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“I think Wiley and I might have found something. Even better than the other spells we’ve identified for cloaking,” Harrison volunteered, but his voice stayed soft. Hale smiled to himself, realizing the man was just talking to him and not the entire group.
“Really?” Hale scraped up the last of the vegetables onto the fork and held them out.
Harrison ate the final bite and nodded. “It looks a little tricky and we’ll need to go through the supplies we brought with us, but I think it’s our best option right now.”
“We’ll be able to put it on each person, but I don’t think I’ve got the stamina to do it all tonight. We can try tomorrow morning,” Wiley said from the other side of Harrison.
“That’s fine. I’ve got a good feel for the area tonight, and we can take turns keeping watch,” Clay agreed.
Harrison turned toward Hale with an expectant expression, his eyes darting from Hale’s face to the empty fork, clearly looking for another bite.
Hale grinned at him. Really, this man was cuter than he’d fucking realized. It didn’t make sense that he hadn’t kissed him sooner, except for maybe the fact that he tended to be constantly grumpy and scowling. “Still hungry? You ate everything I put on your plate, but I think there’s some more.”
“Oh, I did?” Shock was clear in his voice as he now stared down at the empty paper plate in Hale’s lap. “No, I’m full. Thank you.” His gaze then caught sight of the full plate next to Hale and his expression shifted to the scowl. “You haven’t eaten yet.”
“Doing that now. I knew if I didn’t feed you, you’d forget to eat entirely.” Hale compromised on his wish and tapped the tip of Harrison’s nose with his finger in a tiny boop. A kiss would have been better, but he still earned the surprised look he’d been hoping for.
“I—no,” Harrison stammered and turned his attention back to his computer. But Hale didn’t miss the softly murmured, “Thank you.”
Hale put aside his companion’s plate, picked up his own, and took a bite. Everything was lukewarm now, but it still tasted good. It also didn’t hurt that he was feeling warm and bubbly from taking care of Harrison. Silly man.
He was about to put a bite of chicken into his mouth when he looked up at the rest of the camp to find nearly every eye on him in a range of expressions from shock to open amusement.
“What?” he demanded.
Everyone suddenly turned away, but there were a few muffled coughs that sounded very much like laughter. These Weavers and their mates were so strange.
“I think the longer route would be the best option,” Wiley suddenly announced, shattering the remains of whatever the moment had been. “The cloaking spell will work, and the extra time will allow Harrison and me to read over the final spell.”
“Is it complicated?” Dane inquired.
Hale leaned forward to gaze around Harrison to take in the young artist’s grim expression. “I don’t think it was overly complicated, just…” His voice faded away and he stared ahead at the fire for several seconds. A sick feeling twisted in his stomach as he waited for Wiley to finish his thought. What kind of a spell was he expected to participate in?
At last, Wiley shook his head. “I had just a second to glance at the spell. I need to look it over more thoroughly. We must close the rift permanently and keep you all alive. No one is fucking dying in Sedona.”
Baer’s arm immediately wrapped Wiley’s thin shoulders, gathering him close. “No one is dying. We’re all making it out of Sedona safe and sound,” Baer promised, his lips pressed against his lover’s hair.
That was going to be the trick, wasn’t it? Surviving the one thing they’d supposedly never survived in hundreds of generations over thousands of years.
He was the last to arrive to the Weavers Circle. The one with the least experience, which inevitably made him the weakest link of the brotherhood. It was more than not wanting to die. He didn’t want to be the reason these men died. Maybe he would never find his soul mate, but they had theirs wrapped tightly in their arms right now. Shouldn’t they get a shot at a lifetime of happiness after so much pain and death?
The conversation around the fire died off as everyone picked at what was left of their food and stared pensively into the fire. Clay divided up the guard duty among the Weavers. Hale volunteered for the first watch. His mind was spinning with too many thoughts and a general restlessness. Sleep would not be coming anytime soon.
Within an hour, the campsite was cleaned up from their meal, and the various couples had crawled into their tents. Even Harrison had handed back the flannel that had been draped across his shoulders with a murmured thanks and slipped into the tent.
