Page 20 of Entwined

Wow. That sounds cool. “Sure. I’d love to come visit the place where you’re from. Maybe we could spend half the time there and half here.” He chuckled. “Like a vacation home.”

As Bram’s bottom lip trembled, Darby knew immediately that he’d said the wrong thing again. “I keep upsetting you and I swear I don’t mean to.”

Darby’s stomach twisted. Who knew that dating a magical being would be so complicated?

Bram worried one of the tissues in his hand. “I came here to… Not to say goodbye, but to let you know I can’t come back to see you anymore.”

“What?” Darby’s breath hitched and he felt as if he’d been kicked in the gut. “No!” When Bram jumped in his arms, Darby stroked his back, shushing him. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, but…” He fought the trembling of his own lip. “Why?”

“I’m fae, Darby. I’m not meant to stay on the earthly plane. Fairies can only pass through the veil three times then they can never come back. If I did, I’d die.”

Tears fell before Darby could stop them. His thoughts tumbled through his mind as he desperately sought a solution to their dilemma.

“Wait. You said I could come with you, right? Do I only get three times too, or can I be the one who goes back and forth?”

Bram shook his head, the sadness in his features still apparent. “Only once for you. The decision to leave this plane would be permanent.”

“Oh.” Darby thought he might throw up. Fate certainly had a fucked-up sense of humor. “How would that work, though?”

Bram dropped the tissues on the floor then grabbed his hands. “You come with me, that’s all. It’s easy. It won’t hurt or anything, I promise.”

“That’s good. But what I really mean, is how will I survive there, support us? Take care of you with no job or money? Do I pack up my stuff and take it? I mean, I doubt there’s a beyond the veil moving company.” He narrowed his eyes at Bram. “Is there?”

Bram appeared so defeated, Darby didn’t know what to do.

“No. All you can bring is yourself. And I don’t need to be supported, I’m very good at flying.”

Darby averted his gaze. His stuff wasn’t important, not in the face of true love, but there were some pictures from his childhood, the ones with his parents. Of course, there were his stories on his laptop… But true love. And even if Bram didn’t fully understand what he was asking him, Darby truly couldn’t fathom what sort of work he could find in some mystical land. How could he take care of Bram if he couldn’t even provide for him? Bram deserved the best of everything. He didn’t need to be saddled with some slacker who couldn’t put food on the table or give him a roof over his head.

Everything was happening so fast. They’d only just met. What if Bram changed his mind after he left everything behind to be with him? While he doubted that Bram would ever do such a thing, he didn’t know much about fairy culture.

“Darby?”

“Can…can I have some time to think about it?”

Bram’s expression tore his heart in two. Why couldn’t he simply accept Bram’s offer, accept a chance at love and joy?

Because I still don’t believe it’s real.

Between Nathan and every other ex he’d had, his desire for a forever had been mocked, whether subtly or blatantly—as Nathan had been wont to do. Now he was doing the same thing to Bram. Not in so many words, but by not rushing to join him on the other side, he’d might as well be declaring that being fated mates was a crock of shit.

“Bram, sweetheart, please… please don’t be sad. I want to figure this out, okay? I think it’s that I need some more time, that’s all.”

He ran his hands up and down Bram’s arms, petted his hair back then leaned in for a kiss. Bram turned his cheek then climbed off his lap.

“I have to go.” Bram bent to pick up the shimmering bit of cloth he always wore.

“Wait!” Darby jumped to his feet. “You don’t need to leave right away, do you? You stayed so much longer last time.”

Bram shook his head. “No. I can’t. Not now.” His voice had been monotone, defeated. He gazed up at Darby. “Do you have any parchment paper and some ink?”

“Uh, would regular paper do?”

“Whatever you have that I can write on.”

Darby made his way in a flash to his desk then rifled through a drawer until he found a legal pad and a pen that hadn’t dried up. He handed the items to Bram who considered them with a creased brow.

“Here. Let me show you.”

He gave Bram a quick demonstration then relinquished the pen back to him.

Is he going to leave me his phone number? The very idea seemed ridiculous, but ever since Bram had come into his life, he’d stopped thinking in absolutes.

Bram set down the pen then pointed to the strange symbols he’d written on the pad. “If you change your mind, here is the oath you would recite to join me on the other side.”

Bram gazed up at him with pleading eyes and Darby had never felt like a bigger shitheel in his life. Then he glanced back down at what Bram had written.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Could you tell me what this says, then I can write it in my language?”

Bram sucked in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “Don’t repeat this out loud unless you mean it. There’s no taking the words back.” He cleared his throat. “I relinquish my hold on this earthly plane, I reject the confines of my human form. I now seek the land beyond the veil where I can be joined with the one who was made for me. I forever say goodbye to the life I have led and embrace the new one in the eternal land of the fae.”

Darby copied down the oath through blurry eyes, blinking away his tears so he could make sure he’d gotten the words right.

“Could you say them for me one more time, so I can check to make sure I have them correct?”

When Bram didn’t answer right away, Darby glanced up to see why. He straightened with a gasp.

Bram was gone.