Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Dax
Seeing the blood on Everett made Dax want to break things. But it had also clued him in to something very important.
He was completely in love with Everett.
And Dax had no doubt now that the human was his soulmate. He could feel the bond between them. It was there, no matter what logic and research told him.
So there had to be something he was missing. Something about soulmate lore that went beyond everything he knew to be true.
Only Xavier might have the answer he needed.
So Dax took Everett with him to the office. There was no way he was letting the man out of his sight now.
“Do you mind waiting out here a few minutes while I talk to my boss?” he asked as he led Everett to a couch to the side of the main office space.
Leaving him next to the cubicles full of preternaturals was the second safest place he could possibly be—under the protection of an army of Dax’s colleagues.
Everett’s eyebrows drew together with worry. “Not at all. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, everything is fine. Just need to talk to him a moment.” He couldn’t resist leaning down to press a lingering kiss on Everett’s lips.
Hoots broke out around them, and he turned to glare at a few of his coworkers, who just grinned back at him.
Rolling his eyes, he left Everett and walked to Xavier’s office, finding the sorcerer at his desk.
Dax shut the door. He didn’t want anyone to hear their conversation, though most of them had powerful hearing so some of this would still get out. But he didn’t care. His chest felt tight with desperation. He needed it eased in the worst way.
“I need to talk to you.”
Xavier looked up from the journal he was studying, then nodded. He stood and came around the desk. “Of course,” he said in a low tone.
“It’s about Everett.” Dax looked through the glass wall to see Everett smiling up at Alaric, who’d stopped to chat with him.
“Xavier, I think I’m losing my mind. Everett and I connected from the moment he saw me in that alley.
He touched my face, his own full of something like wonder, and my heart knew then he’s my soulmate.
With every moment we spend together, I’m more and more convinced. ”
Xavier said nothing, just listened.
Dax paced away, then came back, running one hand over his scalp. “I know he’s not one of the humans who see us. I know this can’t be right logically, but everything in me is screaming that this man is the one for me.”
“What is it you want me to say?”
“You know things. I know you have visions, so have you had any of me? In particular, me having a soulmate?”
Xavier sighed. “The truth is, I saw visions of Emory and Ivor getting theirs, but I never had a vision for you in that respect.”
That felt like a physical blow to his chest. Dax knew he’d gone pale.
Xavier’s brows furrowed. “I asked you to join the company because the three of you were so close, and Emory insisted he wouldn’t come without you.
But I also saw into your soul and knew you had deep integrity as well as massive strength.
I saw that you would be an asset. And that I would come to care for you.
And I do.” He leaned back against his desk. “I’m going to take you off this job.”
Anger sparked hot through him. “What the hell? No!” He realized he’d shouted and quickly looked through the glass to see everyone looking their direction.
He lowered his voice as he stalked closer.
“Why the hell would you say that? That’s the opposite of why I’m here.
” Anger quickly gave way to that dull, empty feeling he’d been hit with at Xavier’s earlier statement.
“Xavier, have you had visions of all the others with their soulmates?”
Xavier inclined his head. “Yes.”
“Which means I’m not meant to have a soulmate? Seriously?”
Xavier shook his head. “No, of course not. It’s just that I’ve never had a vision of you finding one, and I’ve had visions with most of my other employees.
I actually started my company in this city because I knew this was where my closest friend would find his soulmate—along with a few others.
But just because I haven’t been gifted with a vision of yours doesn’t mean he’s not out there. ”
Dax pointed. “He’s sitting right outside this room, dammit.”
Xavier touched his arm. “It can’t be Everett, Dax.”
“You can’t tell me there isn’t a way. All your years, all your powerful magic, you must know a way.”
When Xavier didn’t answer right away, Dax narrowed his eyes. Something in Xavier’s expression let him know he was right.
“You do know something.”
Xavier briefly closed his eyes before opening them and pinning that black gaze on Dax. When he didn’t speak, Dax raised his voice again.
“I can tell that you do have a solution, but I don’t understand why you’re not telling me what it is.”
“Dax, you need to calm down. I’m going to tell you this against my better judgement, but yelling isn’t going to solve anything here.”
Dax’s shoulders slumped. “Sorry. I’ve just been feeling so torn over all this. But if there’s an inkling of hope here, I need to know.”
“There is a way, but it’s a dangerous gamble and truly more than you should ask of Everett.” He crossed his arms. “It’s also not a guarantee.”
“What is it?”
“If one of his ancestors was a preternatural, then it’s possible I can open his eyes to see the truth.”
Dax held his breath. “That’s it, then. Let’s do that.”
“It could be too dangerous for Everett, Dax. But…I’m also worried that this could also further break your heart.”
Dax’s shoulders slumped. He glanced back to find Everett staring at him through the glass. “I love him, Xavier.”
“This would be Everett’s decision to make, but he needs to understand it could be a risk to his sanity.
Maybe even his life. Because trust me, that could happen.
If he opens his eyes to the world of magic, that will change him forever.
And if he’s not your soulmate, what happens to him?
He hasn’t spent his life hiding his reactions—he could respond badly to the wrong preternatural and lose his life. ”
He closed his eyes. “I hadn’t thought of that. Any of that.” Even if they weren’t soulmates, he planned to be with Everett. It was just he knew they were. When he looked at Xavier again, the sorcerer’s expression had softened with compassion. “I’ve loved before, Xavier, but it wasn’t like this.”
“Have you shown him yourself without the glamour?”
Dax shook his head, then snorted. “I’ve never been a coward quite like I am about this.”
“Maybe you should do that first. Then talk to him. Give him the option, if that’s what he wants. But Dax, we could open his eyes, and it could still turn out that he isn’t your soulmate.”
“I don’t see how I could feel this strongly about him if he isn’t.” He squared his shoulders. “But even if he’s not, I want to be with him. For however long that will be.”
“Talk to him. Think about it longer before he decides anything.” He straightened and walked around to pick up the journal he’d been studying.
“I haven’t managed to crack the code in this book, but I believe I’m close.
The problem is, I’ve been researching, and I believe I know what’s housed in that nephrite. ”
“What?”
“A draugr.”
Utter shock ripped through Dax. “That’s…not good.”
“No, it’s not. I’ve dealt with them in the past. They’re nasty creatures with only one objective.”
“To guard treasure.” Dax had faced against a draugr in the past, one that had been relentless in that one objective.
“Yes. And if this one was doing so at the time of its incarceration, it will kill anything in its way to get back to it. But Dax, when Everett bled on the nephrite, he triggered the spell and is now tied to it.”
“Is there a way to unbind him to it?”
“I think that answer is in this journal. Give me a few more days.”
Dax nearly choked on the heavy lump of utter frustration in his throat. “We need to figure this out.”
Xavier, who hardly ever showed anger, narrowed his eyes and pinned Dax with a hard look. “You are going to have to be patient.”
His shoulders slumped again, and he ran his hand over his scalp.
“I’m sorry, Xavier. It’s just this whole situation is tearing me apart.
” He looked back at Everett, who was now watching through the glass with obvious concern.
“Yes, we can be together without the soulmate connection and I’d cherish that, but I just know it’s more.
That we could both experience that bond.
And I want that for him as much as I want it for myself. ”