my surpriseandrelief, Peter laughed. “Sorry for startling you. I came for the contract.”
“Oh. I still haven’t signed it.”
“I know.” He lifted his right hand and I realized he held it. “Once you have signed it, I will send it in.”
“Sure. Do you have a pen I can use?”
He lifted his left hand, grinning as he offered me both the pen and the contract. I had already read my own, but I knew better than to sign a paper I hadn’t read, so I sat down on my vacated chair and skimmed it through before signing it.
“Thank you,” Peter said, taking the signed contract from my offered hand. “Anything I can help you with before I leave?”
“You don’t live here?” I asked, before thinking.
He laughed again, softer this time. “No, but I do live close. Severin and I prefer our own space.”
“I get that.” It was the same with me and Astrea; she had inherited the house where I got the store and small apartment.
“You have siblings?” he asked, seeming genuinely interested in getting to know me. I figured with him being my master in a year, it was mostly because of that.
“A sister,” I replied, keeping it at that. I didn’t want to tell him about the curse and everything. It didn’t concern him, or Severin.
His response surprised me. “I did, too.” I didn’t miss the past tense of that, meaning he and Severin had lost a sibling. Then he placedthe contract into his messenger bag. “I know my brother has already turned in for the night, so I promised to help you out with anything you needed before bed.”
“Oh,” was all I could say to that.
“The cook is still over an hour away. Do you want dinner or?”
“No, thank you. I just ate a pizza and it was rather filling. No need to cause the cook trouble so late.” It was around seven pm so not really late at all, but I felt like too much of a burden if he cooked for me so late in the night.
“He lives in town but was finishing another job further away, which is why he still has not returned,” Peter explained.
“But why does Severin even need a cook?” I questioned, still confused about that part.
Peter just gave me a quizzical look. “Because of you.”
“Me?” I asked, my tone a bit high pitched.
He smirked. “Why, yes. You need food, do you not?”
I nodded. “I do, yes. But my other masters just allowed me to use their kitchen. I normally make my own food.”
“Theyallowedyou to? What kind of masters have you had?”
I just shrugged. “Different ones.” He could take that answer as he pleased. I hadn’t felt badly treated. Not even from the one masterthat forgot I needed food. Also, it wasn’t seen as good manners to bad mouth previous masters in front of a future one.
The look he gave me told me he knew what I meant. “Well, you have a cook now. And you might as well get used to him, because I will hire him for myself when I become your master.”
I blinked, not expecting that. It was one thing that Severin wanted to pamper me, but his brother, too? “Um, thank you.”
