Ezra grabbed his phone and sent an email to Chase asking him to make the connection to Monica, and telling him about the drawing. He didn’t receive a response right away, so he set his phone aside. “I sent an email to Chase asking for his help.” His phone dinged a second later, and he checked his email to see Chase agreeing to contact Monica and ask about the drawing.
“That’s good,” Raum said. “At least we got an answer to one problem, no matter how small.”
“We’ve got more problems though, and no answers.”
Raum gently pushed away the binder and closed and stacked some books, clearing space on the table in front of him and Ezra. He watched in open curiosity and waited for Raum to finish clearing the head of the table where they sat.
Raum turned toward Ezra and put his hands flat on the table. “Usually whenever research comes to a dead end, I like to reevaluate the goal. It’s been a couple days since we sat down and started, and we’ve learned some things, but we’ve got some heavy questions still, and the dire state of what we do know lends some urgency to your mission. Let’s talk about your goals, and what do we need to do to get you there?”
“Okay,” Ezra said, a bit startled but willing to make a fresh start on everything. Too many tangents of what-ifs and the unknown were pulling him this way and that. “Goal—free the living soul, essentially nullifying the magic cycle of the skull without causing a catastrophic explosion of Elder fae aspectral magic.”
“Good, we’ve got a solid goal,” Raum grabbed a blank pad of paper and a pen and began writing, making a short note at the top and circling it. “As concisely as possible, what do you need right now to get you closer to this goal?”
“An Elder fae expert. Maybe even an Elder fae of the same species as the skull who can give me actionable steps to help thesoul wake and then fade. If the living soul fades, then the skull will probably fade as well; it’ll take care of itself.”
“Right. Elder fae expert.” Raum wrote that down, then made another note beside it. “That’s where my grandfather comes in. He can find you another Elder fae expert, if they exist. He’s an Elder fae, a High Court Sidhe, but he needs time to source some contacts and speak to other Elder peoples.”
Ezra nodded, breathing easier. Things were simpler now. “I need to give your grandfather the time he needs to find someone to help, or to learn what he needs to help the spirit fade.”
Raum nodded and wrote TIME in big letters at the bottom of the paper, circling it several times. He turned the pad and slid it across the table to Ezra, who caught it and looked down at it, glad he met Raum. He’d made the entire mess in Ezra’s head calm down and see that there was something he could do—wait.
There was nothing he could do at the moment except wait.
Ezra wasn’t so good at waiting, but if he had something to distract him…
“Want to go on a date while we wait?” he blurted out, freezing.Oh, shit, he said that out loud.
Raum gave him a beautiful smile. “I would love to.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
EZRA
“Idid not think this through,” Ezra said, staring down at the mess covering his borrowed bed at the hospital. He should probably get a hotel, but no one seemed bothered by the fact that he was still at the Sacred Threshold, despite feeling mostly recovered from burnout. “I have nothing to wear on a date.”
They’d decided to go out for dinner, as Ezra was curious about Edmonton and Raum had nothing to cook at his place, so they parted ways just long enough to shower and change.
While showering, he got an email from Chase telling him that Monica had asked if she could have the excavation sketch Brendan had done, and Chase had agreed to get it to her once the situation was resolved with the skull.
Lilith meowed at him from her spot on his pillow, her tail flicking. She agreed he had nothing suitable to wear.
“What am I going to do, Lilith? All my clothes are things I wear when curse-breaking, not dating.” He paused, gripping his red armored corset tightly before reminding himself not to crease the silk lining and setting it down. It was very expensive to make. “I don’t know what to wear on a date.”
The last time he went on a date was back in college during his freshman year, and that had been a disaster from the start. He didn’t need to think about it, so he forced himself to not dredge up the past. Hookups were so much easier. All he had to do was be blunt about what he wanted and wait for someone who ticked his boxes to return his interest.
Ezra sighed, loudly. Lilith glared at him for the dramatics. “Fine, I’ll text Raum.”
He went digging through the mess on the bed, looking for his phone before remembering it was in his pocket. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, wondering what to say.
“Just tell the truth,” Ezra murmured, and then typed out a message to Raum.
I have limited clothing choices and no idea what to wear.—Ezra
The reply was almost instant and didn’t give him time to freak out.
We’re going to a casual restaurant so no need to dress up. T-shirt and jeans are fine.—Raum
Ezra sat on the side of the bed and flopped backward onto the mess of clothing and bags. That response made him feel better. Today was indeed an anxiety day for certain, but he wanted to go out with Raum too much to stay in his room and ride out the rest of the day. He’d take another anxiety pill and get dressed.
