Page 26 of Dream Lost (The Fae Universe #12)

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B ridget stuck close to Bas as they were taken into a ward with beds running down either side. Every bed was full with a victim of the Brollachan.

“They aren’t contagious from what we can tell,” the doctor explained. “We just don’t know what we are dealing with, so we thought isolation would be best.”

“This malady is magical in nature,” Charlotte said primly. “We are here to help lift it if we can, but they will still need your help when they wake, doctor. There will be disorientation, weakness, and trauma to contend with.”

Bridget admired how they all seemed to take control of the situation. She knew that the fae dealt with magical problems all the time, but seeing the Ironwoods and Greatdrakes at work as their agents was something to behold. There was a natural authority that the average person just moved into line for.

Bas touched her arm. “Help me check their necks? If you find any that have welts more raised than the others, let me know.”

“You think the size will indicate how strong the connection is?” Bridget asked, and he nodded.

They got to work, making a catalog of the most affected patients to the least. The strange thing was that it had nothing to do with how long the creature had been feeding off them.

“I wonder why that is,” Reeve mused aloud. “Bas?”

“My guess is the state of the mind. How strong it is, how susceptible it is to influence, etc.,” Bas replied.

“Imagination,” Bridget said, and they all turned to look at her. “You said it was hunting me because of my mind, the way I built the library in the astral, and all that. A feast. It could be that the more imagination and stronger their abilities to dream, the more it actually feeds it.”

“I agree with both guesses, though it hardly matters. What does is getting those bloody things out. Bas, let’s start with the least affected, and that way, we can alter the sigils as we go to enhance their power,” Charlotte said and pulled a plastic container from her leather satchel. Inside were square pieces of fabric about the size of Bridget’s palm.

“What are they?” she asked Reeve.

“Charlotte is an incredible magician with sigils. She’s designed and made those adhesive patches to fix the sigils to. I’ve seen her blow up a creature the size of a truck with one of those things. These ones, in particular, are the healing patches. They already have base spells on them when she made them, and adding a sigil will direct the healing towards a goal.”

“Wow,” Bridget breathed. “She’s kind of fucking amazing.”

“Yeah, she is, and she’s my mate,” Reeve said, unable to keep the pride from his voice.

“I love magic,” Bridget whispered, her eyes never leaving Bas as he drew test sigils on paper before Charlotte added her flare to them. Finally, they drew one on one of the patches.

Something was different when Charlotte drew on them. The air charged, and the hair on Bridget’s arms lifted. Bas’s eyes were glowing with power as he added his parts to them.

“Has his eyes been doing that for long?” Reeve asked.

“It’s not a normal thing? He’s done it since I met him.”

Reeve hummed. “No, not normal.”

“Thought it was his dragon peeking out to say hello when he’s doing magic,” Bridget said. Or when he’s really horny.

“Yeah, must be that,” Reeve said unconvincingly. Bridget didn’t get a chance to ask follow-up questions because Charlotte was placing the first patch onto one of the patient’s necks. Bridget stepped forward for a better look.

“How long do you think it will take to work?” she whispered to Bas.

The patient started to shake, and the nurse quickly rolled them onto their side in case they seized. Bridget stared in horror as the red hook under the patch wriggled about like a worm and finally stopped moving. The patient shuddered and inhaled loudly as they woke.

“Holy crap,” Bridget gasped. “It worked.”

“Of course it worked. For how long it lasts is the real question,” Charlotte said.

Reeve poked her in the arm. “Take the win, baby.”

“I am, but I think we need to make it stronger as we go,” she replied.

Bas nodded. “That one wasn’t a strong connection, so it worked easily. The creature will catch on quickly to what we are trying to do and will try to hold on to them tighter. We need to work fast.”

“Maybe get a few of them ready and put them on all at once so the creature doesn’t have a chance to fight it. Take it by surprise,” Bridget suggested.

“Excellent idea,” Charlotte replied, and Bridget tried not to blush. She didn’t get compliments often, and Charlotte didn’t strike her as someone who would give them out easily either.

Bridget watched on, completely fascinated. The air around Bas seemed to pulse whenever he was working magic and got a glow about him. He was handsome as hell when he wasn’t doing magic. When he was, everything about him was magnified. When they were alone again, Bridget was going to kiss him until she passed out.

They were on the tenth patch, one of the stronger ones, when Bas seemed to dim.

“What’s wrong?” Bridget asked.

“Nothing, just tiring out a little. I’ll be fine,” he said.

“Put your hands on his shoulders,” Reeve interrupted.

Bridget frowned. “Why?”

“Call it curiosity. Sometimes, magicians can share power. Give each other a boost,” he replied.

Bas shot his brother a warning look, but Reeve took Bridget’s hand and put it on Bas. A charge went through her and into Bas, and he jumped like she had shocked him.

“Fucking hell,” he whispered, his eyes lighting up again.

“Yeah, as I thought,” Reeve said.

“I can help this way?” Bridget asked, excited by the idea. “I don’t like Bas hurting himself.”

“I’m not...”

“Yes, it will help him,” Charlotte said, not looking up from her sketch.

“I don’t think…” Bas began.

Bridget shushed him and placed her other hand on his shoulder. She leaned down to whisper in his ear. “I don’t want you to be tired later. Let me help.”

Bas placed a hand over hers and squeezed. “Valid point. Back on board. Let’s get this done, Charlotte.”

Bridget held onto him, enjoying the feel of his strong shoulders under her hands. She had an overwhelming urge to bury her nose in his hair. He always smelled so fucking good.

She shook herself. Maybe she was losing it. She had never had those kinds of urges with anyone. It was like she had imprinted onto Bas Greatdrakes like a baby duck.

Bridget thought back to what Reeve had said about neurodivergence. One of the therapists she had talked to about sex and relationships had told her that it could be hard to make emotional connections with other people and that sex without the connection probably wouldn’t interest her. But when she did make that connection, it would be something she really enjoyed.

Maybe I should give them a call and get them to remind me what they were talking about , she thought. It could explain what she was feeling so quickly for Bas.

Bridget had hooked up with hot people before, and looks weren’t something she tended to lose her head over. A face was a face. Bas’s face was great, but he also understood her in a way that no one else had. He would know how to help her on her bad days and would be able to keep her grounded.

You’re in love with him. Her fingers tightened on his shirt. Was she? She hadn’t been in love before.

“Okay, that’s the last one,” Bas said with a sigh of relief. He pulled his mask down so he could kiss the palm of Bridget’s hand. “Thank you, darling. I’m good now.”

Bridget reluctantly let him go and swayed as if she had stood up too quickly. Bas quickly grabbed her. “Sorry, I don’t know why that happened.”

“You’re a bit drained,” Bas said and helped her to a chair. “We will get these patches on, and I’ll get you home.”

“I’m okay now,” she reassured him. Despite her saying it, they still gave her a few minutes. Charlotte recruited a few of the doctors and nurses to help, and Lachlan and Apollo returned from their side adventures in time to get a patch and a patient of their own.

“On three, everyone,” Charlotte said over the noise. “One…two…three.”

As one, they put the patches on their patient’s necks. Like the time before, they didn’t have long to wait before they started to react. They got out of the way as the nurses and doctors took over, and the patients woke up one at a time.

Bas wrapped an arm around Bridget’s waist. “Now it’s time for us to sneak away.”

Charlotte left strict instructions for the patches not to be removed until she contacted them about it, and the doctors hung onto every word.

Once they were outside again, Charlotte sagged against Reeve and scooped her up in his arms.

“Overcooked yourself again,” he grumbled.

“Doesn’t matter. They are okay,” she said.

Bridget huffed. “So burning yourselves out is a family thing.”

“It’s a not knowing when to quit thing,” Apollo corrected. “I’ll drive.”

“We need to have a meeting about how to hunt and kill this thing,” Lachlan said as they headed towards the parking lot. “Those patches won’t work forever, and old monsters don’t give up easily. It will find new victims.”

“Agreed, but I need to rest first,” Bas said, and Bridget hung onto him a little tighter. “We have a plan of its hunting grounds.”

“Send me some pictures, and I can coordinate the rest,” Lachlan replied.

They said their goodbyes and piled into their cars. Bridget curled up into Bas and was asleep before they made it home.