It seems Jackson can deny fate no longer. Three separate people have told him to not allow his fear to push away the men he cared for. Those two men are now on their way to a prestigious party, potentially about to dance in each other’s arms all through the night, and he wants to join them. And now, the one person who could get him there after allowing him time to shower, style, and dress himself was waiting for his command on his phone. There was just one more thing to take care of.
He turns his attention to the tendril shadow looming over his shoulder, as if it were peering over it. “Is this what you want too?” He asks jokingly, before realizing the shadow seems to be bobbing itself up and down.
“Did you just nod atme?”
Wendy raises her own eyebrow in question, “Did your shadow thing nod at you?”
Jean-Claude asks from the phone, “Did I hear you say your shadows nodded at you, sir?”
The shadow had indeed, and was continuing to, nod at him.
And now his shadows, which have never seemed to agree with him, seemed to be nodding their desire for him to go. There was only one time in recent history they seemed to fully agree to his command outside of a simple lesson, when it was to hunt down the man who scared Hakeem.
With a sigh of defeat, Jackson cracks his neck and rolls his shoulders back. It seems it was time to give fate his full attention. “Jean-Claude.”
“Yes, Master Jackson?”
“Please grab my suit and meet me at my apartment in Solomon City in about twenty five minutes.” He makes his way past Wendy to his room as he speaks, pulling the bat mask from the box on his bedside table.
He traces his thumb over the blue material and silver swirls, he had truly chosen the colors with Eddie and Hakeem in mind. “It seems we shall go to the ball.”
A resounding, “Hell yeah!” echoes from downstairs from an excited Wendy.
Chapter 26
Sarah hums idly while staring out the window of the limousine taking her, Eddie, and Hakeem to the portal station. Eddie tries to calm Hakeem down who had never before been in a limousine.
“I thought when you said your sister was picking us up you meant in her car.” Says Hakeem, leg bouncing a mile a minute, biting his thumb nail from the reality of his situation crashing down on him as they drive through the city.
He is just a random guy from La Fay, from a random family with no major connections, being escorted by a very eligible bachelor to a literal fairy ball. It was surreal when Eddie asked him, now it just seems impossible. His heart beats rapidly, his palms sweaty. And now the worry of pit stains is added to Hakeem’s growing list of anxieties.
Sarah lets out an amused sigh as she touches up her lipstick, closing a small hand mirror and returning it to her purse which probably costs more than Hakeem’s monthly expenses. “Oh relax ,babes. It’s just a standard stretch limo. You should see the party limos that come fully stocked with a bar, snacks and a karaoke machine. Now calm that pretty head of yours before you explode.”
Eddie holds on to his spare hand, thumb rubbing small circles on the back. “I’m sorry, I guess I’m just used to this.”
“No, no I’m fine. Just worried I’ll make a fool of myself in front of a feyroyal court, and your family nonetheless.”
Eddie loops an arm around Hakeem’s shoulder, gently pulling him closer. “You’ll be alright. I’ll never be far from you. Besides,” He lifts Hakeem’s chin towards him with a caring hand, “I think you’re amazing, so I know my family will agree.”
“His favorite sister already does,” says Sarah melodically.
Eddie chuckles warmly, allowing Hakeem to relax into his embrace. “The jury is still out on that one, Sarah.”
“Rude,” grumbles Sarah.
“Only for you.”
“By the way,” Sarah points a manicured nail towards Hakeem, “will you be okay to wear your glasses under the mask?”
“Huh? Oh, I figured that out last week. A simple spell to temporarily fix my vision.”
Eddie furrows his brows, “Is that safe?”
“Completely. I realized my wish magic limits include physical body changes. When I lost my glasses as a kid my cousins tried wishing for me to see. Didn’t work, so they wished for me to find them. Should they have wished for that first? Yes. Did it provide useful data on the limits of my wish magic? Yes, yes it did.”
Hakeem moves away from Eddie, reluctantly, and pockets his glasses into his jacket. He focuses on his reflection in the car window, eyes sparking to life with mana, the spell barely a whisper on his lips.
“Clear as day, let fog be lifted. Arjineh.”
