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The sigh was of the exasperated variety this time.
“More along the lines of the second option.” There was more to it than that. Lots and lots more, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. How could he explain the confusing twist of emotions in his chest when it came to Hale? The sheer panic that gripped him at the idea of losing him. The man in his arms was a bright beacon for all the world and he needed to be protected at all costs.
“Talk to me, Harrison. What sent Wiley into a panic? I can feel your arms trembling. If you talk to me, we can fix it together.”
“Hale…the spell…it’s going to kill you,” Harrison whispered in a choked voice.
For several seconds, it felt like Hale wasn’t even breathing. His entire body was frozen. And then, to his shock, Hale finally moved his face, pressing another kiss to Harrison’s throat. “It’ll be okay.”
“What?” Harrison grabbed Hale’s shoulders and thrust him away so that he could look into the man’s face, he needed to see the insanity written there. “Just like that? You think it’s going to simply be okay. Wiley read over the final spell and said that the Weavers have to give over everything—their lives—in order to close the rift. How is that okay?”
Hale’s smile was sweet and so very sad. “Because the goddesses believe that the soul mates will tip the scale. The soul mates will save us.”
“How? Another spell? We don’t know what spell to use or even if we have it already. What if the soul mates aren’t enough?”
His lover gave a small, one-shoulder shrug. “Then I guess I will die, but it’s not so bad. If we die, the Earth will be saved from the pestilents, and everyone will be safe. I’ll die knowing that everyone I love is safe, and that’s a really good use of a life.”
It was fine that he wasn’t included among the people Hale loved because Harrison had every intention of giving his life to keep Hale safe in that final battle.
But it wasn’t fine that Hale was going to die. Harrison pulled Hale back against him and tightened his arms until he was sure he was in danger of cracking ribs, but Hale didn’t make a sound in protest. He just snuggled closer.
A painful lump formed in Harrison’s throat, and his eyes burned with unshed tears. He was falling in love with this strange, quirky man. He needed him like he needed the sun on his face and the smell of old books. Hale was quickly becoming his everything, but he might have to let him go to save the world.
Chapter
Nineteen
Hale reached over and threaded his fingers through Harrison’s. His new lover’s hand was cold despite the warmth of the car, and he didn’t have to ask why. They were nearly at Sedona.
The desert town not too far from Flagstaff with the red-rock buttes and pine forests was less than a dozen miles away, but they were no closer to an answer when it came to how the Weavers would survive the final spell.
While they’d managed to get a couple of uninterrupted hours in bed together, they were soon rousted by calls from Grey and Clay pounding on the door, ordering everyone to his suite with Dane for a meeting. There were a few looks and raised eyebrows when he entered holding Harrison’s hand, but no one said a word about it. Maybe Harrison wasn’t his soul mate, but it seemed like a moot point when they started talking.
The same news Harrison had delivered was dropped on the room—the Weavers couldn’t survive the final spell.
It was something none of them had wanted to hear. The next few hours were spent brainstorming, arguing, and eventually in pained silence. Of all the soul mates, Hale’s heart went out to Gio the most. He was poised to lose not one soul mate but two if both Lucien and Calder participated in the final spell to close the rift.
But even though Harrison wasn’t his soul mate, Hale found himself seeking out the pale, stoic man where he’d stood on the edge of the group. He put up a good front of being resolute and pulled together, but Hale only needed to take one look into his midnight-blue eyes to see the anguish he was trying so hard to hide.
Hale couldn’t begin to guess what was happening to them. He’d been drawn to the man from the very first moment Harrison rushed him off the front porch. Safe and dependable were two words that would always be associated with Harrison in his mind. But he was also forthright, strong, and determined.
A hint of a smile teased his mind as he remembered that Harrison was also incredibly possessive. Oh, Hale would have been the first to announce that he was no one’s possession and he’d never go for a guy who acted as though Hale belonged to him.
