Was he saying…? No. Dex didn’t believe this. He couldn’t. Except Ollie’s expression was so tender that Dex’s heart cracked. Ollie would never joke about his parents’ deaths, and that had to be what he was referring to.
Tears welled in Dex’s eyes, and his throat clogged. “What can magic do if it can’t bring people back?”
Fuck, had he said that out loud? Was he entertaining the possibility that Ollie wasn’t full of shit?
“It can protect you and help heal you.” Of course, Ollie started with the things that would soothe Dex’s worries. “Magic potions can help you sleep. Illusions can make you invisible.”
Yeah, right.
“And what? You’re going to show me?” Dex’s stomach roiled. He didn’t need this today. Worrying about Ollie having bad news and then being blindsided by the stupid shred of hope that magic could undo the worst thing to ever happen to him was too much.
“I can make myself invisible,” Dante said as if it were perfectly normal. “Should we start with that?”
“Sure. Why the fuck not?” Dex blinked his unshed tears away.
There was no way it would work. He didn’t know why he’d gotten so emotional over this dumb…whatever it was.
Of course this wasn’t real.
Dex had been prepared to like Ollie’s boyfriend, but now he wasn’t sure. If Dante had dragged Ollie into some delusional nonsense, Dex would have words with him.
Dante had another sip of hot chocolate, then cleared his throat. He was there, sitting on the couch on Ollie’s other side, and a second later, he was gone.
Dex’s stomach dropped.
Dante reappeared. “Ta-da.” He released his mug, but instead of it falling and spilling hot chocolate everywhere, it floated in front of him.
It had to be special effects. If this were a video, Dex would have rolled his eyes. But how did you pull off this sort of thing in person?
“So you’re a carnival magician?” Dex crossed his arms, heat flooding his cheeks. “You think I’m gullible? What’s wrong with you guys? I’m not in the mood.”
Ollie grabbed his hand. “We’re not tricking you.”
Harper stood from the armchair and grabbed a candle from the coffee table. “I have a talent for alchemy and potion brewing. Want to see me turn this wax into wood?” He held out the candle.
Dex touched it, the wax tacky beneath his fingers. Harper had always been quiet and nothing but sweet-natured. As far as Dex was aware, he wasn’t the type to mess around.
“Fine. Let’s see.”
Harper cupped the candle in both hands and murmured words under his breath. There was a flash of light. Dex blinked, and the candle had transformed from wax to what looked like a thin branch, the wick sticking out of the top.
Dex reached for it, and Harper passed it over. Tugging on the wick, Dex couldn’t get it to budge. “How do I know you didn’t swap out the candle for this?”
“Where did the candle go?” Harper held out his arms. He wore a tight tank top and shorts. He couldn’t exactly hide anything up his sleeve.
Dex inspected the ground around them and found nothing,but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a trick. He faced Ollie. “How did they get you to believe? Show me what you saw.”
It couldn’t have been these parlor tricks, not with how confident Ollie sounded. Dex didn’t know the details, but everything he’d seen could be faked. The candle had to be somewhere.
Ollie’s expression darkened.
Dante put a hand on his shoulder. “I can show you one of the things Ollie saw, but we’ll have to go outside.”
Ollie whipped around. “What do you mean?”
“You saw my wings when you first learned about magic. I’ll show Dex what I really look like.”
Ollie nodded, seeming relieved.
