Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Elijah watched as the tension in Alistair’s shoulders slowly released.
He’d worried about riding with a stranger, especially such a long distance, since it was a forty-five minute drive to get to Maverick and Isaac’s home.
Isaac had reassured him that he had spoken with his brother and that everything would be fine.
Even so, Elijah had been prepared to be ignored or even kicked out during the drive and sought to make Alistair as comfortable as he could manage.
He was pleased his reassurances seemed to be working.
He’d expected to pass the ride in silence, so it surprised him when Alistair spoke again not five minutes later. “I’m Alistair. Isaac’s older brother,” he offered gruffly, his tone indicating he was offering because he had manners more than because he wanted to chat.
“It’s nice to meet you, Alistair. My name is Elijah. I want to thank you for the ride–”
He was cut off mid-sentence by a disgruntled yowl. Helios had been in the carrier most of the day, and he wasn’t happy about it. Elijah was glad it was the weekend, because he probably wouldn’t get much sleep tonight. Helios would get his revenge by keeping him awake all night.
“Ah.” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “That’s Helios. He’s… displeased with being in the carrier.”
Deep brown eyes glanced at him again in the rearview mirror. Elijah pretended the quick glance was merely because Alistair wanted to keep his eyes on the road, and not because he wanted to avoid eye contact like everyone else did.
“How long has he been in there?”
Elijah grimaced. “Most of the day. I let him out in my office for a little while, but I was worried he’d get out, so I had to put him back in whenever I had to leave, which was often.”
“You didn’t have a family friend or someone to watch over him?”
The question was an innocent one, but Elijah felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment.
He didn’t have many friends. For a long time, he had no friends at all.
His first true friendship was with Brennus, who was all too familiar with being avoided because of his magic.
Elijah had only recently started spending time with a few others from the office outside of work, and only Isaac had ever outright called him a friend.
“Uh, no. My friends all work at the office with me. And my mother is allergic, so my parents can’t watch him.”
That seemed to appease the mage, who nodded and kept his focus on the road.
Elijah didn’t get much from Alistair, aside from the normal apprehension Elijah was used to getting from people close to him.
Which probably meant the man had good mental shields.
It wouldn’t surprise him, honestly. When Elijah first met Isaac, the strength of the mage’s mental shields had shocked him.
That kind of ability was either a family trait or a lesson taught to them starting at a young age.
“What do you do at Spellbound?” Alistair asked. Elijah still felt the conversation was more out of politeness than true interest, but he appreciated it all the same. It was better than sitting in silence.
“I work in Supernatural Resources as the SR Director. I assist the SR managers in their duties and support the SR head when he needs me.”
He also used his magic at the office if there was an incident that needed SR intervention, but he didn’t want to mention that. Alistair was already wary of him. Reminding him about his magic seemed foolish.
Hoping to take the subject off of him and into a more neutral area, Elijah asked, “Isaac said you were staying with them as well. Are you two close?”
A flash of emotion hit Elijah like a bullet. Pain, anguish, regret, then a deep sense of resignation. It was there and gone before Elijah could truly look into it. He bit back a gasp, keeping his face carefully neutral so Alistair didn’t realize he’d picked it up.
“Yes. We’re close.”
The answer was short and left no room for expanding on the conversation. Elijah tried again.
“And are you close with Maverick as well? I’ll admit, I’ve spent more time with Isaac than Maverick, but I’ve seen his work ethic. He’s a good man to know.”
That topic seemed easier for Alistair, and he nodded slowly. “I’ve only spent a little time with him since Isaac—” He cut himself off, and Elijah saw the scowl from his profile. “We’re still getting acquainted,” he finished curtly.
From the emotions he was picking up on, because Alistair was definitely having big feelings about the conversation and whatever else was going on in his head, Elijah understood that he was treading dangerously close to upsetting the man.
He decided to stop trying to converse with him. He was only making things worse.
They were quiet for the rest of the drive, and Elijah spent most of it petting Helios through the little gap he’d made in the carrier opening. He couldn’t read animals, that took a special kind of magic, but he could guess how his companion was feeling.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, scratching just underneath Helios’s chin. “I promise I’ll make it up to you. Perhaps I’ll order the nicer cat tree once this is all over. The one with the hammock and the extra soft carpeting. Hmm? How does that sound?”
Helios blinked slowly at him, and Elijah took the lack of kitty scowl as a sign he was on the right track. He’d packed some of Helios’s necessities along with his clothes, and he had several tins of his favorite cat food with him as well. He’d spoil his friend for all the stress he’d been through.
“We’re here,” Alistair grumbled as they pulled up in front of what could only be described as a mansion.
It was two stories but stretched out long enough that Maverick could probably be in his dragon form and still be hidden behind it.
The windows were massive but reflective so no one could see inside.
They’d passed through a large metal gate to get here that Elijah had almost missed, and Alistair parked in front of a detached garage to one side.
Sliding out of the backseat, Elijah slung his duffle over his shoulder and carefully pulled out Helios’s carrier to not jostle him too much. He’d barely bargained his way into the cat’s good graces. He didn’t want to make things worse.
His eyes were locked on his surroundings, a little shell-shocked by the obvious display of wealth, and he wasn’t watching where he was going. He bumped into Alistair on accident and stumbled back, just barely missing being grabbed by the mage who bared his teeth and snarled like he’d been injured.
Just as quickly as the expression showed up, it disappeared, and Alistair masked his expression, his frown that Elijah had seen through the entire drive coming back.
“I-I apologize,” Elijah said, wide-eyed. He was never usually that careless, and he didn’t at all blame Alistair for reacting the way he did.
Alistair glared at him for a long moment before turning on his heel and walking away.
He left Elijah no choice but to follow, silently berating himself the entire time for bumping into the man.
His whole speech about never reading someone without their permission was called into doubt by doing things like that.
No doubt Alistair assumed he touched him on purpose to get into his head easier.
He wished someone would believe him when he said he had better control than that.
Alistair waited for the eerie feeling of someone poking around his head to show up, but it never did.
Either Elijah was so good, no one could feel him using his magic, which would make him some kind of telepathic deity, or he truly meant it when he said he wouldn’t read someone without their permission.
He regretted storming off, his instincts telling him to get as far away from the threat as possible.
It left Elijah to follow him into a home he was unfamiliar with, and he looked understandably uncomfortable when he stepped inside.
Alistair forced himself to stop and think.
He wasn’t under threat here. He didn’t need to escape.
“Your room is this way,” he forced out, gesturing toward a hallway off the living room and then leading the way when he had the man’s attention.
“I’m really sorry,” Elijah murmured when he caught up. His eyes were on the floor, and the contrition carved into his face seemed genuine. “I was looking at the house. I should have been paying more attention. It won’t happen again.”
Alistair’s footsteps slowed, and true to his word, Elijah didn't bump into him again.
He slowed as well, keeping a good distance away from Alistair just shy of plastering himself to the opposite wall.
A niggling of guilt hit Alistair in the chest, and he drew in a deep breath, forcing himself to let it go.
“It’s okay,” he said gruffly.
Elijah shook his head, still refusing to look up at him. “No, it’s not. I know better. If you could just show me where my room is, I’ll stay out of your way. I never meant to–”
Frustrated, Alistair stepped closer, coming up short when Elijah immediately took a step back. His hands flexed with the urge to reach for the man and stop him from running away.
“Elijah,” he snapped, waiting for the man to lift his gaze and lock eyes with him.
It made Alistair a little uneasy, everyone knew direct eye contact gave telepaths more power over you, but when he still didn’t feel the effects of Elijah’s magic on him, he settled a little more.
“I believe you when you said it was an accident. I don’t plan to hold it against you.
I just… I had a bad experience–” He cut himself off with a growl.
“Telepathy makes me uncomfortable. That has nothing to do with you, and I’m sorry for making you worry.
You don’t need to hide away in your room during your stay. I’m fine.”
Elijah’s gaze searched his, and he slowly straightened.
He’d shrunk in on himself– trying to make himself appear as less of a threat?
– but with Alistair’s reassurance, he stood tall.
Now that they were standing next to each other, he noticed that Elijah was taller than him.
Did Elijah hunch in general to make him think he was shorter before?
Shaking the thought off, he opened the door on their left, gesturing Elijah inside. “I’m pretty sure this is the room Isaac was talking about. The kitchen is past the living room on the left. Do you… need anything else?”
Where the hell was Isaac? With the way he and Elijah kept dancing around each other, the awkwardness could be cut with a knife.
He needed Isaac to step in and reassure his friend.
Gods only knew Alistair wasn’t the one to come to for comfort after that interaction. He was lucky he hadn’t had a flashback.