Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
It was possible Alistair was latching onto the conversation to distract himself, but he also didn’t like the tone Maverick’s voice held. He knew Isaac didn’t tell him everything about his mating, but he never heard anything about a fall.
Isaac purposely turned his face away, giving Maverick his full attention while ignoring his brother. Alistair would have chased after him if he had the option, but the reminder that he was currently strapped to a chair over a hundred feet in the air made him feel a little nauseous.
A gentle hand on his arm pulled his focus to the sweet man beside him.
Elijah cocked his head, a concerned frown on his face.
Alistair didn't want to ruin this for him. He might not have said it out loud, but Alistair saw the excitement on the telepath’s face.
He wanted to do this. Alistair wasn’t going to take that away from him.
He drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“I’m fine, I promise. I just don’t like being up here with no access to my magic.”
Elijah’s grimace of understanding was comforting.
His family mostly liked to pretend Alistair’s connection to his magic was fine, acting as though nothing had happened to him whenever he came to visit.
It was why he chose to stay with Isaac instead of the family home in the silver realm.
Isaac didn’t pretend it was nothing. And neither did Elijah.
“If it makes you feel any better, I think that’s true for most of us,” he said, his voice calm despite their current situation.
How the telepath could be so calm this high off the ground, Alistair couldn’t understand.
“I think the only one who would be able to do something about it if something did go wrong is Maverick.”
He hadn’t thought of that before, but when he looked around, the only flight shifter among them was Maverick.
Ozen, who he knew was an incubus, wouldn’t be able to do anything if there was an issue, and neither would Avery.
Especially not Avery, who was the only human in the group.
He didn’t know Taron’s magic and couldn’t test the waters to find out, but he hadn’t mentioned being a flight shifter. They were all in the same boat.
“I’m not sure that makes me feel any better,” he answered honestly, smirking when Elijah snickered. Paying attention to the sweet man was a better distraction than arguing with his brother, that was for sure.
He kept his focus on Elijah, watching his child-like delight as the host pointed out different areas of the skyline and what they could all see from up here.
When he made the request to Isaac to help him plan something to put Elijah into a better mood, he hadn’t considered anything like this, but he was glad they came.
Elijah looked so happy, and the sadness he’d been weighed down with all morning was gone.
It was worth the little discomfort he had to deal with being up here.
Clearing his throat, Isaac asked, “Avery. You okay?”
Avery’s eyes were squeezed shut, and he still had a deathgrip on his mate.
Ozen’s attempts to distract him didn’t seem to be working.
He knew incubi could use their magic to soothe someone’s mind, but it might not have much effect when it came to something like this. They’d need something more effective.
Nudging Elijah with their joined hands, he jerked his chin at Avery. “You offered me help before. Why don’t you help him?”
“Oh, um…” Elijah looked uncertain, but Alistair’s question was loud enough that Ozen had overheard him. The incubus’s eyes narrowed on Elijah, blood red and a little disconcerting at first glance. He didn’t look suspicious, though. Just thoughtful.
“Can you help him? I’m trying, but his fear is too great, and I don’t want to do too much.”
Meaning he didn’t want to accidentally tip between soothing and turning his mate on. Alistair would laugh if he wasn’t so uncomfortable right now.
“I… I can,” Elijah said, giving Avery a strained smile. “I can ease the fear, if you want. It doesn’t hurt.”
Avery’s gaze darted to Ozen, and a silent communication happened between them. Alistair waited for one of them to do something stupid like make Elijah feel bad or untrustworthy, but Ozen’s next question surprised him.
“He’s uncomfortable leaning forward to touch you. Can you do it without him moving?”
Elijah’s grip on Alistair’s hand tightened a little, apprehension tinging his expression.
If Alistair was to guess, Elijah would only be able to reach that far if he let go of some of the tight hold he had on his magic.
Doing so in front of the CEOs would be a dead giveaway that he was hiding just how powerful he was.
Even Alistair wasn’t sure that was a good idea.
“He can,” Isaac said before Elijah could come up with an answer. He shot a look at Alistair, lifting his eyebrows pointedly. Isaac wanted them to be the first to know. And Alistair trusted his brother enough to follow his lead. He squeezed Elijah’s hand, jerking his chin again.
“Go on. Help him.”
Swallowing hard, Elijah nodded and drew in a steadying breath.
Alistair couldn’t tell when Elijah let go of his magic, but everyone else could.
The CEOs looked surprised, while Isaac shuddered from the weight of it.
It made him wish he could experience it the way everyone else could.
Aside from the first time, when he was wrapped in warmth and comfort, he hadn’t felt Elijah’s magic again.
“Close your eyes and relax,” Elijah intoned, eyes locked on Avery, who was still trembling. “Deep breath in. And out. Again.”
Everyone watched, fascinated, as Avery’s shoulders slowly came down, and his grip on his mate loosened. The trembling stopped, and color returned to his cheeks, and he and Elijah both let out a breath when they were through.
“You can open your eyes now,” Elijah prompted when Avery didn’t immediately move.
“Do I have to?” Avery asked with a grimace. “I feel fine now. I don’t want to ruin that.”
Elijah laughed, and his grip on Alistair’s hand relaxed. “I promise, you’ll be fine.”
Slowly, Avery opened one eye, then the other, before finally opening both at the same time. When he looked around and didn’t immediately panic, a smile bloomed across his face, and he looked at his mate with wide eyed excitement. “This is amazing!”
Ozen smiled softly at his mate, tucking a wayward curl behind his ear. “I’m glad you like it, firefly. I was worried you wouldn’t get to enjoy it when I couldn’t get you to relax.” He turned to face Elijah, giving him a polite nod. “Thank you for helping my mate. I greatly appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Elijah breathed, a little wide eyed. Alistair got the feeling it was rare that anyone had thanked him for using his powers.
“Did you seriously erase his fear?” Taron asked, excited curiosity coming off him in waves.
Elijah tipped his head side to side. “Yes and no. A healthy fear of heights is nothing that needs to be fixed. I just addressed the debilitating aspect of it. I used my magic to muffle that response so that Avery could enjoy his meal. It’s not permanent, I’d need to create a permanent spell for that and that would take a while, but it won’t wear off until we’re at least back on the ground. ”
“I kind of want it to be permanent,” Avery admitted, squeezing Ozen’s hand and smiling at him.
“We’ve had to ride in helicopters before, and I panic the whole time.
I used to think I was fine with heights, but apparently that only applies to enclosed buildings, not…
this.” He waved his hand at the open air with a grimace.
“If you want to discuss it, we can,” Elijah offered with an awkward shrug.
Avery thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Maybe after things slow down for you. I’m glad you got your own temp. I was worried Ozen was asking too much of you with all the interviews you are having to do.”
Alistair appreciated the little human’s concern and his willingness to bring it up in front of his CEO mate.
Avery wouldn’t let Elijah suffer if he could help it, not even for his mate’s desires.
He would be a good ally for Elijah if Alistair could get him to accept the friendly gesture and take better care of himself.
“Oh, I’m fine. Whenever is convenient for you.”
His chin dropped to his chest in defeat. They still had a long way to go.
Elijah was in a much better mood when he returned to the office.
He’d helped someone using his magic, and they didn’t freak out or run away from him in response.
Avery had smiled and chatted with him throughout the whole meal, and when they were back on the ground, he gave Elijah a quick hug in thanks for making his experience better.
Elijah had been so stunned by the gesture that he’d stood there frozen until the little human released him and ran off to be with his mate.
He was still smiling as he came back to his desk, and Alistair definitely noticed.
He kept shooting Elijah these smug little smirks like he was pleased with the way the afternoon had turned out.
It made Elijah blush, and he spent some time coming up with creative ways to thank the man properly for taking such good care of him.
His phone rang before he could come up with a good plan and he frowned at the number on the screen before answering.
“Elijah Washburne.”
“Yeah, hey,” the contractor grumbled unhappily. “Your place is ready.”
A conflicted set of emotions crashed through him.
While he looked forward to returning to his home, he also didn’t.
He liked being so close to Alistair. They might not sleep in the same bed, but it was nice to go home with him at the end of each night and share a meal together.
He wasn’t sure he was ready to give that up.
“I see. Were there any more issues?”
“I’ll explain that to whoever shows up to check it out. It ain’t gonna be you.”
That wasn’t a question. It was a demand. Elijah’s joy for the afternoon wavered as reality sank back in. His closest coworkers might trust him a little more after today but that didn’t mean anything to the rest of the world. He was still a threat to everyone else.
Alistair took the phone from Elijah’s hand, his expression surly at the very least as he put it against his ear. “Who is this?” he demanded.
Being so close, Elijah could still hear the growly reply. “This is Carl Mendoza, the contractor. Who’s this?”
“Alistair Silverbreeze. The boyfriend. It’ll be me you’ll be meeting with. And Elijah will be on sight to check the place out himself and make sure nothing was damaged during your work. If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with the Trustworthy Businesses Association.”
Carl wasn’t happy about Alistair’s insistence, but he seemed to recognize the threat for what it was and capitulated with grumbling, “Whatever. When’re you gonna show? We’ve got other jobs to do.”
“That’s your problem, not mine. We’ll be there tonight at 5:30pm. If you left a mess behind, you and I are going to have a problem, is that understood?”
Alistair spoke like a military officer, his voice sharp and demanding, and the contractor was properly cowed by the effort, his assent quick as he repeated the agreed upon time and hung up.
Elijah stared up at Alistair with wide eyed wonder, wishing not for the first time that they weren’t at the office so he could pounce on the man.
Alistair handed the phone back, taking in Elijah’s expression with a frown. “What? I didn’t like the way he spoke to you.”
“That was hot.”
The response clearly wasn’t what Alistair was expecting, and he barked out a laugh, shaking his head. “You need to get out more. Come on, sweetheart. You’ve got interviews to do before we can get out of here to deal with your house. Let’s get this over with.”
Elijah went along with a smile, taking Alistair’s offered hand and lacing their fingers together. Perhaps if he could summon the nerve, he could pounce on the man after they checked on his home and sent the contractor away. A telepath could dream, anyway.