Dae looked back to his family.
It wasn’t a perfect deal. It was not without its weaknesses.
But he had his grandfather back for however long his mortal body would carry him. Dae knew he’d have to say goodbye someday, but at least that day was not today. He wouldn’t waste a single one.
And Ashley…
He went to her then and took her face in his hands. She was soft and warm, as always, but he could feel the strength of immortality and djinn magic running through her veins.
She was his. His Fated. His caeli.
He pulled her in and kissed her, hungry and deep.
He would never let her down. Never.
He’d meant what he’d said earlier—
He would worship her.
Chapter 48
ASHLEY
Ashley opened her eyes to the early morning light pouring through the open French doors of Dae’s bedroom. A cool breeze wended in through the screen smelling faintly of rain and the Rine River.
It had been only a full two days since Ashley had made her last wish and switched places with Red. She was still astounded at how keen her senses had become and how little sleep she needed. Dae said eventually she wouldn’t need sleep at all.
She rolled onto her back already knowing that Dae’s side of the bed was empty. She could hear the faint beating of his heart in the kitchen.
She lay in bed a moment longer, enjoying the light and the simplicity of the morning, the now familiar sights and smells and sounds of Dae’s loft.
“You’re awake,” Dae said from the kitchen, his voice at a normal decibel, but still audible to Ashley’s new djinn sense.
“I am. Make me coffee?”
“Of course.”
Ashley slid from the bed and slipped on an oversized t-shirt, nothing more. It was the way she preferred her mornings now and the way Dae liked her. “A beautiful woman does not need silk or lace,” he’d said, when she’d debated packing all of the nighties James had bought her over the years. “Besides,” Dae had added, “I don’t plan on you being clothed that often.”
And then she’d blushed so brightly, she wondered if she was glowing.
Bare feet on the concrete floor now, Ashley padded out of the bedroom and to the kitchen. The smell of last night’s dinner—croque monsieur sandwiches—still hung faintly in the air. Ashley had cooked and she’d planned to do the dishes this morning after Dae rushed her off to bed earlier than she’d expected.
But in the kitchen, she found him at the sink drying his hands on a towel. “Good morning,” he said, his eyes flashing red for a brief moment when he set his gaze on hers. Her nipples hardened beneath the soft material of the t-shirt. “You look beautiful.”
Ashley gaped at the spotless kitchen. “You did the dishes,” she said.
“I did.”
She thought back to a conversation they’d had just days ago, though now it felt like months, even years. A conversation about love and marriage.
Ashley had told him, “You don’t do the dishes because you think she wants you to do the dishes. You do them because you love her.”
She knew he did. He told her every hour it seemed like. But it was the act of loving, all of the little things you did for your loved one throughout a day, that really showed it.
Tears blurred Ashley’s vision. God, he was amazing. And hers. How had she gotten so lucky?
It was just a few hours after Yasmina had left that Ashley had asked Dae what a caeli bond meant.
“It’s like a human marriage,” he’d explained. “We make our vows to each other and the magic responds. A caeli is a djinn’s conduit and his amplifier. If we were to perform the caeli our magic would be available to us always.”
She would never get used to the idea that she had magic.
“Then let’s perform it,” she’d said to him. “The bond.”
He’d taken her hand in his and immediately she felt the magic spark and sizzle between them, painting the air in glittering strokes of Dae’s red magic and her icy blue. “Not yet,” he’d said. “I want you to think it over. I want you to be sure.”
She had been sure then and she was even more sure now.
“I’m ready,” she said.
Dae looked at her. His eyes flashed red. “Are you sure?” He didn’t need clarification. He knew what she meant without her saying it.
“Absolutely.”
He came around the kitchen island and took her hands in his.
“Tell me the words,” she said.
So he did.
Ashley inhaled and her magic danced along her skin. It felt like a sweet summer breeze. Warm and cool all at once.
“I, Ashley Laurent, claim myself to be caeli to the djinn known as Dae Blackwell.
“As caeli, I bind myself to Dae Blackwell and offer my body, soul, and power to him. I vow never to harm him. I vow never to use my power against him. I vow to uphold our bond until Death sees fit to sever it.”
The air crackled with a snap of cool magic.
Dae squeezed her hands. “I, Dae Blackwell, claim myself to be caeli to the djinn—”
“I will never get used to that,” Ashley said.
“—known as Ashley Laurent.
“As caeli, I bind myself to Ashley Laurent and offer my body, soul, and power to her. I vow never to harm her. I vow never to use my power against her. I vow to uphold our bond until Death sees fit to sever it.”
The world shook as the magic beat around them. Dae’s vibrant red magic and Ashley’s cool blue magic.
An electric tingle raced up Ashley’s spine. A warm flush ran over her limbs as that now familiar phantom wind stole through the loft.
Ashley’s hair whipped around her face. Dae pushed it back with his hands as the magic swirled around them like a tornado.
“You are mine,” he said. “And I am yours.”
And then he kissed her and the magic crackled and popped around them like fireworks.
Epilogue
DAE
Dae and Ashley spent the better part of the next week at the loft. When Ashley reminded him that they’d have to get dressed and leave eventually, Dae put a finger to her wet lips and said, “Shhhh.”
He didn’t ever want this to end.
He should have figured it would be Poe to pull him out.
When Dae saw Poe’s name flash across his cell phone, he almost didn’t answer it. It was Ashley who said, “It’s because of Poe that we’re here now. You owe him everything.”
Dae grumbled. Had Poe’s reasons been that pure? He was on the fence about that.
“What?” he said when he answered.
“Red has summoned us to the house.” Poe didn’t sound any happier about it than Dae was.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Dae said and hung up.
He threaded his fingers through Ashley’s hair and pulled her into him. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Don’t move from this bed,” he said. “I’ll be back soon.”
“I’m not going to be one of those wives that blindly obeys,” she said with a laugh. “I need a shower!”
Dae slipped from bed and snapped his fingers. He was fully clothed in an instant. “Wait for me and we’ll shower together,” he said.
Ashley grinned up at him. “Well all right. I suppose I can wait.”
The air crackled as he left his loft and reappeared at Blackwell House. He could hear his family in the conservatory. He found Red at the giant fireplace, his arm propped on the mantle. Poe sat in one of the wingbacks looking bored and disgruntled. Thorin sat across from him, his long blond hair tucked away in a gray beanie.
Mad held a note in his hand, his eyes scanning the writing.
“What is it?” Dae said.
“Show him,” Red said.
Mad handed the note over.
The paper was thick and smelled faintly of jasmine. The writing was tight cursive with big, curling loops.
Dae read and his body went rigid with dread.
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Caleb Corvin will bring chaos to your door.
That was it.
Just one line.
No signature.
Caleb Corvin was human, but a pain in the ass. He had grown up surrounded by magic and now had a collection of artifacts and knowledge that rivaled the Blackwells’.
“Who’s the letter from?” he asked.
Mad and Poe and Thorin looked at Red.
“It’s from Cassie,” Red said.
“But what does it mean?” Dae dropped the letter to the coffee table. “This is barely enough to go on. Can’t you call Cassie and—”
“No,” Red said.
“Why not?”
“Because I said no.”
What the fuck had happened between him and his psychic?
And why was she sending them letters now?
Mad and Poe started arguing about what they ought to do. Poe said, “Caleb poses no threat to us.”
Mad narrowed his eyes. “Clearly Cassie thinks otherwise.”
“She’s an untested psychic! I hardly think that gives us cause for concern.”
Dae’s cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket. There was no name attached to the number, but it was vaguely familiar.
He left the conservatory to answer. “Yes?”
“Dae?” a soft, feminine voice said.
“Who is this?” Dae paced away into the library.
“It’s Cassie. Did you get my letter?”
“Yeah, we got it. But you have to give us more to go on.”
She ignored him entirely and said, “Will you tell Red that I...no, never mind. Don’t tell him anything.”
“Do you want me to give him the phone?” Dae said.
“No, I’m calling for you.”
Dae frowned. “To what end?”
“It’s Poe,” she said and took a breath. “Have you guys forgiven each other yet?”
Though Dae was in the library, he looked in the direction of the conservatory to where his brother was still arguing with Mad. “Not exactly.”
“He’ll need you more than ever,” Cassie said. “Don’t push him away again. Promise me you won’t.”
“What? How—”
“Promise me.”
“Cassie—”
“Please.”
Dae sighed. “All right. But when—”
The line went dead.
Dae pulled the phone away from his ear and stared down at the screen.
He barely knew Cassie. Actually, he didn’t know her at all. He’d only seen her the one time Red brought her home when she’d needed medical attention. She’d been unconscious. That hardly counted.
But...Red trusted her. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have taken her letter seriously.
Dae returned to the conservatory. He stopped in the arched doorway and looked at his brother.
Poe, just what are you about to get into?
* * *
Thank you so much for reading Midlife Wish! I hope you loved Dae and Ashley as much as I loved writing them.
Find out what’s in store for Poe Blackwell when his strict code—thou shall not get thy hands dirty—is broken after a half-conscious and bloodied Willa Locke comes to Blackwell House looking for a deal.
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Also by Nikki Kardnov
Blackwell Djinn Series
Midlife Wish
Midlife Psychic
Divine Midlife
Last Wish (freebie)
About the Author
Nikki Kardnov is the author of the steamy paranormal series, The Blackwell Djinn. She currently lives in Michigan with her husband and daughter. She has two maniac cats and an equal number of bats in her basement. She loves naps, coffee, and the color black.
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Midlife Wish (Blackwell Djinn Book 1) Page 19