Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

DECLAN

We stayed in the Other Realm for a few days, but eventually I had to bring Ollie home before my parents got back. I wasn't happy about the idea of leaving Aziel's side, but my folks would lose their minds if I kept him for another week just because Aziel couldn't be released yet. Luckily, his friends were taking turns staying with him, so at least I knew he was safe. Callum and Brandon took us home through the transport tunnel, and I grimaced at the massive blanket covering the front row of seats in Brandon's truck.

"Sorry."

Brandon snorted. "Like we can complain about some blood when Aziel was dying. I'll get it detailed. It'll be fine. I'm just glad he's okay."

Callum looked over his shoulder at a light, raising his eyebrows at me. "I'm bringing you back tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

Ollie protested with a frown. "What about me?"

"Mom and Dad get back tomorrow. You're going home with them."

"But–"

Putting my hand on his shoulder, I raised my eyebrows. "Relax. It's only a week. And Ben has already agreed to let you hang out with him after school until I get back. Once Aziel is strong enough to come home, things will go back to normal."

"What about Dante? We've got school. Is he coming back?"

"I'll ask him, but I think he's gonna want to stick close to Aziel for a while. They went through something really rough, buddy. They need time to heal."

He still looked really hurt, his face pinched. "But the healer said they're all better."

"There's more than just one kind of hurt, little one," Callum interjected. "Physically, they're on the mend, though Aziel might take a bit. But emotionally, they're still hurting. They need time together to talk about what happened and move on from it."

"Oh."

Ollie frowned at his hands in his lap, his lip stuck out in a pout. I loved that he cared so much about Aziel and Dante and it sucked that he had to go back home alone, but it was for the best. He'd see plenty of both of them once they were allowed to come home. Aziel wasn't going anywhere, and he was Dante's guardian. They were a set pair. An adorable set pair who made jokes about their injuries to take back their confidence about it.

I had shut the shop down for a few days. With Ben out for a family emergency and me with Aziel, there was no one to run it. It would mean a lean month for bills, but I had enough in savings to deal with the loss. Luckily, the wards held up and nothing was touched when we got back. The witch who put up the wards even came to remove the prank one that hid the shop from paranormals.

While Ollie decided to veg out for a while and just take a break, I hopped in the shower. Felix and Tyler brought me a change of clothes since mine were torn and blood stained, but I hadn't showered in a few days and I felt gross. I stepped under the spray, letting the hot water ease the aches in my body. Healing centers were a lot like hospitals in the human realm. The beds weren't big enough for two people and the chairs weren't comfortable to sleep in. They offered me a bed of my own, but I didn't want to be far from Aziel, so I stuck to the chair or squeezed in the uncomfortable bed with him. I couldn't wait to get him home so we could stretch out a little .

It was a little insane how quickly things changed since Aziel showed up in my life. I was focused on work and getting as much time with my little brother as possible. I avoided paranormals like the plague. Now I was mated to a demon, I was making friends with the dozens of paranormals who came to visit Aziel in the healing center, and already planning on moving Aziel and Dante in with me. Maybe. This place was a little small for all of us. Aziel said his place was bigger, but it was a little farther away. It'd make it more difficult on nights when I worked late. I also liked being able to roll out of bed and walk downstairs to go to work.

I pushed that aside, dropping onto the couch next to Ollie after my shower and pulling up a food delivery app. I was too lazy to cook tonight.

"What do we want to order? Pizza or Chinese?"

He leaned closer to look at my phone, studying the options thoughtfully. "It'd be cool if we could have both."

"Like a little of each, or like some pizza Chinese food hybrid? Because the second one sounds gross."

He snickered, shrugging his shoulders up and down. "I dunno. Pizza with noodles doesn't sound horrible."

"Gross. You eat like a pregnant woman, I swear."

He cackled, shoving me away and tossing himself across the cushions. I swore he ordered weird shit on purpose just to gross me out.

Someone knocked on my back door, so I tossed Ollie my phone with a roll of my eyes. "Pick one. Not both. And if you get pizza, don't forget at least one vegetable. I'm supposed to be taking care of you. If you skip a vegetable, I'll make you eat a salad on the side."

"And you say I'm gross," he countered, scrolling through my phone. Knowing him, he'd order Chinese food just so he could say the few peas in the fried rice were plenty of vegetables.

When I got downstairs and found Ben waiting by the back door, I frowned. "Did you have a late night appointment or something? Where's your key?"

He scrubbed the back of his neck with a frown. "It felt wrong using it when this isn't about work. Sort of. Can I come in? There's something I need to talk to you about."

Weird. I shrugged, stepping back to let him inside. Melvina said most of Aziel's family was either dead or captured, but I was still cautious and locked the back door behind us, following Ben upstairs. He waved at Ollie and I gestured him toward the table so he could tell me what was on his mind.

"Is everything okay? You said you went home because of a family emergency."

He sighed heavily. "Yes, and no. My mom had a stroke. She's okay now, on the mend, but I think I need to move closer to home. My dad's having a tough time and my sister just had a baby. They need help. I know I'm leaving you in the lurch, but–"

Putting up my hand to stop him, I shook my head. "Don't. You don't have to give excuses. I totally get it. You should always put family first. And since you're so close to the end of your apprenticeship anyway, I'm comfortable signing something that said you finished it. You can find an open chair somewhere closer to home without having to finish under someone else."

He let out a breath of relief, his eyes filling with tears. "Seriously? You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah," I chuckled. "You're good, Ben. Does it suck that you can't stick around? Sure, but if I can help you in any way, I'm gonna do it. Does that mean you can't watch Ollie this week after school?" It'd make things a little more complicated, but I'd make it work.

"No, no, I can. I figured I'd give two weeks' notice, that kind of thing. Mom's still in the hospital right now, anyway. It's not much time, but maybe it'll be enough for you to find my replacement."

"That's nice of you, man. I appreciate it."

After Ben left and Ollie gorged himself on Chinese food, I tucked him in and sat at the table with my laptop. I answered a few appointment requests, emailed a few clients to reschedule, and did the math on how long I could manage without Ben. I survived before he started, but he brought in a lot of clients and things were easier with the two of us here. I didn't want to go back to working twelve-hour days every damn day just to pay rent.

I was about to shut the laptop down when the post-it note I'd stuck to the front fluttered off of it and into my lap. I read it over, pursing my lips, and decided to send one more email before I went to bed. Hopefully, he could meet me tomorrow before I had to go back to the Other Realm to see Aziel.

My parents picked up Ollie at ten. They were tanned and a lot more relaxed than I'd ever seen them, and they looked happy to see Ollie. Mom even smiled at me when she came in to grab his bag.

"He's got one more page of writing to finish tonight. I figured you were a better coach for that than me."

"Yes, you always did struggle with that. Your handwriting was beautiful, but your sentence structure was godawful."

I snorted, lifting a shoulder. "Well, I can't be good at everything."

Ollie was already in the car, bouncing on the seat as he pestered our dad about him coming along next time. Mom let out a slow breath, the tension gone now that she saw Ollie unharmed and happy.

"Thank you, Declan, for watching him this week. We really appreciate it."

"Any time. I love spending time with him. If you guys need a weekend off or something, just let me know."

Her smile was genuine this time. A vacation did a lot for her, apparently. I still questioned sometimes whether I should be helping them as much as I do, given how they treat me, but Ollie was worth it. My little brother was going to take on the world. I wanted to be there when he did.

They left just as someone knocked on the shop door. I locked up behind me and headed toward the front, holding the door open for Manny to duck inside. He looked uncertain and a lot uncomfortable. He pointed out the door, his voice gruff.

"You got rid of the spell."

"I did. I realized I was letting one unpleasant encounter define my entire experience with paranormals, and that was unfair of me. I've made paranormal friends since then, and I'm even mated to one."

His bushy eyebrows shot up. "Really? Congratulations. Is, uh… Is that why you called me here?"

"No. I came to offer you a chair. "

He frowned, and I chuckled as I gestured to the couch. I sat on my favorite stool facing him to explain.

"I just found out my apprentice is moving back home to be closer to his family. That means a chair is open here. I remember Hendrix saying you've been struggling to find some place to work. If you're interested, I'd love to work with you here. We'd be partners, no one would be in charge or anything, and any changes to the place would be decided on together. I'd still love to learn to tattoo paranormals, but I figured an expert in house might give us a boost in business."

He stammered a bit, his mouth opening and closing like he couldn't figure out what to say. "I, uh… I mean, are you– I…"

When I grinned at him, he snapped his mouth shut and scowled at me. "Shut up. Are you serious?"

I nodded once, fighting back a laugh. "Completely serious. I'm gonna be gone this week, my mate is at a healing center in the Other Realm and I want to be with him, but when I get back, I'd love for us to sit down and iron things out. Are you interested?"

"Hell yeah, I am!" he shouted. When I raised my eyebrows at him, he coughed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I mean, yeah. That sounds good. Just send me an email on when is good for you."

Laughing, I offered him my hand. "I get the feeling I'm gonna like working with you."