Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

Before Jaron returned to Keegan, he swung by his work-place. Pushing open the door to the Mortal Rights Task Force office, he was greeted by a familiar buzz of activity. Everyone was on high alert.

No wonder.

The kidnapper had made things personal by taking their boss.

Jaron found Ceska in Apollo's office, but she wasn't alone.

Along with Ianair, she stood in front of Apollo's desk, seemingly engrossed in a hushed conversation. The tension between them was unmistakable—the way Ianair's hand hovered near Ceska's arm, the slight flush on her cheeks.

Jaron paused in the doorway, watching as Ceska tilted her head up, lips parting. Ianair leaned in, and for a brief moment, it seemed like they might actually kiss. Jaron couldn't help but grin. About time those two found each other.

Except that Ianair suddenly straightened, catching sight of Jaron. He stepped back quickly, clearing his throat. "Jaron! We weren't—this isn't?—"

"Relax," Jaron said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm happy for you guys. Really."

Ceska looked flustered but managed a small smile. "Thanks, Jaron. But we really should focus."

"Yeah," Ianair agreed, running a hand through his hair and looking everywhere but at Ceska. "Not exactly the best timing."

"Right," Jaron said. "But still… I'm glad to see it." In his mind, everyone should be as happy as he was with Keegan—as happy as he was going to be with Keegan once they put this whole kidnapping case behind them. Quickly, he shifted gears. "Anyway, I have some info about the kidnappings."

Ceska's eyes sharpened with interest. "What did you find out? Anything about Apollo?"

"Not exactly," Jaron said, "But Keegan believes they're targeting fated mates to unleash some sort of cosmic energy in a ritual designed to alter fate itself."

That news silenced both Ceska and Ianair for a moment.

Ianair frowned deeply as he processed the information. "You think he's right?"

"I do," Jaron confirmed.

"But why would they do that?"

"I don't know," Jaron admitted, hiding the fact that he'd love to change his own fate too, if the necessary means weren't so grisly.

"I guess it doesn't matter why," Ceska said. "What matters is stopping them. Our mages have narrowed down the part of town where the victims are being held. So far we've struggled to get the exact location, but if they're going to be performing a ritual… we can probably trace the spike in magic that would cause."

Ianair nodded. "I'll let everyone know what to look out for."

"It would be better to stop the ritual before it begins," Jaron said.

"Of course," Ceska licked her lips. "The city guards are currently searching the area we pointed out. Hopefully they can find the scumbag before they can do anything."

"That would be for the best," Jaron agreed, but somehow he knew that things wouldn't end that easily.

"It would be good to know when exactly this ritual is going to take place," Ianair pointed out. "Can your seer predict that?"

"I'll ask," Jaron promised. "I'm going to see him now."

"Good," Ianair studied him for a moment longer.

"Are we sure this vampire can be trusted?" Ceska threw in. Obviously, she was still not a fan of Keegan's. All because he'd messed up that one prediction—and possibly because he'd pulled Jaron out of work the day Apollo was kidnapped. Jaron couldn't forget about that. "There are a lot of lives on the line here," she said as if she had to justify her caution.

"I know," Jaron said. "But I trust him. I'd know if he was lying to me."

"How so?" Ceska asked.

Jaron smiled. "Because we're bound to each other now."

Ianair's eyes widened. "You claimed him?"

Something about the way his friend worded that didn't sit well with Jaron. Yes, the dragon inside him had also thought about 'claiming,' but in the end, that wasn't what had happened. "Our bonding was a mutual thing. I could never have claimed him if he hadn't claimed me as well."

Ianair continued to look at him in wonder, reminding Jaron what a rare thing it was that he had found with Keegan. Jaron's siblings might have been blessed with the gift of fire, but Jaron had been blessed in his own way.

"You and the vampire," Ceska asked, "you're a thing now? Like Mordyn and Apollo?"

"Yes," Jaron agreed. "Like that. Keegan is definitely on our side. He wants to help Mordyn as well."

Ceska nodded slowly, somewhat mollified. "Mordyn came to talk to me during the night. I don't know where he is now, but…" She shuddered. "I know he'll rip the kidnapper to pieces when he finds them."

That only made sense. Jaron would react the same way if anyone tried to harm his mate.

Fortunately, Keegan was safe.

For now.

Jaron's fists clenched, thinking about all that Keegan hald told him about his vision of his own death.

"Something wrong?" Ianair asked.

"Nothing," Jaron lied. "I should get going." Keegan was waiting for him, and Altair was waiting as well, for the money Jaron had talked out of his mother.

He needed to get some protection against mind-control.

He sighed. He also needed to stop by home and get changed.

Much as he hated it, he had to keep up his end of the bargain he'd made with his mother.

Keegan sat back against the wall, hunched over his laptop, next to the star charts on his floor, scouring the internet for any information about the fraying threads of fate he had seen in his visions. His fingers flew over the keyboard, typing in search terms and clicking on links that led nowhere.

The door creaked open and Jaron walked in, but Keegan barely glanced up. Someone had said something ridiculous on the internet a few months ago, calling all seers liars and Keegan needed to respond to them and put them in their place.

"Hey, I'm back," Jaron said.

"Mm," Keegan grunted, not really hearing him.

"I got the money."

Keegan nodded absentmindedly.

Jaron sighed. "Keegan, hello? Anyone home in that genius vampire brain of yours?"

"Huh? Oh, uh huh, that's great," Keegan mumbled. He was almost done writing his message.

Without another word., Jaron strode over and poked Keegan hard in the shoulder. Keegan whirled around, an annoyed retort on his lips, but the words died in his throat.

Jaron stood there, wearing nothing but a loincloth and an array of shiny jewelry: ornate, golden bands adorned his biceps, rubies glittered against his collarbone, mirroring the color of his wings, and intricate patterns covered his wrists and fingers.

Keegan's mouth fell open as he stared at Jaron.

He looked so different now that he dressed for his status, and his stature.

"Wow," he breathed. "You look…"

"Incredible? Sexy? Irresistible?" Jaron supplied with a cheeky grin. He turned in a slow circle, giving Keegan an eyeful from every angle.

"I was going to say ridiculous," Keegan lied, trying to regain his composure even as his gaze roamed hungrily over Jaron's body. "What's with the getup?"

Jaron shrugged. "Just had this lying around. You like?"

"Mh, it's alright I guess. If you're into that whole regal gym rat look."

"Ouch!" Jaron laughed. "You know how to wound a dragon's pride."

"It's not hard, your egos are so fragile," Keegan shot back with a smirk.

"Oh, I'll show you just how hard I can be," Jaron raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"Really? That's the best line you can come up with?"

"Why waste my best material when you're already drooling over me?" Jaron reached out to cup Keegan's face, his thumb brushing across Keegan's bottom lip.

Then however, he pulled away, as if he just enjoyed being a tease. "What were you doing with that?" he gestured at the laptop.

Keegan hesitated, his fingers hovering over the keyboard as if they could somehow erase the visions from his mind. He swallowed hard, trying to push down the dread clawing at his insides. What he'd seen…

Jaron's hand settled on his shoulder. "Hey, we're mates now," he reminded Keegan softly. "Whatever it is that's bothering you, we can face it together."

Keegan studied Jaron. He was so used to bearing the weight of his foresight alone, to grappling with the knowledge and the isolation it brought. No one had ever truly understood what that was like.

How could they?

His eyes searched the dragon's face.

If there was anyone he could share his knowledge with… it had to be Jaron.

"You saw something bad, didn't you?" Jaron asked, sitting down beside Keegan.

Keegan nodded slowly. "I saw the threads of the future," he began. "They were fraying, unraveling before my eyes. It was like the very fabric of fate itself was coming undone."

Jaron tilted his head even as his brow furrowed in concern. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Keegan admitted, frustrated. He had a guess, but he didn't want to be right. "I have a feeling it has something to do with the kidnapper and their ritual. They're messing with forces they don't understand, and it's causing ripple effects throughout the timeline."

Jaron was silent for a moment, processing this information.

"We'll just have to stop their ritual then," he said as if it was that simple.

Maybe it was.

Keegan exhaled, glad that he'd confided in Jaron, that he had this dragon by his side to keep him rooted in the here and now when he wanted to obsess about potential futures.

"You said something about getting the money?" he asked him, closing the lid of his laptop.

"I did." Jaron gestured down at his loincloth. "This is the price I had to pay."

"Your parents are making you wear that?"

"Somehow you don't sound like you disapprove."

"That's because I don't." Keegan allowed himself a smile. "All the visions I've had of you, I've never seen you look like this."

Jaron grinned back at him. "Doesn't that mean we're making significant changes?"

Jaron's words stopped Keegan short; the dragon was right. This outfit of his was unforeseen.

What else might happen that Keegan hadn't been able to predict?

For some people, the future was an open field of endless possibilities. It hadn't been like that for Keegan for a long time. Instead, he'd been relying on his psychic GPS to navigate. 'Take this turn to get to this event faster.'

He'd found comfort in that.

Now, for the first time, he found a spark of joy, a glimmer of hope, in the unpredictable. With Jaron by his side, maybe he could return to the open field.

"Thank you," he said, drawing his mate in for a kiss.

Jaron kissed him back readily, but a hint of confusion showed on his face. "You're welcome, but for what?"

Keegan ruffled the dragon's hair. "Just for being your stubborn self." He rose to his feet, pulling Jaron up alongside him. "Let's talk to Altair and see if he's been able to find something that'll protect you against mind-control."