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Chris had been hiding in his jar for two days and whenever anyone entered his room, he’d ignored them. Jack had come in to find him and he’d laid low and not responded. Jack had sounded sad, and while Chris hadn’t meant to upset him, he wasn’t ready to talk yet. His mind was all of a tizzy. When there had been no chance of there being anything between them, he’d allowed himself to indulge his crush, but he couldn’t deny he was changing as he’d never had the ability to touch someone, even in the whisper-like way they’d experienced.

He’d ventured out of his jar a few times, and there was no mistaking things were different. For a start, he was not as see-through—he could tell his hair was straw-blond and his eyes blue, and he still had the pointy ears. Something else as well, the ring from his dream was now on his finger more often than not and he had golden arm cuffs he had hidden out of view with long sleeves, but he knew they were there. Then there were the dreams. More of the same, a warrior elf with an appetite for pretty men and getting his own way, although dream him was seldom happy no matter what was going on or who he took to his bed.

A soft cough alerted him to no longer being on his own.

“Chris?” It was Karl.

He peered out of his jar. “Yes?”

“I don’t want to disturb you, but I was wondering if you intended to continue with the treatments with Jack. He’s steadfast that he wouldn’t ask and that you needed to be the one ready to continue.”

Chris hadn’t thought much about those interactions. “Is he all right?”

“Your assistance has been causing a great improvement, but I believe that he’s now slipping back to his previous state. I surmise that he’ll need to reach a certain point in his recovery in order to maintain his progress and that hasn’t been achieved yet.”

The thought of Jack’s recovery being in danger due to his actions left him feeling guilty. Karl had spoken up in his defence a few times and he could at least share why he had been hiding. “I’ve needed some time alone to regroup. I’ve been experiencing things I can’t explain, and I wondered if they were related to helping Jack.”

“Such as?” Karl asked. “I might be able to shed light on your concerns.”

He supposed as a demon Karl might have insights others wouldn’t, but it was hard for him to confide with someone on personal matters. “Strange dreams for one. I have started to wonder if they are actually memories but some of the content would be disturbing if that were the case.”

“Dreams are more often than not a reflection of someone’s thoughts and worries. Rarely are they a depiction of events of how they happened in reality if they even happened at all.”

When he’d started remembering these dreams, he’d thought something similar, but they weren’t abstract, but distinct scenes. “I don’t know, they feel real.”

“Give me an example.”

One in particular could be considered disturbing. “I was trying to decide whose head I was going to remove and send back to my enemies. I couldn’t make up my mind so decapitated all three and sent the heads back to their fathers.”

Karl’s eyelid twitched. “That is rather graphic.”

“They weren’t very old, mid-teenage and girls. I think they were princesses, and I wanted their fathers to yield. I had their younger siblings in a cage and made them watch.”

“You know there are many stories in that vein, so tell me, which is more likely, you read a myth about the beheading of princesses, and you put yourself in the role of the perpetrator or that you did it yourself?”

“Put like that, I guess it might be more likely that it’s my subconscious.”

Karl smiled. “Now, about Jack, are you planning to resume treatment? If you would do so until at least he has enough strength to delve into what you’re doing with his magic, we may be able to figure out an alternative and set you free.”

He didn’t want to be free from Jack. The last couple of days he’d been hiding but not from Jack but himself. “I want to help. Is now a good time?”

“If you’ve been in here a while, would it be best for you to eat first? I happen to know a couple of the gardeners are playing strip poker and last time that happened, they crushed several flower beds while settling their stakes.”

A snack would be a good idea. “I’ll go have a bite and then see Jack.”

* * *

Chris had to hand it to Crofton Hall, the gardeners had a lot of stamina, and he was able to get a decent feed, they were still going at it in a greenhouse when he’d drifted away. They were human as far as he could tell and tasted earthy with an undercurrent of jasmine.

Now with optimum energy levels, Chris decided to visit Jack and was surprised to find him sleeping. Jack looked tired, even worse than before he’d started to help. He curled up next to him on the bed. He could sense he was exhausted, and Chris suspected he’d been trying to work his magic without the regular healing sessions in between. Chris didn’t like seeing Jack in this state, his guilt for running away made him cuddle closer. He couldn’t deny that he was becoming more corporeal, although still more see-through than not, as he laid his hand over Jack’s heart, he was resting it rather than it floating above his chest.

Jack muttered in his sleep and smiled, and Chris’s stomach did a little flip. He wanted to be close to Jack, protect him, make him his and his alone. While he’d admit to himself he was smitten with Jack, he hadn’t considered his thoughts and motives to be possessive, but there was no mistaking his feelings. He would need to get a handle on this, he was a creature who lived in a jar and Jack was a warlock—no one was going to write their fairy tale.

“Chris?” Jack’s eyes flickered open. “I can hold you. How is that possible?”

Jack was groggy and adorable, and Chris snuggled closer. “I seem to be changing, maybe you have as much of an effect on me as I have on you.”

They lay there for several minutes, Chris content to enjoy the silence and to be held, after a fashion, for the first time in, well, forever. “You’re squidgy,” Jack said, sounding happy.

“I’m not solid, but more defined. I’ve never been held before. I have to say I like it.”

Part of him harboured the fantasy that the more time he spent with Jack, the more real he’d become. It was a reasonable enough assumption, so he would cling to it.

He could also sense Jack’s energy levels rising. During previous sessions, Chris had been drained, not today though, which might be due to the added pep from the gardeners, but he thought there must be more to it.

Jack wriggled and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Chris asked.

“Not wrong, but I must be mistaken.”

“What?”

“My magic has perked up, it’s delving into you, can you feel it?”

Chris concentrated but there was nothing he could identify. “No. What are you picking up?”

“I might be going mad, but you’ve got a magic core. A proper one, not like a watcher or someone who reflects energy, but a true source. It’s faint but I can’t think what else it could be.”

Chris wasn’t convinced and thought Jack might be hallucinating due to tiredness. “I’m sure I’d have noticed.”

“Chris, I don’t know what else to tell you. There’s something there, and it’s got a magical energy pattern. But I’ve never come across anything like it before. It’s unique.”

Everything about him was unique, and he’d quite like to have a boring update that might help identify what he was. “ Unique ?”

Jack wrinkled his nose. “There’s a flavour, a familiar one, but I can’t place it. I don’t think I can get much more today. We can try again next time, but my magic is getting grumpy and wants a nap.”

“You sleep. I’ll stay here a while.”

“You sure? I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

Jack was such a sweet man, he’d seen some good people, and a lot of right arseholes over the years, but Jack was the cream of the crop.

Chris stayed as Jack drifted off to sleep, and he gently stroked Jack’s hair. It was as soft as it looked, and he couldn’t contain the sigh of contentment. He had much to think about, Jack had said he had a magical core, and given his echo perhaps it wasn’t too surprising as it had to come from somewhere, but that, plus his ability to be able to touch things, made him think they weren’t unrelated.

Jack’s quiet snores made him happy. He rested his head on Jack’s shoulder and let himself enjoy the moment. He’d allow himself a few hours of sleep here and then take himself back to his jar.