-D.
It was the nicest note he’d ever left a girl. In fact, it might just very well be the first note ever. This deal kept surprising him and he wasn’t sure what to make of it.
His magic wound around him and with a thought, he left his loft and reappeared in the foyer of Blackwell House. He could hear his brothers arguing in the conservatory.
When Dae entered, he found Mad shouting at Poe and Poe turning red with rage. Thorin was on the periphery as usual, looking stuck between a rock and a volcano.
“What happened?” Dae asked, his words diffusing the argument.
Mad looked at Poe. “Tell him.”
Poe’s shoulders sunk as the fight ran out of him. “The black mark on Red’s arm...”
“What about it?”
“It’s spreading,” Thorin said.
A knot formed in Dae’s stomach. “How far?”
“Across his chest,” Mad said. “And it’s creeping up his neck now.” He folded his arms over his chest. “He should make his last deal. He can’t be doing this dance any longer. One day he’s well, the next he’s practically comatose.”
Dae cursed beneath his breath. He came around the sofa and sat. A cigarette appeared between his lips and a lighter in his hand a second later. This was the thing he missed the most when he wasn’t invoked, how easy everything was, how his magic rose up inside of him, almost involuntarily. A thought could pluck an apple from the air and it would be the juiciest apple he’d ever had.
He missed his magic when the gates swung shut on it once a deal was done. He couldn’t imagine what it was like for Red to be ill and cut off from his magic.
He would stay alive so long as he didn’t make his last deal, but the longer he went without making it, the worse his health would become, until he was just a husk, just bones and meat.
But Dae couldn’t imagine his life without Red in it.
“We just have to find the right person to make the right wish and Red will be restored,” he said.
Thorin straightened. “That’s not a guarantee though.”
Mad nodded. “Do I have to remind you all of the Loreen family?”
The Loreen family was the last djinn family to try to outsmart Death and that was over two hundred years ago. They’d bought a human who they carefully persuaded into a deal and then persuaded into a wish. They’d been trying to restore the wishes and life of their matriarch, Hephaistos. But something had gone wrong in the wording, and Hephasitos, and all her progeny, had died that day.
Death was a tricky bitch and she did not like to be outsmarted.
But no one knew the details of the deal gone wrong. This would be different. They would be smarter.
“The Loreen family were a bunch of inbreed idiots,” Poe said.
“Well, that’s actually true,” Thorin added.
“If we get it wrong,” Mad glared them down, “we’ll all die.”
“What does Red say?” Dae asked.
“Red says please stop shouting. My head is pounding.”
Dae whirled around. Red shuffled in through the doorway. Though Dae knew the magic of his people, the years that stacked on top of years, he was, for a moment, confused by the sight of a man who looked to be in his twenties who was hunched and hobbling and ashen like he was ninety.
A dying djinn was a discordant sight and Dae had always hated it. He hated it even more now that it was his grandfather.
Mad disappeared from his spot by the stone fireplace and reappeared at Red’s side. He wound his arm around Red’s waist and helped keep him upright. As he hobbled across the room, Dae noticed the dark death mark peeking out from the collar of his t-shirt. It spread its dark, hungry fingers up his throat.
“What are you doing out of bed?” Mad said, his voice admonishing. Mad had always been the downer of the family.
“I need to speak and you will all sit and listen.”
As if on command, Dae sat. The boys had all grown up knowing that when Red asked for something, you did it without question.
Mad deposited Red in the thick leather side chair near the fragile eclipsa roses. Once he was settled, he reached out, and with his fingernail, cut a bloom from the plant. He breathed in and closed his eyes.
“Did you know that your grandmother Adelaide created this rose?” He lay his head back as if he didn’t have the strength to hold it upright. “She’d made a deal with a botanist in the 12th century. The only thing to live for back then was sex and war and exotic things. The botanist wanted to buy his way into favor with some French noble.”
Red spun the rose in his hand deftly missing the thorns.
“The botanist asked for a rare rose that would be hard for anyone to grow unless they knew what they were doing.”
The brothers all chuckled. They immediately saw the error in the wording. Unless who knew what they were doing?
“Adelaide created the eclipsa rose. It needs love and nurturing for years, decades, but it only blooms in the year of an eclipse. At the time, Adelaide was the only one who knew what she was doing.”
Red set the rose aside and looked at the brothers. “We all know how a wish can go awry, especially when you factor in Death. I’m old. I’ve seen more than most. I’ve lost more than most.” He looked at the rose again, his gaze faraway. “I will make my last deal with Cassie. I’ve already made my decision.”
“The psychic?” Poe asked.
Thorin frowned. “Does Cassie know this?”
“If it’s what you want,” Mad said.
Without a second’s hesitation, Dae said, “No.” The word had come out of him unbidden. But he believed in the conviction behind it. He wasn’t ready to lose the second most important person in his life after already losing the first. He wasn’t sure he could survive it.
“Dae,” Red started, but he cut him off.
“Give me a day. That’s all I ask. Give me a day.”
“To do what?” Mad asked. He was up on his feet again, gritting his jaw. “Let him go out the way he wants to go out. Let him make a deal and be done with it.”
Dae ignored his brother. He stared at Red. “What was it you used to say? Death owed you one.”
Red tsked. “Death does not make bargains.”
“Then why did you say it?”
There were so many things about Red’s life that Dae did not know. In that moment, he knew what it was to be mortal, to have regrets and finite time. There was so much more he stood to learn from Red. He wasn’t ready to give up on him.
Red turned away and looked out the window. His gaze grew distant as he thought. Finally, he sighed and closed his eyes and said, “All right. A day. Twenty-four hours.” He looked at the grandfather clock standing in the corner. “Starting now.”
Dae was up and moving, the actions he needed to make lining up in his mind.
The first thing he needed to do was find Ashley. His heart lurched at the thought of seeing her again. And then sunk when he considered what he’d have to ask of her, the risk it posed. The human who had wished for the Loreen family had lived, but who was to say what would happen to Ashley if the wish worked for Red?
Dae’s stomach knotted thinking of it.
But he had to push all of that aside.
After all, there was nothing to gain without a little risk.
Chapter 25
ASHLEY
Ashley heard the air pop and crackle and sat upright.
She looked around and realized she was not in her own bed.
And then she remembered. All of it. Every delicious part of it.
The smile that spread across her face felt like it might just live there for the rest of her life.
She found the bed beside her empty and strained her ears for the sounds of Dae elsewhere in the loft, but the place was silent. The sound that had woken her must have been Dae’s magic carrying him away.
When she turned to slip from the bed, she caught sight of the note on the table.
“Family emergency,” she said
. Her heart did a little dance of alarm in her chest. What sort of family emergency did immortal djinn experience? Perhaps she didn’t want to know.
Feeling like an intruder in Dae’s house when he wasn’t home, she quickly dressed and called the private driver for a ride. When Ashley told him where she was, the man sounded shocked.
“Dae’s loft?” he said. “The one in the business district?”
How many houses did he have?
“No.” Ashley looked out the window to verify that the location was right. The river was narrower here than it was in the city, but that was definitely the Rine. She’d know that deep green color anywhere. “It’s along the Rine River. Do you know where it is?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“How long before you’re here?”
“Fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll be waiting outside.”
Ashley used the bathroom and as she washed her hands at the concrete sink, her reflection in the mirror highlighted with the soft golden glow of Edison bulbs, she couldn’t help but drag her eyes over all of the things that belonged to Dae. This space, more than Blackwell House, felt like him, the real him. Not the pretty rich boy that the city’s media portrayed and that he, in some regard, perpetuated.
The counter was relatively clean, but there was a bottle of hand soap by the sink that smelled like autumn, like campfires and flannel shirts and cider. Hanging from a steel towel rack was a set of black towels that felt like they were stitched of clouds they were so damn plush and soft. And hanging above them on the wall was a huge framed black and white photograph of Dae and his mother. The image must have been as old as the image that hung in the hallway in Café on the Rise.
Dae stood behind his mother, his hand resting on her shoulder. They both looked stoic and serious, the usual expression for the time period. It was so odd seeing the Dae of the 19th century. His hair was a bit longer and combed to the side. He wore a black coat with a severe lapel and a collar that stood up around his neck. His eyes seemed to glow in the photograph, bleached of all color.
Artemisia’s dark gown cascaded down the front in ruffled layers. The bodice was tight around her waist making her hips appear to be disproportionately bigger. Ashley immediately felt sorry for her. She would die without her yoga pants or baggy, oversized sweaters.
But the one thing Ashley did note was despite how cool and collected Dae was, his eyes seemed to glitter. Like he was happy.
She would never have thought Dae Blackwell was a momma’s boy, but that was the first thing that popped in her mind.
He hadn’t said much about Artemisia, but seeing this portrait made Ashley want to hear more. She wanted to know the stories their family had collected over several centuries. She wanted to know what Dae had loved most about his mother, the places they had traveled, the things they had done.
Was it so crazy to want to be with him? Her a mortal and him a djinn? Had he had long relationships in the past that mattered to him, even if that woman was not his destined mate?
And more importantly, had any of them been mortal?
She was going to ask him. She decided right then and there while standing in Dae’s bathroom that she wanted to know what her chances were for having a relationship with him, because despite everything that had happened in just the last few days and everything that pointed to her being absolutely crazy, Ashley was the happiest she’d been in a long time.
She felt wild and free with it.
Her phone buzzed on the counter. It was the driver letting her know he was there.
She looked around. She’d only come with the clothes she wore and her clutch. The only thing inside the clutch was her phone, her ID and a few twenty-dollar bills.
So there wasn’t much for her to collect.
With one last glance at the loft, Ashley locked the door behind her and headed downstairs, more determined than ever before to chase after the things she wanted.
Chapter 26
ASHLEY
The driver was a thirty-something man who looked like he belonged more in a cologne ad than behind the wheel of a private car service. And he seemed especially surprised to see Ashley come out of the building exactly where she said she’d be.
When she slid into the back seat, he turned to look at her. “He really brought you here? Are you djinn?”
“Yes, he really brought me here. And no, I’m just a normal person. Do you not usually pick up women from Dae’s loft?”
The man shook his head. “I have never, in all the years I’ve served Dae, picked up a woman from his loft.”
“Never?”
“Never.”
What did that mean? That had to mean something!
“Name’s Helios, by the way,” the man said.
“Ashley. That’s a really unique name.”
“Helios was the Greek sun god.” He put the car in gear and pulled around the driveway.
Ashley waited for him to go on. When he didn’t, she decided to leave him to his secrets. But one thing was for sure, he looked like a sun god.
“Where are you going, Ashley?”
She relayed her address as she checked her phone. Helios turned right to get on the freeway.
There were seventeen texts from James.
Somehow, she hadn’t noticed them when she’d turned on her phone earlier.
She quickly read through them.
I’m so sorry, the first one said. Same story, different day.
I realize now that I made a fool of myself and embarrassed you. Dae was right to do what he did.
Well, that was a bit better. He had embarrassed her. Heat ran to her cheeks as she recalled the things he’d said to her. He’d had no right to judge her the way he did after all of the things he’d done.
She kept reading as the texts increased in size and frequency.
Then, I just told Isla I made a mistake. I’m leaving her.
Ashley’s heart stopped.
Can I come see you? Please Ashley. I need you right now.
The warmth from her cheeks ran down her neck, to her chest, squeezing her heart. This is what she’d wanted to hear from him the second she realized he was really leaving.
You’re not home, one of his last texts said. You’re with Dae, aren’t you? I’ve really fucked things up. Please call me as soon as you read these texts. I’ll be waiting at home for you whenever you’re ready.
I hope you’re okay. I miss you, honey.
He had always known how to say the things she needed to hear when she needed to hear them.
What was she going to do if he was still there when she arrived home? According to his texts, he’d been there since 2:37 A.M. She hadn’t received a text from him since the last at 3:42 A.M.
He was home waiting for her and he’d told Isla he’d made a mistake.
There was a distant buzzing in Ashley’s ears and a flushed heat running through her entire body.
Of course, maybe he’d been drunk. Or more likely he’d felt wounded and territorial like a dog and wanted to prove to himself that Ashley would come running back to him as soon as he gave her a pleading look. And as soon as she agreed to forgive him, he’d return to Isla, either in public or in secret, and Ashley would be right back where she started looking like the fool.
What was she going to say to him when she got there? She’d just spent an amazing night with Dae. They’d had sex three times. Three times! That never happened with her and James.
He’s an immortal djinn, a voice said in the back of her mind. He has had countless women in all the hundreds of years he’s been alive. You are like a maple leaf, one among hundreds, who he will eventually let go.
But he took me to his secret loft! She reminded that voice.
He probably makes Helios act surprised whenever he picks up a girl there. All part of the ruse.
Helios had left the freeway by then and was turning the car down her street. James’s car was not in the driveway, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. His te
xts had read like he’d been drinking, so maybe he’d called a taxi.
“It’s the gray one,” Ashley said. “The third on the right.”
Helios slowed the car and parked alongside the curb.
Ashley clutched her bag to her chest and stared at the house. Nothing from the outside revealed to her what lay beyond the front door. Her heart raced in her chest.
What did she want to happen? Did she want James to be inside waiting for her? For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t sure.
“Is everything all right?” Helios asked.
“What? Yeah. Sorry. I’m just...” She stared at the house again. “Do you ever have those moments where you think your life is going in one direction and then all of a sudden, everything changes and you no longer know what to do?” She turned back to Helios.
He stared at her blankly. “I drive a car for an immortal djinn. You have no idea.”
Ashley blushed, feeling embarrassed now. She was complaining about her indecision and lack of certainty forgetting that everyone had their own kind of pain and problems to deal with.
She couldn’t imagine what had brought Helios to this job—maybe it was a kind of punishment. He certainly did not look like the type to have grand plans of being a chauffeur.
“I’m sorry,” she said and pulled on the door handle. “Thank you for the ride.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
She stepped out.
“Ashley?” he called and she ducked back down, poking her head inside. “You always have a choice. Even if it doesn’t feel like it.”
“Thank you, Helios.”
She shut the car door and walked up the stone path to her house.
As she neared the front door, she quickly went over in her head all of the things she wanted to say to James if he was inside. And then she quickly reminded herself that she would be totally fine if he wasn’t there.
She turned her key in the lock, heard the deadbolt open and pushed the door in. The hinges were silent. The house was still. Ashley sucked in a breath and felt like the air rattling down her throat was at a decibel akin to stadium speakers.
Midlife Wish (Blackwell Djinn Book 1) Page 12