Page 29 of Hexual Healing

“That was a joke,” he said quickly.“Obviously.Who would suggest something so…practical?”

Baz and I very carefully didn't look at each other.

“Right,” I said too loudly.“So that's off the table.Obviously.Because that would be…crazy.”

“Insane,” Baz agreed.

“Completely inappropriate.”

“Totally rushed.”

“We've known each other for like a week.”

“Barely eight days.”

“Definitely not long enough to—” The house stopped me by dropping a book on my head.A very specific book.I picked it up and read the title out loud.“Fated Mates: A Guide to Inevitable Connections.”

“Your house is trying to play matchmaker,” Gary observed.

“Our house needs to mind its own business because the curse would probably strike us both dead the moment we bumped uglies,” I told the ceiling.

The ceiling sparkled passive-aggressively.

“Okay,” I said, setting the book aside.“Let's focus.Illanya gave us twenty-four hours.We need to either find a way to break the curse, defeat a dragon, or evacuate the entire town.”

“Or,” Baz said quietly, “we could give her what she wants.”

I stared at him, completely dumbfounded.“Excuse me?”

“You go with her.”

“Absolutely not!”

“Temporarily,” he continued.“Get close enough to find the source of the curse.Every dragon curse has an anchor.Something physical that holds it in place.Destroy that, and the curse breaks.”

“That's…” I paused.“Actually, not terrible.”

“It'scompletelyterrible,” Gary interjected.“You want to send her back to the creature who literally cursed her to lose someone she loves as it slowly kills her?All so that she can get her to come back?That's like sending a fish to negotiate with a sushi chef.”

“He has a point,” I said.

“But it might work,” Baz insisted.“If we could find the anchor.Maybe…” He squinted.I could tell he was deep in thought.Probably going through every possible scenario with a fine-toothed comb.

“If,” I emphasized.“And what happens when she realizes I'm faking?Dragons aren't stupid, Baz.She'll know.”

“Not if you sell it.”

“Sell it how, exactly?”

He was quiet for a moment, then: “By making her believe you're choosing her over me.By breaking my heart publicly and dramatically.”

“No,” I said flatly.“I'm not hurting you, even as an act.”

“It wouldn't be real.”

“The pain would be.”I touched the mate mark around my neck.“This thing connects us, remember?Even if it's not a true bond, there's enough of a connection that you'd feel it if I rejected you.Really feel it.”

“I can handle it.”