1. James

1

JAMES

James had almost lost everything. His life, though he hadn't been conscious to realize it, and the man who owned his heart. But he hadn't lost either. Sebastian was right here, in James's bed, alive and even more amazing than James had always thought he was.

He had so many questions but held them back and let Sebastian sleep. James didn't want to bombard him. While Sebastian seemed recovered, James was worried.

No surprise there.

James stroked Sebastian's hair and Sebastian nuzzled into it. He'd never been more anxious than the four days Sebastian had lain in bed, showing no signs of waking.

Sebastian had saved James against impossible odds and pulled him back from a doomed fate. James was in awe and so proud of Sebastian but also infuriated that Sebastian's bravery had put him at such great risk.

James knew his irritation was born out of fear that Sebastian could have died, so he tried to let it go. If James hadn't drained himself so foolishly trying to destroy that shade with fire, he might not have been captured, and Sebastian wouldn't have had to save him. He'd been so worried about keeping everyone else safe that he'd put himself in danger. It was a miracle he and Sebastian both survived.

"I'm sorry," he whispered against Sebastian's hair.

Sebastian stirred. "Why?"

"For making you think you'd lost me."

Sebastian opened his eyes, ginger lashes fluttering. The brown and green flecks in his hazel irises caught the sunlight. "I got you back though. Didn't I? By not waking up and making you worry?" Sebastian's lips twitched.

James shook his head. "This isn't a joke." He smiled anyway. Sebastian's grin was contagious.

Sebastian traced James's curved lips. "Maybe not, but I don't want you brooding over it." He probably didn't want to dwell on how horrible the whole ordeal was either, and James understood that.

"Come on, let's shower and tell the others you've rejoined the land of the living."

A short time later, they entered the kitchen, clean and dressed. James sat Sebastian on a stool at the counter with a glass of water and took out one of the many trays of food Parker had stashed in his fridge.

"Lasagna sound good?"

Sebastian nodded.

"Perfect. It's my favorite." James heated up two plates full of Parker's ricotta and spinach lasagna.

Sebastian seemed ravenous, so James fixed him a second helping. He texted Eli and got an almost instant response, in all caps, saying how relieved Eli was and that he was coming home right away.

"Everyone's coming over, aren't they?" Sebastian asked around a mouthful of food.

James grabbed Sebastian's cup to refill it. "Think so."

Sebastian seemed to brace himself .

"Do you not want them to?"

"No, I do." Sebastian took the water James handed him. "It's just… I know the darkness is gone, but this isn't over." He looked out the kitchen window into the backyard, deep in thought.

Well, that was foreboding.

"Wait…" Sebastian stood abruptly from his stool like all his problems were forgotten. "Are those my chickens?" He turned to James, smiling, adorable dimples framing his face.

"Parker and Eli brought them over. Figured it would be easier to feed them this way."

Sebastian laughed. "Wish I'd been awake to see that."

"I'm sure it was hilarious." James could imagine his brother chasing down the chickens at Storm House. He'd been too distracted at the time to ask if they'd had much trouble.

"James? Sebastian?" Eli's voice called from the front of the house.

"Yeah, we're in here," James called back. He took Sebastian's hand. "If you're still tired, I can talk to them and you can go back upstairs."

"No. It's fine, James."

They headed down the hall to the living room, where Eli, Parker, and Hazel were waiting.

Eli enveloped Sebastian in a hug as quick as humanly possible. "We were so worried."

Sebastian pulled back, blinking wordlessly, and received a shoulder pat from Parker.

Hazel looked Sebastian over like she didn't quite believe he was all right. "Damn near gave me a heart attack when you ran into that horde of shades."

Sebastian grimaced, looking around at them all. "Sorry." He focused on Eli. "You were right about my connection to the veins."

Eli had been almost as stressed as James over the last four days. His hair was a mess and James swore he had worry lines on his face he'd never seen before. "Seems like I was also right about the connection being dangerous to use. If it had killed you, it'd have been all my fault."

"No, it wouldn't have." Sebastian crossed his arms. "If you hadn't told me what you'd suspected about the veins, then I wouldn't have been able to save James, and Moonlight Falls would still be in darkness."

Eli didn't seem reassured, but before he could argue, Parker cut in, "So you did banish the darkness? How?"

"We wondered if destroying that giant shade was what brought back the sun," Hazel explained, glancing from Sebastian to James as if looking for answers. James was dying to know the details as much as the rest.

"It wasn't that." Sebastian flopped down in an armchair. "I don't know how I did it exactly." He closed his eyes. "Eli was right. The veins and I are like a unit. I could feel the darkness clinging to us and focused all my energy on it until it burned away. I wasn't really using the veins' power to cast spells. I was harnessing their energy and sending it where I wanted it."

"No wonder it took such a toll on you." James perched on the arm of Sebastian's chair. He wanted to wrap Sebastian up as if holding him tight could protect him from the past.

Sebastian looked at him, eyes tired. "It hurt like hell. But at the time, I thought it wouldn't work, and while it's great things turned out okay, I'm really hoping I don't have to do it again."

"Why would you have to do it again?" James laid a hand on Sebastian's shoulder. "The shade is gone. If it's so hard for complex beings to come into our world, I doubt it will return to Moonlight Falls."

"Yeah, that attack seems like a once-in-a-lifetime event," Hazel agreed from the couch opposite them.

Sebastian tensed beneath James's hand. "Have there been many shades around? "

"We've hardly seen any," Parker assured him, and Eli nodded in agreement.

Sebastian didn't relax. "Even at Storm House?"

Eli perched on the couch next to Hazel. "We haven't been out there at night." He looked quickly at Parker, hovering beside him, then away.

Sebastian shifted in his seat, avoiding everyone's eye. "So they could be regrouping and we wouldn't know."

James squeezed his shoulder. "Regrouping? What do you mean?"

Sebastian's gaze found James, his expression even more exhausted than before. "I think I know where all the shades are coming from. And I think I know why the energy pattern at the intersection looks so weird."

Eli's posture stiffened. "Really?"

Sebastian kept his focus on James. "I think the vein intersection's energy resembles what we see in shifting veins because, like shifting veins, the intersection is a gateway to Beyond."