The Wicked (Elder Races #5.5)(32)

Bailey and Olivia looked at each other soberly. Then Olivia picked up the first report and scanned it. “Sorry to say, this approach to breaking the curse is not a feasible one…”

She set it aside and picked up the next one. “I’m afraid we found no realistic avenue in the indigenous magic system that would alleviate what has been done…”

And a third. “I cannot express in words how difficult it is to tell you that we found nothing…”

She stopped reading, pushed away from the table and walked outside to look for Sebastian. She found him standing at the edge of the cliff, his hands on his hips as he stared out over the water. He looked severe, unapproachable, his back stiff and his face like stone, but she didn’t let any of that stop her.

She walked up beside him and slipped an arm around his waist. “Of course this is not the appropriate time to have that talk that we’ve been planning, so let me tell you how things are going to be,” she said gently. “Then we will talk about it when the time is right. You will propose to me with a beautiful diamond ring, because I have my heart set on it. When we get married, I will wear the dress of my dreams, because I have my heart set on that as well. You are going to wear a tuxedo-gray morning suit, and Bailey is going to be your best person, so you need to remember to ask her soon. But first, right now, you and I are quitting this job. You are going to delegate the rest of it, and we are going to cross over, go to Florida and consult with Grace. And we are going to start facing our challenges together.”

The tension in his body eased somewhat as she spoke. He slipped an arm around her shoulders as he said, “You’re not ready to scuba dive.”

“I am too,” she told him. “I can walk a mile.”

He shook his head. “I don’t believe you’re under twelve minutes yet.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m close enough.” When he opened his mouth to argue, she covered his lips with one hand. “It’s a brief trip. Derrick will come with us, and he’ll monitor me the whole time. Sebastian, it’s time to go.”

He looked at her with so much pain in his cursed eyes.

It broke her heart. She loved him so very much.

So they would come full circle, back to Florida. It was not quite where everything had begun, but it was where the most important thing had begun—it was where they had first met.

Sebastian refused to let her swim at all during the crossover, and when she protested, Derrick backed him up until she threw up her hands and let them have their way. While she forced herself to remain passive, Sebastian held her in his arms and did all the work.

In the end she was grateful for it. Breathing from the oxygen tank seemed to take much more effort than it had the first time. Her chest ached, and the dry air irritated her lungs.

On the other side of the crossing, she sensed Phaedra’s presence a split second before the Djinn surrounded her and the world fell away. When reality solidified again, she and Phaedra were standing on the deck of the yacht. While water streamed off Olivia’s wetsuit, Phaedra looked perfectly dry.

One of the crew members shouted a greeting from the pilot’s cabin. She waved at them. Then she removed her mouthpiece, pushed back her mask and took a deep breath of fresh air as she looked around her. Sebastian was nowhere to be seen.

Angling out her jaw, she said, “You forgot Sebastian, dimwit.”

Phaedra shrugged, her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t forget him. He knows how to swim.”

She sighed. “In any case, you’ve got to stop transporting people without their permission.”

“I don’t see why,” said Phaedra as she crossed her arms. “Sometimes it can be quite useful.”

Olivia pinched her nose. Now she knew from personal experience why Grace had said, Oh I don’t know why I bother.

Phaedra studied her. The Djinn’s expression turned serious. “You are better now? The damage has repaired itself?”

“More or less,” she said. She shrugged out of the heavy oxygen tank and left it on the deck as she walked to the railing to watch for Sebastian.

Phaedra walked to her side and touched her shoulder. As Olivia looked at her, Phaedra said simply, “I’m glad.”

Surprise softened her irritation. She reached up to touch Phaedra’s hand. The Djinn did not pull away from her overture. Wow, she thought. It made Phaedra seem almost warm and cuddly.

They both watched as Sebastian exploded to the water’s surface. He sliced through the water and climbed up the hull ladder. Olivia looked from his furious expression to Phaedra’s impervious one. She decided she did not need to be a part of their upcoming conversation, so she left to shower and change into street clothes.

Sebastian had been tempted to ask Phaedra for a ride to Florida, but after her latest stunt, he refused to even consider it. Instead, he chartered a plane and they spent the flight mostly in silence. He bought a pile of newspapers and magazines, and they passed the time looking through everything. Three months had passed on Earth.

At one point, Olivia said, “This is the strangest, worst case of jet lag I’ve ever experienced, and that’s not even taking into account traveling from coast to coast.”

“It can take a couple of weeks to re-acclimate,” he said, his voice toneless. The ground glass was back in his chest, and even that much conversation was an effort. He thought she understood, because she took one of his hands between hers and didn’t say anything more.