Phoenix Found (Brothers of Fire #5)

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

“You’re worrying too much.” Lucian kissed Dalmon’s cheek, then perched on the edge of his desk the way he often did even in the London Coven office.

Dalmon smiled at him, but the edges were strained. There was a lot to worry about between the Shadow Board, Everest, and Oliver. “I don’t want to lose either of them.”

“You mean you expect them to live this life? Something you chose not to do when faced with the pain of betrayal.”

They’d gone through the books relating to the first time they’d been mates and married. Back then, Lucian had chosen to obey his father instead of trusting his mate, destroying their relationship in the process. In what could only be described as a fit of pique, Dalmon sent his mate away. When the woman Lucian had been in that life died, Dalmon had pined away from loss. They’d turned over the past and the present before Lucian decided that he didn’t want his magic.

That he’d struggled with it since it appeared was the main reason. The second reason was that he didn’t want the responsibility of holding Dalmon’s life in his hands. Something Dalmon understood, even though he’d wanted Lucian to keep his magic and the bond. In the end, it wasn’t his magic or his choice. All he could do was support his mate. Magic or not, Lucian would always be his.

Sometimes, he still felt the echo of the bond now that the initial pain of the breaking was gone and the wound had scabbed over. He picked up Lucian’s hand and kissed his knuckles. “This isn’t quite the same.”

Lucian gave him that look coupled with the head tilt that meant he had his argument prepared and expected Dalmon to listen. “They are both hurt. It doesn’t matter the cause. Everest is held together because a shifter bound him like an errant witch?—”

“An errant witch?”

“It was a punishment to stop a witch from using magic back in the day.” He waved his fingers as if the exact time period didn’t matter.

“Have you been hanging out with Quentin in our library?” That they had all agreed to let Quentin in, to pull together some of their past, was a step…though a step in what direction, he couldn’t say. Lucian would say forward, but perhaps the direction didn’t matter as long as progress was made.

“I’m helping him. Gerrit wants to see if there is a repeating pattern of witch magic and such, too. I’m helping catalog people and such. It’ll be much easier to find things in a database.”

“Until technology changes.”

“We’re going to print out a key as well. Don’t sidetrack me.” He paused to find his train of thought, something he used to do when his magic was pulling him in all directions. But he wasn’t wearing one of the three ruby rings that now held his magic. “Oliver has been bound for so long he needs to learn to fly.”

“He flew yesterday. ”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it. His education is basic, and his world never extended past his bedroom walls. The books he read were all fiction. How did you feel after being told all your life you were a fire witch, only to learn you were a shifter?”

“It was shocking and exciting.”

“You knew all about the paranormal world. You had the best education money can buy and a supportive family.”

“He has that.”

“He doesn’t see you as family. You are strangers. You are the people who ripped him away from the familiar. He faces a long uphill battle to even accept and then adapt. I’ve only tasted that. And I quit. I gave up my magic. He can’t do that.”

“Are you saying I should give up on him?”

“No, but you need to ask if you are fixing him for yourself or Everest or if you want what’s best for Oliver. They aren’t the same. And Quentin agrees. He said Everest is a mess.”

“He told me Everest’s mind is fine.”

Lucian stared at him like he’d missed the point. “That doesn’t mean he’s fine. You haven’t even seen him.”

“Have you?”

“Yes. Quentin decided to involve him in ransacking the past lives.”

Dalmon swore and rubbed his hand over his face.

“He needed something to do, to be useful, and to feel like some good might come out of what he did. Kaine has been spending time with him.”

“How do you know all of this?”

Lucian shrugged. “I take the time to listen. And I’m telling you what I heard to help you.”

“Have you spoken to Oliver?”

“Not yet. It’s on my to-do list today. Quentin and I are hoping to coax him into the secret library so he can learn about his past, but that might take a while.”

Dalmon could order it, but forcing the issue wouldn’t help Oliver feel as though he belonged. As for Everest, Dalmon wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to trust him. He’d used his position in the Coven to betray them to the Shadow Board to get Oliver.

The old betrayal bruise…Everest had picked at the edges and made it bleed afresh. He should have noticed sooner. That’s why he was struggling while Kaine had already forgiven Everest.

He considered Lucian for a couple of heartbeats. “How many times in the past have I been betrayed and?—”

“Dealt with it badly? We haven’t gotten to your books yet. But, in my very non-expert opinion, I’d say our previous mating was not the first time. Want Quentin to poke around in your head?”

“No.” He did not want the mostly untrained mind reader anywhere near his past life memories. Even though that was the specific thing Quentin was trained in. It was the only training there had been time to give him. And the only reason he’d asked Quentin to help Everest was because Kaine was able to give him additional strength via the bond. There were no other, better-trained, mated mind readers nearby.

The rescue had been cobbled together after learning the truth, and Dalmon had half-expected two eggs to be brought home. That they were both alive gave them a chance to heal while the wounds were fresh. “I want them to live so they can work through the damage, so it doesn’t affect them next time.” He was living proof of not working through the issue.

“Then you need to help them.”

“Oliver doesn’t want to see Everest.” And he didn’t blame him, having debriefed McKeon, Farrell, and Templeton about the operation .

“Not today. Maybe next week or next year. You need to give him space to grow. And Everest needs to be held a little tighter.” Lucian slid off the desk. “Just something to consider.”

Dalmon grabbed his hand and pulled him close, resting his head against Lucian’s ribs to listen to the beat of his heart. “Thank you.”

“You’d be lost without me,” he quipped.

“I would.” He may not have his magic, but Lucian always found a way to cut to the heart of his problems.