Page 24 of Dream Lost (The Fae Universe #12)

24

B ridget had heard of how smooth life could be when you knew the right people, but she had never experienced it for herself in real life until that moment. Charlotte gave her name to the receptionist, and all the staff around them seemed to sit up a little straighter.

“Oh! Are you Prince Kian’s delegation? How lovely. Let me get you some passes, and we will have someone come and escort you to where the patients are,” the nurse said, looking at the men standing behind them as she blustered about.

Bridget had to admit, they were all striking. Reeve seemed the most laid back in style, but even then, he had a cool boho look that Bridget had thought only Johnny Depp could pull off in real life. He made an interesting contrast to preppy Charlotte, who looked like she could have walked off the cover of a hunting magazine for fancy people, complete with knee-high riding boots and a dark blue tweed jacket.

Under any other circumstance, Bridget probably would have been self-conscious in her motorcycle boots and leather jacket, but none of them seemed to care or make her feel uneasy.

Bas slipped his hand in hers like it was the most natural thing in the world, and her heart gave a flutter. It turned out Bas made her flutter everywhere. God. What a morning.

“How are you doing?” she asked Bas.

“Shields are up. I just need to stay focused on why we are here and get through it.”

“And not hurt yourself in the process,” Bridget added, squeezing his hand.

“I will try very hard not to. There are things I need to do tonight. Things I will need energy for,” he said, keeping his voice low.

Bridget pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. “Is that so?”

“Absolutely. Thinking of a list. It’s long.”

“Behave yourself. We are in a hospital.”

“Thinking of the list is what will help me deal with being in here. Something to look forward to,” he said and squeezed her hand back.

Charlotte handed them passes on lanyards. “Are you two ready? Bas, can you explain to me your warding sigil on the way? I have some patches with me that we might be able to use as applicators. My brain is kicking over what Bridget has told me about the creature, and I can work on ideas that you have.”

Bridget let go of his hand and left them to talk magic while she fell back into step with the boys.

“So she’s the brains, huh?” she asked.

“And the beauty,” Reeve said with a dreamy smile. “And the brawn when she gets fiery. It’s the Ironwood in her.”

Apollo snorted. “You sap.”

Reeve shrugged. “Guilty. Why are you here again?”

“Curiosity. I’m an alchemist, and I don’t get to look in research labs often. I want to see what cool shit they have,” Apollo said breezily. He looked at Lachlan. “And you? Why are you here?”

“Come to enjoy the view,” Lachlan replied with a dazzling smile. Apollo went pink, and Bridget and Reeve tried not to laugh. “Also, I thought if anyone burns themself out on magic or the creature makes any of its victims fight back, you all might need the extra muscle.”

“Val tells me that you’re an untrained magician?” Reeve said from beside Bridget.

“Very untrained. No idea about any of it, but everyone in your family keeps telling me I have magic,” she replied.

“We tend to recognize each other. Magicians, I mean. And neurodivergent people. We tend to be both.”

Bridget fiddled with the cuff of her jacket. “Yeah, I had a few therapists tell me I’m some mix of ADD and autism, but I didn’t really want to look into it further. I’m cool with how I am for the most part, and I work in a bookstore, so it didn’t seem important.”

“I think you have to be neurodivergent to be a magician. We see the world differently, and it helps with the magic. We will get you trained in no time,” Reeve said cheerily. He winked at her, big and obvious. “You’ve already cast a spell on our Bas.”

Bridget snorted to cover her embarrassment. “If anything, he’s cast one on me. He was the one that kept turning up in my mind library.”

“Either way. It’s nice to see him happy,” Reeve said.

“He looks happy because they were shagging in the library this morning,” Apollo piped up.

“We were not.” Bridget rolled her eyes. “Not technically, anyway.”

Apollo said, “I knew it. You two had post-coital glows when I came in.”

“Little Bas is a dark horse, huh? Who would have thought it,” Lachlan chuckled.

“Not me. Great surprise, though,” Bridget said, making them all laugh.

They followed a doctor through two security doors and were asked to wear masks before entering the ward.

Bridget hated the itchy, claustrophobic feeling of them against her skin. She wanted to see what Charlotte was going to do, and there was no way she was leaving Bas by himself, so she put hers on without complaint.

“Can you point me to your labs? I like to oversee what’s happening there,” Apollo asked one of the doctors in the most professional voice that Bridget had ever heard.

“I’ll be joining him as his assistant,” Lachlan added. “He tends to wander and get lost if left unattended.”

Apollo’s eyes narrowed over the top of his mask, but he didn’t argue. He couldn’t without exposing his own games. Lachlan wasn’t dumb.

“Of course, please follow us, Doctor Greatdrakes,” their helpful guide said.

“He’s a doctor? For real?” Bridget asked Bas as Apollo and Lachie disappeared through another set of doors.

“Apollo is many things,” Bas replied, and his eyes crinkled, which showed he was smiling. “Right now, I think he’s in trouble.”