Phoenix Found (Brothers of Fire #5)

Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

Oliver was sure he was breaking a rule, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to un-invite his boyfriend to dinner because Dalmon was there. Dalmon didn’t say anything and was polite, even though Perrin didn’t eat and only sipped his wine. It was another week before he needed to feed.

Was he feeling snack-ish already?

Were there snacks for Perrin to eat, other than him?

Oliver’s cheeks heated. He picked up his wineglass and took a drink, hoping nobody noticed. Tomorrow, he’d talk to the chef about the snack situation. There should be chicken hearts and chicken wings.

Perrin smiled and lifted an eyebrow. His foot nudged Oliver’s under the table.

Of course he noticed.

Most of the conversation centered on the wedding and the repairs to the lodge and Oliver’s estate. No one talked about the Shadow Board or Everest, which seemed like a rather obvious omission, not that Oliver was sure what he wanted to know. And asking would only cause more questions .

“Would you like to fly while I’m here? Or do you intend to return to the castle when you need to shift?” Dalmon asked, dragging Oliver’s attention to the conversation.

Oliver blinked. “Here? Won’t someone see?”

“Not if we stay in the valley. It would do you good to get used to air currents.”

He only shifted once; he wasn’t ready to be out in the wild. Was he? He’d be safe with Dalmon, and he couldn’t run back to the castle every time he needed to shift. And at the moment, trying to push out the time between shifts wasn’t something he’d be able to manage, even with Perrin’s help. “Sure, that sounds great.”

Did they need to wait and let the food digest or something?

Dalmon glanced at Lucian and gave him a nod. They may not have the fated mates bond, but Oliver was sure that a look and a nod conveyed an entire conversation. Even Perrin noticed that something was up.

“Great…shall we head out?”

Like, now? But he bit back the question. Because it was obvious that Dalmon wanted to go now. It wasn’t a question but an order.

“Um, yes. Do you want me to arrange for refreshments afterwards?”

“Lucian and Perrin can handle that.” He stood, giving Oliver no more chances to stall.

Between the two of them, Lucian and Dalmon were doing a very good job of separating them and talking to them individually. That’s what this offer to shift was about. What were they trying to find out? Or was it to check in and he was reading too much into the visit?

He gave Perrin a small grin as he followed Dalmon out the dining room door. “Where do you recommend leaving from?”

Oliver stared at him. How was he supposed to know? Or was he supposed to have considered this already? “It needs to be a place where we can strip off and return to safely?”

“Ideally, yes.”

“There’s the workshop. And there’s also a balcony upstairs.”

Dalmon shook his head. “Curtains and carpet are a hazard. And if you ever do an emergency shift in the bathroom, make sure that you remove all the towels.”

“Is that where you do emergency shifts?” He couldn’t imagine Dalmon needing to shift unexpectedly.

“It’s what we all do. In modern buildings, the bathroom is the best place as it’s all tiles, and there’s plenty of water. It’s also deeply unsatisfying.” Dalmon led the way outside to the workshop. “This is not ideal either. There’s a lot of wood and potentially flammable chemicals. Clothing can be removed and placed inside as long as we shift outside.”

“So what I need is a private courtyard made of stone where I can ditch my clothes and leave from?”

“That would be perfect. I’m sure Perrin can have one made.”

Oliver considered the idea for a couple of seconds. Perhaps the courtyard could be part of his folly?

Dalmon didn’t bother turning on the light as he stepped into the workshop. There was enough ambient light from the moon and stars. He pulled off his sweater and placed it on the workbench.

This was not going to be awkward at all, the whole undressing in front of someone. The first time, he hadn’t wanted to shift; this time, he did. But he wasn’t used to being naked with anyone except Perrin.

“Before we shift… If you could stop taking your clothes off…um.” He glanced away. “I can give you some privacy and step out while you undress. ”

Dalmon stared at him. “Stripping off my clothing and shifting does not bother me. It is a necessary part of life.”

Good for you; I’m not used to it yet.

“Being randomly naked is something you are going to have to adapt to. If you accidentally burn off your clothes or need to shift in a hurry to escape.” Dalmon said as though catching yourself alight was a normal thing to do.

Perhaps it was for a phoenix or a fire witch. But it all sounded terrible to Oliver.

“Err, okay. I need to talk to you about something.”

“That’s why I invited you out for a shift, to give you a chance to talk to me now you’ve had time to review your documents and such. Plus, it’s been about three weeks, and you don’t want to be leaving shifting until you’re itching for it.”

“That’s part of my problem. The magic damper dampened everything, and while sometimes I can tell what is shifting heat and what is lust.” His face was on fire, not literally, not yet anyway. “It’s hard to tell, and I don’t want to burst into flames at the wrong time.” What if he got it wrong and set fire to the bed, and the house burned down? Or he accidentally killed Perrin?

“It’s been a long time since I was sixteen and learning how to shift, but I remember it being much the same. And in part, because they are similar, you can redirect and feed one with the other. It’s how some shifters put off their shifts…I do not recommend it, though, not while you are still grappling with your magic.”

The brother closest to his age was Everest. He’d started shifting three years ago, but he’d also taken on all the memories of his ridiculously long life, so Oliver wasn’t sure Everest’s situation was entirely relatable.

“Have you been setting things on fire or bursting into flames?”

“No. Not yet, anyway. Well, kind of in that flames have formed on my skin, but I’ve allowed it to practice putting it out.”

“That’s good to practice. And it’s good that Perrin is here with you.”

“But? I’m sure I can hear a but.” Not waiting for Dalmon, he guessed at the reasons. “You don’t like him. I’m not royal. Even if I was, you’re marrying a commoner, so I don’t see how me being with Perrin matters.” At Dalmon’s frown, Oliver shut his mouth.

Dalmon blew out a breath, then squatted and untied his shoes as if Oliver hadn’t spoken.

“I’m sorry. Did I say the wrong thing?” Has he been too familiar with Dalmon instead of deferring to him like the prince he was?

“I was taking a moment to think because you made accusations and defenses in the same breath without asking my thoughts.” He stood. “You are right, there is a but, but it is because of the other situation he has going on. Not because you are sleeping with the head of maintenance, who happens to be a ghoul. Trust me, if I believed he was using you, I would not have allowed him to come to your estate. If Kaine had not spoken well of him and his interactions with staff around the castle, then the castle and Coven would not have supported him.” He slipped his foot out of his shoe. “But I am wary about you getting caught in the splatter of a ghoulish fight.”

“I thought the matter was settled.”

Dalmon shook his head. “Perrin hasn’t spoken to his match yet, and he may buckle and fall into line.”

Oliver shook his head. “It’s not what he wants. He wants to travel for a bit and then come home and…”

And Perrin hadn’t talked about what happened next.

“And where do you fit in his plans, or is this convenient for both of you? There is nothing wrong with that, as long as you are both in agreement before you jump to more assumptions and accusations.”

“What if I want to travel and see some of the world? Do I need to drag an entourage with me?”

Dalmon took off his other shoe. “Has he invited you?”

“No, but I haven’t asked either.” Because until today, it hadn’t even been a possibility. Today, he existed and could do anything he wanted.

“Yes, you need at least one security agent with you. The Shadow Board has been quashed, though there may be the odd independent operator who knows your value to the right people. Additionally, it is always good to travel with someone who knows the correct recovery protocol. I don’t recommend traveling anywhere until you have better control of your magic and can make a better assessment of safe places to shift.”

Oliver closed his eyes. Dalmon was right, but it felt like the door to his room was closing after a delivery of new books or a meal.

“I’m not trying to clip your wings,” Dalmon said.

Oliver sighed. “It just seems that way.”

“No, you are used to living with clipped wings. Now your feathers are growing back, and you want to know what you are capable of and test your wings.”

“You don’t trust me to fly on my own?”

“I sure as hell couldn’t for the first couple of months after I started shifting. That did not stop me from trying to sneak into town one night. I had it all planned, even leaving clothes outside the castle wall. However, when I flew out my bedroom window, having carefully tied the curtains out of the way, my tail or some sparks landed on a tree. Needless to say, the tree went up in flames, and I never made it past the castle wall. I was grounded for a month. The tree collapsed onto the side of the building, and I spent those weeks chopping wood. I don’t know if you’ve ever had to chop wood, but prior to that, my hands were more likely to be ink stained than blistered. After that, I learned how to be much more careful when I flew, and that it was better to ask my driver to take me out because there is no such thing as sneaking out of the castle…unless you’re Everest and remember everything. I do not recommend that either.”

“You set fire to a tree that crashed into the side of the castle when you were learning how to shift?” That seemed like a ridiculous mistake to make when he couldn’t imagine Dalmon making any mistakes.

“I can show you exactly where the tree stood and the damage that was done to the castle. It takes a long time to chop up a one-hundred-year-old tree, and the groundskeeper at the time didn’t help except to offer advice on how I was doing it wrong.” Dalmon pulled off his socks. “I also had to shift at the end of every day to heal my bloodied hands.”

“But you’re a prince.”

“I made a mess and learned to clean it up.”

“That seems rather cruel.”

“If I hadn’t been able to shift, I’d agree with you.” Dalmon shrugged. “But I had very good control over my magic by the end and a great respect for the staff who do the manual labor around the castle. All things that have served me well as prince and head of the Coven. We’ve all made magical mistakes, but they aren’t my stories to tell.”

“Thank you for sharing…you all seem so perfect and untouchable and put together. Like you have your places and know what needs done.” But they had once fumbled around like him, testing the edges while unsure of their magic.

“I wish that were true. But like most people, we are figuring things out as we go. We didn’t realize what Everest was doing, and we should have. We should have helped him sooner. Now, are you stalling because you don’t want to undress in front of me, or are we going to fly without setting fire to anything?”

“One more thing.” Oliver raked his teeth over his lip, not sure how to say it, only that he couldn’t hold on to what he’d seen, and this might be the only chance he got to speak with Dalmon alone. “I looked into a past life with Quentin’s help. I didn’t mean to find that life. I wasn’t trying to ruin things…”

“Ruin what?” Dalmon stared at him.

“Your second chance with Lucian. I saw what he did…” Oliver backed up a couple of steps because there were flames in Dalmon’s eyes. “It was an accident. I wanted to see a life where I was happy and confident and…and I saw my son, the phoenix I was raising, die, and my wife blamed yours.”

Dalmon closed his eyes and turned away. “Lucian didn’t kill the boy. He died of an illness before he was old enough to shift. Lucian took the egg and gave it to his father as requested. It is all in my book, and I’m sure Everest knows. But Lucian is not who he was back then, not in the way I am. And what happened between us is a soul bruise that I have worked on.”

“You’re cross with me?”

“No. Our lives overlap in good ways and bad, and in searching your own past, you will find things that are uncomfortable. I don’t feel the need to examine what happened in that life, and blame won’t help find the boy.”

“But you are looking?” What if there was another phoenix being held the way he had been?

“We are. I have two ex-Coven agents searching for phoenix eggs. Though so far, they’ve only found a dragon egg.”

Oliver knew which two ex-agents Dalmon meant as they’d been part of the rescue. “Jacob and Orion.”

Dalmon nodded. “Because of Lucian’s magic, we have a chance to find others of our kind.”

“In a way, he’s helping with the problem he created.”

Dalmon lifted an eyebrow. “There was once many more than six of us. His magic is helping with a far bigger problem.”

“Oh…how many more?” Some may be alive and imprisoned, or eggs, not dead and yet not alive.

“You will need to talk to Everest to discover that.” Dalmon unbuttoned his shirt, then paused. “Unless you have another matter to discuss?”

Oliver shook his head and began peeling off his clothes. He folded them and placed them on the workbench. By the time he was done, Dalmon was naked and waiting outside. Oliver stepped out to join him. The cold pinched his skin, and the breeze tugged on his hair.

“Are you waiting for me to go first?”

“I am because if you have problems, it’s easier for me to talk to you like this. I’m hoping that this time we can work on non-verbal communication.”

“I’m a little weirded out about not having a physical body.”

“That can take longer to get used to…it helps not to think about it too much. So don’t question how you’re thinking or breathing or that kind of thing.”

Oliver’s eyes widened. He hadn’t thought of it in that much detail, but now he was. Great . “I’m just going to shift…”

He hoped he could.

It didn’t take much because he’d spent the last few weeks taking note of the heat as it moved through his body, directing it toward lust or pulling the heat in, so when he pulled up and willed himself to shift, he did.

It was as painful as he remembered from the first time.

But the pain was fleeting, and then he just existed. He wanted to shoot straight up into the sky to spiral back down.

Before he could follow through with the idea, Dalmon floated next to him, burning brightly. Oliver looked at him, then shot upward.

Perrin leaned against the window and watched as the two phoenixes flew into the night.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Lucian said, walking over to stand with him.

“Yes.” He sometimes saw the phoenixes fly when he was working at one of their estates, but he never tired of seeing them. Their flames were mesmerizing, and while he wasn’t sure which one was Oliver and which one was Dalmon, he didn’t care.

“When they fall, they fall fast and hard, fated mate or not.”

Perrin turned to face the man who was marrying one of the most powerful men in the paranormal world, who would become the prince’s consort.

Sure, Oliver had said that he loved him, but Perrin wasn’t sure how much weight to put in those words, given that Oliver had never loved before. Not that he was an expert, but his heart had been broken. Losing Oliver was something he didn’t want to dwell on.

“I can sense your doubts. The way you expect it to end.”

Perrin shrugged, trying to brush the observation away. “I’m a ghoul.”

“That doesn’t mean much to someone raised without the usual prejudices. He fell into your arms. Now you need to hold him tight.”

Who could truly hold a phoenix? “He needs to explore his newfound freedom.”

Lucian nodded. “But freedom can be a lot to someone who’s never had it. I’m sure you can relate.”