Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
RAUM
Raum lunged across the few feet between him and Ezra, catching the slimmer man as he fainted gracefully, complete with eyes rolling back in his head and face gone corpse-white. Lilith yowled and jumped down from the chair, running toward Raum as he scooped Ezra up in his arms.
“Shit!” Chase swore loudly, jumping up from the table and running over, minding Lilith at the last second, avoiding the cat twining around Raum’s ankles, crying piteously. “Is he okay? Harlan, call for a medical team.”
Raum hefted Ezra easily in his arms, the sorcerer’s weight nothing to his strength. He opened his senses and Ezra’s aura bloomed bright, vibrant shades of reds and purples, and the graying hues of an overworked body and spirit.
“Ahh. Exhaustion. He’ll be alright,” Raum declared softly, and Lilith stopped crying instantly, as if she understood.
Considering how intelligent familiars tended to be, she likely did understand him to some degree.
“Watch your toes, little queen,” Raum warned as he headed deeper into the stacks, carrying Ezra while minding his head and feet so they didn’t smack against a shelf of books.
He heard Chase and Harlan pounding after him as he reached the long, comfortable couch in his office and gently set Ezra down.
The two MERS officers got to the door of his office and tried to fit through at the same time.
Chase grumbled and Harlan stepped back, letting the smaller man slip through first.
“How do you know? Is he okay?” Chase demanded, worming his way between Ezra on the couch and Raum, who stood directly in front of it. He smiled and stepped away, letting Chase have that spot, and he unfolded a soft quilt from a nearby shelf, handing it to the officer.
“His aura shows signs of depletion, the kind practitioners get when they’ve done too much magic and drained themselves to the dregs,” Raum patiently explained, arching a brow at Chase, who glared at him in return, but after a short staring contest, unfolded the quilt and covered Ezra, gently tucking him in.
Harlan crossed his arms over his wide chest, eyeing Raum with suspicion. “You’re not a practitioner, and your file said nothing about you having medical training to read auras.”
The unspoken question was there, and Raum heard it.
He eyed Chase and Harlan for a moment, then shrugged.
They had the resources to learn the truth eventually if they wanted to know.
“No, I’m not a practitioner. As you guessed earlier, my family lineage isn’t entirely human.
Reading an aura is a skill I have acquired naturally through birthright, thank you very much.
No classic villain trickery is afoot, I promise you. ”
“We should get him back to the hospital,” Chase said, uncertain.
“Hospital?” Raum demanded sharply, eyebrows rising fast in disbelief. “He was in the hospital recently, and still recovering from magical depletion if this fainting spell is indicative of his current state—what the hell?”
Lilith jumped onto the blanket covering her master and sniffed at Ezra’s face, whiskers pricked forward, ears prominent, tail arched, her displeasure obvious to see.
Chase and Harlan had the good grace to be discomfited at Raum’s outburst.
“He said he was fine, and all we’ve done since we got here is read books,” Chase offered lamely. “We were supposed to be taking care of him.”
Harlan grimaced and wiped a big hand over his face. “Not well enough. He passed out, Chase.”
“Should we take him to the hospital?” Chase asked again, looking between Raum and Harlan. “We can’t just sit around doing nothing while he’s passed out like this.”
Harlan was thinking, brow furrowed, and Chase was obviously torn.
Raum sighed loudly enough to grab their attention.
“Ezra can sleep on my couch while you two go grab some food and drinks. He needs to eat and rest. I promise he’s safe here, and his familiar is more than capable of watching over him while he sleeps. ”
Lilith slow-blinked at the two MERS soldiers, paws making biscuits on the blanket, pristine white claws extended.
Harlan squinted at Raum, then Ezra, and finally he nodded.
“If he just needs to sleep, he can do that here. No need to wake him again by moving him around, and I doubt he wants to be carried out of here. I’m going to get some food. ”
“Want company?” Chase asked, but Harlan shook his head.
“Text me what you want. You can work on the things Ezra was talking about before he passed out. Call me if he gets worse,” Harlan ordered, but in a way Raum found charming and not at all bossy, especially when Chase agreed.
“The HUB is right next door,” Raum volunteered. “No driving necessary. Just follow the signs to the HUB and there’s plenty of choices for food there.”
“I will, thanks,” Harlan said, and he tilted his head to Chase, gesturing for him to follow.
The energies of their auras were perfectly in tune with each other and spoke of a deep intimacy, and Raum shut down his ability in order to maintain their privacy, and his sanity.
Chase and Harlan both stepped out of his office and spoke for a few moments outside the door, Raum ignoring them on purpose, not wanting to intrude on the lovers.
He liked his job, the hours spent on research helped him maintain his personal space, since his senses were so…thorough. Secrets never lasted long around him and that was more irritating than not in his daily life.
Raum left the office when he heard Harlan leave the Special Collections, and Chase was typing on his phone, sparing Raum a quick glance when he stepped out, pulling the door closed behind him. He left it cracked enough for Lilith to leave if she needed to.
“Do you want something to eat? MERS is buying,” Chase asked, thumbs paused over the screen of his phone.
“I’ll take a chef salad with blue cheese dressing and a ginger ale,” Raum answered, touched to be included. “Thanks.”
Chase typed in Raum’s order and sent it with a tiny flair of his thumb. “Done. Hope Ezra likes what I ordered for him.”
Having lunch brought to him was a nice deviation from his usual trip to the HUB. It was a short walk, but lots of people. He enjoyed the quiet of the library and the restricted sections.
Ezra
Lilith woke him as per usual, sniffing at his face, whiskers tickling. Ezra wrinkled his nose and grumbled, wanting to go back to sleep.
“Food is here. You should eat, you’ll feel better,” a sexy, rumbling voice informed him. Ezra liked the dream he was having, though the blurry effects obscuring the very attractive man speaking to him were a bit annoying.
A deep chuckle woke him enough for him to lift his head, wondering what the hell happened. Lilith squinted at him in displeasure, paws making biscuits on his chest, claws pricking a bit.
He was in someone else’s office, on a very comfortable couch that took up one wall.
A huge desk sat across the room from the couch, wide enough that Ezra had no idea how it got through the doorway in the first place.
The walls were covered in heavy, wooden bookshelves overflowing with tomes, and stacks of books covered every available surface.
The room had the familiar and reassuring scent of paper, leather, cedar, and… flowers.
“Flowers?” Ezra asked, shifting enough that he dislodged Lilith, who jumped away to sit on the cushion by his feet, licking her shoulder angrily. He rubbed his eyes, and then lifted himself to lean against the armrest of the couch. “And what food?”
A sandwich was held out to him, wrapped in plain white paper, and he grabbed the food before his brain even thought to ask what kind of sandwich it was—roast beef, and he groaned in delight with the first bite.
Raum, the sexy professor, leaned back on what Ezra assumed was his desk, and went back to eating his salad in a takeout bowl. He gestured with his plastic fork, encompassing the room.
“What kinda flowers? Can you tell me?” Raum asked, thankfully not talking with his mouth full. Ezra would have left the entire library to avoid hearing someone else chew with their mouth open. Professor Sexy was getting more sexy without even trying.
Ezra took another bite of the roast beef sandwich as he thought about it, swallowing before taking a guess. “Honeysuckle.” He took another breath in through his nose, and under the delightful odors of sweet onion dressing and the whole grain bread, he got another hint of flowers. “Lilacs, too.”
Raum’s eyebrows went up, and he hummed as if Ezra said something unexpected. “Interesting.”
“Is there a drink?” Ezra asked, hopeful, and Raum reached behind himself and grabbed a can of ginger ale, handing it over. It was still cold, and Ezra enjoyed the bubbly, crisp first sip after popping the tab. “And what’s interesting?”
“Everyone smells something different in my space,” Raum answered, and he walked a few steps to the trashcan by the door, tossing in his empty bowl and fork. “It’s a fae thing. Those two flowers are closely associated with my ancestors.”
“That’s cool,” Ezra said and went back to devouring his sandwich.
He gave Lilith a tiny bit of the roast beef, and she ate it with great dignity, but he limited what she got since deli meats were high in sodium. Raum was watching with a tiny smile, and Ezra found himself blushing a bit, not used to people noticing him in favorable ways.
The sandwich gone, Ezra rolled up the wrapper, and Raum held a hand out and Ezra gave it over, their fingers brushing the tiniest bit.
Ezra was very conscious of the fact that he was probably a mess—he had pushed himself too hard, and he didn’t even realize he was that close to the edge until he passed out.
What functioning adult with their shit together did that while doing what was technically their job?
“Did I hit my head?” Ezra asked as Raum threw away his trash for him. He was afraid of reaching up and messing with his hair, figuring it was already sticking up everywhere.
“Nope, you were caught before you hit the floor,” the professor told him, eyes crinkling. “Exhausted from magic depletion. I figured the couch would be best. Your soldiers agreed.”
“Not my soldiers,” Ezra groaned as he carefully stretched his arms, thinking he should probably get up and do something.
“Sit there and relax,” Raum gently ordered him. In a weird twist, perhaps due to his very real exhaustion, Ezra’s back wasn’t put up by it at all—he in fact toed off his boots, and curled back up under the blanket and cuddled his familiar to his chest when she adroitly leapt into his open arms.
Lilith’s purrs rumbled through his chest, and she started making biscuits on his arm, eyes closed to a mere slit as she watched Professor Sexy fuss around in his office.
Ezra tried to get his brain working, but he was too worn out to expend much effort on it.
The world wasn’t ending—at least in this tiny corner of it—so he could take the time to get his energy back.
His eyes kept wanting to close and stay that way, but he was reluctant to take too much advantage of the kind man and his very comfortable couch.
“You caught me?” Ezra asked out of the blue, squinting at Raum through his messy hair. Too much effort to wipe the hair back from his eyes.
Raum was in the process of sorting through a stack of books, reading the spines before either packing them into a large leather backpack or putting them back in a stack on the desk.
He smiled at Ezra over his shoulder, a tail of long, honey-brown hair having slipped from the messy bun on top of his head, long enough to hang well past his shoulders.
“I did. Glad I was close enough, too, since these floors are hard and unforgiving, and I’m not a healer. Not that kind of fae, sad to say.”
“Thank you for catching me,” Ezra said in a small voice, embarrassed but also grateful. “And sorry you had to catch me.”
“Why are you sorry? I’m not.” Raum turned enough to face him directly, and his expression was open and patient, eyes warm and curious.
Ezra blinked at him, a bit lost, then made himself think about an actual answer. “I guess I’m sorry I put you in a position to take care of me? Most people get annoyed by me.”
Thick brows lowered over those warm eyes, and Ezra bit his lip, unsure if he’d angered Raum or perhaps confused him when his expression then evened out and the sexy professor shook his head with a faint sigh.
“Kindness is never a burden. Nor is compassion. I’ll accept your thanks, but not the apology. ”
Ezra opened his mouth, perhaps to argue, but a quick glance from Raum had him snapping his mouth shut and he settled back into the cushions, Lilith’s purrs growing louder.
Raum smiled at him, eyes twinkling, and Ezra felt a hint of a blush creeping over his cheeks.
He had no idea when he last blushed like a teenager with a crush.
And he had a serious crush.
Lilith thankfully distracted him from his feelings by nipping one of his fingers, and he twisted enough to see a fancy clock on a bookshelf, revealing the time. “Shoot. It’s been hours.” He groaned softly, not wanting to get up, but Lilith needed to relieve herself.
“What’s wrong?” Raum asked, closing his backpack and setting it beside the door.
“Lilith needs her litter box, and we’ve been here all day. We should probably go,” Ezra knew he should get up, but his head felt heavy, and his entire body was sore. The boost from the sandwich and soda was helping, but that was no replacement for depleting himself down to nothing.
“Your soldiers are arranging for some access passes into Special Collections; they'll be back in a bit,” Raum said. “Miss Lilith, would you like an open window to some hedges? We’re on the first floor and there’s a window right outside my office she can hop in and out of, maybe two and a half feet from sill to ground. ”
She squirmed a bit, and Ezra opened his arms, his familiar leaping to the floor and prancing to the door, meowing loudly. Raum laughed and opened the door wider, following right behind her as she left the office, tail up and curled at the tip.
Ezra lay there on the comfortable couch and tugged the blanket a bit higher, all but rubbing his face in it.
He listened to Raum open the window, talking to Lilith the entire time, like she was a person and able to answer him.
Her happy chirps and the soft thump of her jumping to the sill and then the ground told Ezra everything he needed to know about who Raum Nórsson was as a person.
His crush was going to get even bigger. He was in so much trouble.