Page 81 of Ex Somnis

“She’s probably losing her mind a little right now.” Jasper sighs, already looking back down at the chart. “Which, to be fair, is what I’d be doing. I lose my mind in IKEA, and that place at least has signage.”

“Fuck.” Ridge’s already turning his chair. “Okay. I’m going to…”

“You’re going nowhere.” Jasper holds up one hand, and weirdly, Ridge stops. “She can be alone for ten more minutes if she already has been. We figure this out first, all of us, right now, and from this point, one of you is with her. Always. I am not becoming the emotional support person when she wakes up halfway feral because nobody was there.”

Ridge exhales through his nose. “Yeah. Fine.”

Paul nods once.

“Okay,” I agree, a little stunned. Because somehow my eighteen-year-old brother just bullied two grown men into submission using nothing but crystals and disappointment.

I’m weirdly proud of him.

Jasper appears satisfied with our answers and crouches back down, picks up the velvet pouch, and starts opening it.

Ridge watches him for a moment, then leans slightly toward Paul and mutters quietly around the lollipop, “I like him. He’s terrifying.”

Jasper, without looking up, says flatly, “Thank you.”

Then he opens his laptop beside them, pulls up something that looks like a chart, circular, full of symbols, with lines running across it at angles.

“I need your date of birth, time, and place.”

“Time and place? Who the fuck knows that?” Ridge asks, turning to Paul, who gives him a look.

“Everyone.”

“Well, nobody told me there’d be homework.”

“Find it out,” Jasper demands, already looking back down at the chart. “Otherwise, this entire thing is useless.”

Ridge stares at him for a long moment, then sighs like the weight of existence has personally inconvenienced him and pulls out his phone.

“This better unlock the secrets of the universe,” he mutters while dialing, then he puts the phone on speaker. It rings twice.

“Ridge, honey.” A warm female voice answers. “Is everything all right? You never call me. Are you eating, baby?”

The tips of his ears go pink so fast it almost looks fake.

Oh, this is incredible.

“I’m fine, Mom. I just need to know…”

“Are you leaving your apartment enough? You sound pale.”

“How the fuck do I sound pale?”

“Ridge.”

“Sorry. How do I sound pale?”

“I’m your mother. I know when you sound pale.”

I bite the inside of my cheek so hard I almost taste blood.

Ridge closes his eyes briefly, like he’s trying to leave his body. “Mom.”

“I’m just saying.”