Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
The next morning, Daniel woke to silence. There was the regular noise of Jamie moving around, rinsing out his coffee mug before work, putting his boots on, but those sounds didn't quite penetrate the silence inside his head. Caelen's presence was gone, and Daniel lay there for a moment, prodding at the emptiness where the half-fae had lurked like a shadow at the edge of his thoughts.
Caelen?
Nothing. Not even a whisper.
He should have felt relieved. Instead, his stomach twisted with anxiety.
What if something had happened to Caelen?
What if?—
His thoughts were interrupted by Jamie's voice drifting from the kitchen. "There's coffee and cereal if you want it. I need to head down and open."
"I'll help," Daniel said, pushing himself up. His head felt better, at least, the pounding from yesterday replaced by this strange hollowness. "Just give me five minutes."
Jamie stepped into his room to look at him. "You don't have to. You should rest."
"I want to help," Daniel insisted, guilty about how long he'd slept. About everything, really.
His brother studied him for a moment longer, then nodded. "Eat something before you come down."
Daniel agreed and went through the motions of breakfast mechanically, his mind reaching out again and again into that unsettling quiet. Each time he tried to find that connection he and Caelen used to have, he found nothing but empty space.
Damn it.
He'd never have thought he'd miss someone stalking him.
Where had Caelen gone?
And what was he doing now?
When Daniel arrived downstairs, the store was still empty except for Jamie behind the counter. The morning sun slanted through the front windows, making dust motes dance in the light. Daniel grabbed a stack of new releases and started shelving them methodically, trying to lose himself in the familiar routine. But his thoughts kept drifting, kept reaching for that missing connection.
Caelen?
Still nothing.
You said you'd come when I call. What happened to that?
Predictably, there was no response.
He was halfway through the stack when an unfamiliar spine caught his eye. Frowning, he pulled the book from the shelf. The binding was different from their usual stock—not quite leather, not quite cloth. The title made him pause: "The Veiled Court's Descent." He'd never seen it before, and he knew their romance section by heart.
"Jamie?" He carried the book to the counter. "When did we get this in?"
His brother looked up from his laptop. "Hmm?"
"This book. I don't recognize it."
Jamie took it, turning it over in his hands. "That's weird. Let me check the system." His fingers moved over the keyboard, brow furrowing deeper. "It's... not showing up in our inventory. And there's no ISBN."
Daniel frowned. "You think a customer left it here?" It had happened before. Someone wrote a book and thought they could get Jamie to stock it simply by stocking it themselves.
Jamie put the book away behind the counter. "I'll deal with it later."
Daniel nodded and headed back to the shelf he'd been working on.
He'd hoped the monotony of the work would distract him from all the weird shit that had been happening to him lately, but now he found himself studying each book more carefully. There—another one with that same odd binding. "A Prince's Promise to Shadow." And another: "The Winter Queen's Bargain."
He grabbed a third book and gathered them up. These weren't just self-published books someone had left. The paper felt different, there was something odd about the way the spines were bound—with a coarse sort of material—and none of them had any publisher information on the back.
What was going on here?
"Jamie?" He turned back to his brother. "I found more."
Jamie looked up puzzled as Daniel set the small stack on the counter.
"I bet these aren't in the system either," Daniel said.
Jamie ran them through. As expected, the laptop had no knowledge of these books.
"I think..." Daniel ran his fingers over one of the spines. "I think they came through from Veridia. When the barrier was unstable yesterday."
Jamie picked up one of the books, examining it closely. "You think books just... appeared in my store?"
"We've seen weirder things lately," Daniel pointed out.
He stared at the small stack of books, an idea forming. If these had come through from Veridia... maybe there were more. And maybe one of them could tell him something about Caelen. About Morthul.
"I'm going to check the rest of the shelves," he said, already moving.
"Daniel," Jamie called, but Daniel ignored him. He had a mission now.
Once he started looking, he found the strange books everywhere: tucked between cookbooks, mixed in with the mystery section, even a few in the children's area. Each time he spotted that distinctive binding, he felt like stumbling upon hidden treasure, and he gathered the books quickly, trying not to draw attention from the customers who'd started coming in.
He commandeered a corner of the break room, stacking the books on the small table where they usually ate lunch. By noon, he'd amassed quite the collection, and he grinned, studying his hoard. There had to be something useful in here. Something about shadow magic, or ancient gods.
"Mrs. Harper is worried about you," Jamie said from the doorway. "She said you walked right past her without saying hello."
Daniel looked up from the book he'd been scanning. "What? No, I didn't." But now that Jamie mentioned it, he had a vague memory of someone trying to catch his attention while he'd been hunting through the mystery section. "Oh. I'll apologize when she comes in next."
"That's not the point." Jamie pushed away from the doorframe and sat across from him. "You're obsessing. And I think I know what's behind this obsession. Or who."
"I just need to understand what's happening." Daniel picked up another book, this one titled, Cooking with Sirens . It probably wasn't what he was looking for, but he would check to make sure. "If I can figure out what Morthul is, maybe I can…"
"Morthul?" Jamie asked. "Is that a disease?"
"No, he's..." Daniel hesitated, realizing he'd never actually explained this part to Jamie. "He's a dark god. Leon thinks he's possessing Caelen."
Jamie stared at him for a long moment. "A dark god," he repeated slowly. "Is possessing the villain you're crushing on."
"Yes."
"And you think you're going to find the solution to that problem in..." Jamie picked up one of the books. " An Incubus's Guide to Modern Courtship ?"
"Not that one, obviously." Daniel grabbed another book from his stack. "But there has to be something. These came from Veridia. Maybe they showed up here for a reason!"
"Cracker." Jamie's voice had that careful tone he used when he thought Daniel was being unreasonable. "Even if these books are from... that other world... do you really think the answer to fighting an ancient dark god is just sitting in my bookstore? And tell me honestly, do you think Caelen is innocent?"
Daniel exhaled. His brother wanted to revisit that argument, did he? He still thought he could make Daniel see sense.
"I know that he's dangerous," Daniel conceded. "I'm not stupid."
"Then why are you acting is if you were?"
Daniel slumped back in his chair. How could he explain it to Jamie?
"Look," he started, but Jamie cut him off.
"No, you look. Yesterday, you were unconscious after whatever he did to you. Last month, he kidnapped you. And now, instead of being relieved that he's gone..." Jamie gestured at the scattered books. "You're trying to find ways to help him."
"Because he needs help!"
"And what about what you need?" Jamie's voice softened. "When was the last time you thought about that?"
"This is what I need." Daniel crossed his arms in front of his chest and immediately felt like a sulking child.
Jamie gave him another long look, but his brother could recognize a lost cause when he saw one. He got up. "I need to get back to work, but at least take a minute to think about why you want to help someone who hurt you."
Daniel watched his brother leave, then turned back to his books. Jamie was right. Of course he was right. Daniel should be relieved that Caelen was gone. Should be grateful for the silence in his head.
But instead, all he could think about was that moment he'd shared with Caelen, the real Caelen, before the darkness had taken over again. That was the person Daniel needed to help.
The spark his soul had connected with.
His mate.
Daniel held the thought close to his chest as he picked up another book. The Winter Queen's Revenge . No. A Courtier's Guide to Dark Magic . Maybe... but no.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, startling Daniel from his research. A message from Leon:
Do you know anything about this?
Below was a link to a video. Daniel clicked it, his heart suddenly in his throat. The footage showed a familiar white-haired figure in what looked like a supermarket parking lot. Caelen, and he wasn't alone. A small crowd had gathered around him, phones out, and though the audio was muffled by distance, Daniel could make out excited voices. Were they asking for... autographs?
The video cut off after thirty seconds. It had been uploaded an hour ago.
Daniel scrolled through the comments frantically.
omg is this the guy from the theater video??
at the Food Lion on Marshall Ave!!
he's even hotter in real life holy shit
Daniel shoved his phone in his pocket and grabbed his keys, already heading for the door. He'd barely made it three steps when Jamie's voice stopped him.
"Where are you going?"
"I..." Daniel hesitated. "Someone spotted Caelen."
Jamie's expression hardened. "And you're running straight to him. Of course you are."
"Jamie…"
"No." Jamie held up his hands. "I'm not having this argument again. Just... be careful. Please?"
Daniel nodded, throat tight, and hurried out of the store. He barely noticed the bell chiming, or the startled look Mrs. Harper gave him as he rushed past. His mind was full of terrible possibilities.
What if Caelen hurt any of those people before Daniel could get there?