“I can ask. I don’t know what he’d need for it. Or that he’d even do it. He believes that opening your eyes at this stage in your life would come with risk.”
“What kind of risk?”
“That seeing all of us might be too much for your mind. That you could react badly to the wrong preternatural. Just as there are bad humans, there are bad preternaturals, and they can be dangerous.”
“I’m still not seeing a risk here. You’ve walked among us all this time, and surely the humans who can see that have reacted. The risk doesn’t make sense to me, and the reward should the spell work would be…everything. Dax, spending a long lifetime with you would be a dream come true. I know that’s sappy as hell, but I want us to truly be together. To have that soul bond.”He bit his lip as one important thought occurred to him. “But what if I’m not, and your real soulmate shows up?”
Dax softly touched his face, love shining in those beautiful green eyes. “Then they’ll have to wait a century because I’m yours.”
His heart just melted. It may be selfish of him to be with Dax if it turned out they were wrong. Be selfish to ask the ogre to go on living and grieving, but he wanted him so much. The spell had to work. “Please ask your boss to do the spell.”
Dax nodded. “I will.”
They were quiet for a few moments, until Everett could no longer suppress the happiness he felt. He pushed Dax back and crawled into his lap, wrapping his arms around his neck. “I’ve been stressing how to talk to you about how I was feeling. I wasn’t sure a supernatural person could ever be interested in actually dating a human.”
“You’re everything to me, Everett.” Dax pulled him close and buried his face in Everett’s neck. He nestled there for several moments before he pulled back to cup Everett’s face. “Even if we don’t do the spell, I want those years with you and every one of them will be precious.”
Everett said nothing because he had every intention of asking Xavier to work that spell. Maybe this was selfish, too, but he wantedall the yearswith Dax.
Chapter Twenty-One
Everett
They had to wait for a night with a full moon to do the spell. Everett and Dax showed up at the office near midnight with Emory and Ivor coming with them. Xavier agreed to do it, though he’d spent time on the phone warning Everett of the possible risks, and that it might not even work.
Everett’s nerves were firing like crazy, but he hadn’t changed his mind. He was ready for this.
The office was strangely quiet. There were a few of the protection specialists lurking around the desks, and they all watched Dax and Everett walk to Xavier’s office. He doubted Xavier had told them what was going on, but they must have all sensed something important was up.
“Are you sure about this?” Xavier asked as soon as they entered the office and shut the door behind them.
“Very,” Everett answered, making sure he sounded more confident than he felt.
He looked at Dax, seeing the mix of worry and love on his face as he gazed at Everett.
His heart began to race even harder.
This had to work! Yes, they planned to be together no matter what, but Everett wanted this so badly.
Xavier lit candles on his desk as he spoke. “I’ll be tapping into the ley lines for this spell because it’s a powerful one. They’ve been steadily growing in strength lately, so the magic will be intense—maybe even painful.”
“This could be painful for him? You didn’t tell me that. How painful?” Dax put his hands on Everett’s shoulders and leaned down to whisper, “Everett, what we have is more than enough.”
“I’m not afraid of pain, Dax. It’ll be worth it to be your soulmate.”
“I didn’t know it would hurt you.”
“Possibly hurt, he said. I’ll be fine.”
Xavier had been picking up a large amethyst, but he paused to look at Dax. “His life isn’t in danger here. I’ve called Alaric in as an extra precaution. He should be here any moment.” He lit another candle, and Everett, looking closer now, saw he did it with his fingers alone. Neat trick.
Xavier looked back and forth between them both. “I wouldn’t have suggested we try this if the spell itself was dangerous. You know that, Dax.”
“Yeah, but you also said nothing about it hurting him.”
“I will be tempering the ley line magic through myself first.”
Everett didn’t like the sound of that. “Will it hurt you, then?”
