Chapter 23

"We've got to figure out a way to tell Eli and Parker our tongues are tied," James said the next night over dinner.

Sebastian nodded. "I'm going to try and bring the books outside with me the next time they show up. They're our best bet. What do you think Parker would do if I just started throwing them at him?"

James laughed. "I don't know, but I'm on board for being cuffed to the front porch like your prisoner in order to temp them to rescue me if you are."

"See." Sebastian pointed a fork at him. "You get it now. Any means necessary. We can certainly give it a try."

James didn't ask what they'd do when people stopped coming to check on him. He supposed Eli or someone from the diner would come each month to make the food delivery, so at least there was that.

"Why do you think it didn't work?" James didn't need to specify what he meant. There was only one elephant in the room.

Sebastian slumped. "I don't know. I don't see why it has to be a human life for any reason other than Selma working that condition in unnecessarily."

"Maybe." James chewed his food thoughtfully. "But what if it's not about human life."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "Then what stopped it from working?"

"What if the curse requires a magical life. Cows don't have any magical ability."

"But the curse uses life energy to stabilize the veins," Sebastian insisted.

James put his fork down, sitting at attention. "Did you actually read that somewhere? Selma's instructions said nothing like that when talking about the transfer. Is there anything of Sullivan's around that explains exactly what tying a person to the land does?"

"No. They were careful not to leave behind anything helpful about how the curse worked. Stephen told me a life corrected the imbalance." He trailed off, lost in his thoughts. "But maybe you're right. Maybe it's magical life energy we need, not just any life energy. Like with the creepy Nelson doll. His magic must have been feeding the veins through the doll, not just his life. It was a magical link, after all, seeing as Sullivan could steal Nelson's magic for himself through it."

"Makes sense," James agreed.

Sebastian frowned. "But even if that's true, it doesn't help us. We aren't trapping another person. What other living thing has magical ability?"

James glanced out the window. "Shades."

"Good fucking luck catching one. I don't even know if they bleed."

James had to agree. "And I don't know if they're technically living since they come from Beyond. Not in the same way we are, at least."

They cleaned up the kitchen in silence. A loophole in the transfer spell would be nice, but Selma seemed devastatingly thorough. There might not be a way to make it work without involving an innocent person. Still, James wasn't ready to let it go. Waiting for someone to figure out their tongues were tied was too passive and left too much to chance.

When the kitchen was pristine, Sebastian suggested they take a bath. "We need to pamper," he explained.

James was game to follow along. Living with Sebastian made him happy when he could forget why he was here. He liked all the little things they did together. It was nothing like any of the relationships he'd had in the past. Not that they were in a relationship. They hadn't defined anything, but what was the need when they were the only people who existed in their isolated world?

Sebastian prepped the bath, adding oils and salts, as well as bubbles. They lit candles, forgoing the oil lamps, and it was the most romantic setting James had ever been in.

"What's that look for?" Sebastian asked as he pulled off his shirt and flung it on the ground.

"Nothing." James shook his head, trying to rid himself of fanciful thoughts involving confessing his feelings and making declarations as the candlelight flickered over his and Sebastian's skin.

Sebastian put a hand on his hip and raised his brows. "Need help getting undressed?"

"I've got it." James got to work on his shirt buttons. The vintage clothes were growing on him, a sure sign that nothing about this situation was right.

Sebastian wiggled out of his slim-cut jeans and perfectly fitting underwear before stepping gracefully into the bath. He moaned obscenely as he lowered himself into the sweet lavender-and-vanilla-scented water.

"You sure you want me joining you two?" James joked.

"Yes." Sebastian flashed his signature sly smile. "It can be a threesome: you, me, and the bath."

"You're hopeless," James muttered as he climbed in.

They settled at opposite ends of the clawfoot tub, facing each other. James spread his legs around Sebastian, who placed his in James's lap. James reached under the water and absently began rubbing Sebastian's foot, working the arch.

Despite Sebastian's comment, the bath didn't feel overtly sexual. He and Sebastian had physical chemistry for days, but they had other kinds of chemistry too. James had never felt so good in quiet moments with someone. Hazel came close. The two of them were often on the same wavelength, but that came from a lifetime of friendship. He and Sebastian just clicked.

James let his mind wander as he worked on Sebastian's other foot. Sebastian leaned his head back, eyes closed, as if he were falling asleep.

"What if magic is more important than life?" James asked after a while.

Sebastian picked up his head. "Huh?"

"What if it's just magical energy the curse is using to stabilize the veins rather than magical life energy."

Sebastian's brow furrowed. "But then why would Stephen think there was a life cost to be paid?"

"I don't know, maybe because the cost of the curse is forfeiting your life, as in your ability to live how and where you want. But life might not be the literal cost of the curse. Life energy and magical energy are linked. I mean, it's how you can accidentally kill yourself overdoing a spell, but what if—as far as the curse is concerned—life doesn't matter, only magic."

The furrow in Sebastian's brow deepened. "I don't get what you mean."

"The only living things with magical energy are people, but what if life doesn't matter and we don't need a person to transfer the curse to, just a source of magical energy."

Sebastian took a moment to consider. "I mean, maybe." He sounded skeptical. "But if all Sullivan and Selma needed was a source of magical energy, then why fuck around with this horrible business of trapping people here, damning everyone in the family?"

James shifted in the bath, getting stiff after so long in one position. Sebastian moved out of his way, and they swapped places with their legs, so James now had his feet in Sebastian's lap. He let out a small, contented sigh when Sebastian started rubbing his feet.

"Back in nineteen forty, there wouldn't have been any magical energy sources for Selma or Sullivan to utilize," James explained. "Magical power—as in the kind that generates electricity—didn't kick off until the fifties, and even then, it wasn't viable on a small scale like it is now."

Sebastian perked up, his posture straightening, hands unmoving on James's foot. "You can't just plug a battery into the curse, James."

"I know. This property drains them all dry. But I think that points to my theory being on the right track. The veins need energy. Hell, they are magical energy. Of course that's what's needed to stabilize them. I doubt the imbalance would notice if a human life were involved or not."

"Okay." Sebastian resumed rubbing. "Say that's true. It still doesn't help. Leeching off a living person is the only way to feed the veins magical energy over a prolonged period. No battery would last long enough to replace us. They all drain instantly. While me staying alive provides renewed energy to feed the veins as long as I don't drain myself to death."

"You're right. A battery wouldn't last." James smiled. "But a fuel cell might."