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Chris sat on the bed in one of the spare rooms. He’d have preferred to have had Jack with him, but he understood Alex had set conditions to help him. Jack had told him to let Alex probe his magic and not hide, but to judge the reaction and decide how much to reveal about his memories.

He’d not been surprised Dorian had said what he had about his jar. His memories were fuzzy around his actions, as if his brain was protecting him from the worst of the horror, but he could remember how his magic felt, dark and horrible, powerful and raging, and nothing like the gentle light now sitting in his belly. His old magic would have needed something special to contain it, and Rex’s blood sounded like a perfect option. He sensed his magic had afforded him immortality and as such there would be no way they could simply kill him.

A vague recollection of a tower came to mind, and he thought it might have been where they had kept him prisoner while he was put on trial and sentenced. Yes, it must be that as otherwise he couldn’t think what the stone, circular room could be where he had no use of his powers. He stared at the gold cuffs, now they were cosmetic, but he was sure that back then they would have been a device to limit him.

Alex materialised at the side of the bed. “Hello, Chris, Jack asked me to speak to you.”

“I think he asked you to do more than talk to me.”

“Yes, but that will depend on how our talk goes. While I am now convinced you are the person of interest referred to as Christopholous, I am open to the idea that you may have changed during the years of your incarceration.”

“Jack said you wouldn’t send me to the fae,” he said carefully.

“Correct, but if I sense you are dangerous, I will find a way to stuff you back in your jar, and two thousand years will feel like a heartbeat.”

Chris didn’t want to go back in his jar, he wanted to be with Jack. He wanted to be able to make love to him and keep him safe, neither of which was possible if he were encased in pottery.

“What do you need from me for you to not want to send me away? I’ll do anything.”

“ Anything is a big word. I could ask you to live in a mountain cave or under the sea.”

Alex was being obtuse.

“Neither of those options would be better than being in a jar. I love Jack and I want to be with him. He said if I allowed you to read my magic, you’d see I wasn’t a monster.”

“Reading someone’s magic is a very intimate act, are you sure?”

“If it’s that or shoving me in a cave, then go ahead and read.” Chris thought Alex must know he wouldn’t say no. “Jack said you had specific elf stuff to discuss, which is why you didn’t want him here, is that related to seeing my magic?”

“Yes, the only way I can get a proper measure of your magic will potentially also project some of my own, and as much as I like Jack, I don’t share information about myself unless I have to.”

“So would you be exposing yourself to me?” Chris wasn’t sure what it was Alex was worried about.

“I can put up shields against you, but it would be far too draining to maintain those externally at the same time. I wouldn’t be able to react if I find the worst about you is true.”

Chris was beginning to understand now. Alex wanted to be in a position to defend himself if Chris was a bastard. He didn’t think that was due to his shields being compromised, but Jack would try to stop Chris from attacking him and Alex wouldn’t risk that.

“You will see my magic is no longer tinged in darkness.” He held out his hand. “I was naturally masking, it seems to be my default, but I’m not now and if you touch me, I won’t block you.”

Alex hesitated, and Chris waited. Perhaps Alex wanted more time to talk first, but then Alex reached out and took his hand. “This shouldn’t hurt but it might not feel right.”

“Jack’s had a rummage and that was fine.”

“Yes, but he’s been intimate with you, your magic likes him, and I dare say you’ve more than rummaged with him.”

Chris sniggered and Alex smirked.

Alex’s magic was different to Jack’s in that it was spikey and hot, like lots of tiny pinpricks racing through his veins. They didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t an enjoyable experience, and it felt as if Alex was poking around and moving stuff about to look beneath. His own magic was behaving, he’d best describe it as being curious as if experiencing a fellow elf was something fun to play with.

Alex made a series of humming noises but nothing worrisome. “Are you sure you’re not masking?” Alex asked.

“No, this is me.”

“You’ve got a high level of power, not as much as the legend suggests, but you’re like a ball of honey and starlight. I’ve seen periwinkle pixies with more spite than you.”

Chris had no idea whether that sort of pixie was spiteful or not. “I take it that’s a good thing.”

Alex let go of his hand and stepped back. “You’ve got pure light magic, it’s rare and shows you have been through a significant period of repentance. You were Christopholous, but you aren’t any longer.”

“I’m Chris.”

“Yes, you are. You’re a light elf, and I’m not going to let anyone say differently. The problem is sooner or later the fae will realise what’s happened and they don’t play fair or nice.”

“But you can tell by my magic I’m not him anymore.”

Alex nodded. “I know, and that should work in your favour. Tell me, how much do you remember?”

Jack said he should trust his judgement and from how Alex reacted, he felt comfortable with sharing. “I remember being a powerful elf. I’d been dabbling in a rather dark type of magic but a local leader had wanted my allegiance and I wouldn’t give it to him, so he killed someone dear to me. I went a bit crazy, but my actions after my initial rampage aren’t so clear. I can piece things together from vague memories and my dreams, although I don’t like what I saw. I am not that man any longer.”

“Most of the things I know about you are considered myth.”

“Is there one about a ring?”

“Yes,” Alex said. “You’re supposed to have unearthed a ring from under a tree and the elves saw how powerful it made you and declared you the leader of all.”

“That’s not quite how it happened. I found the ring and then visited a shaman who helped me refocus and then the elves thought it would be for the best if they followed me.” Joining forces was preferable to being dead. He held up his hand. “This is the ring, but it’s just a ring now, I drained it of its energy and wore it solely as a keepsake.”

“One myth said you were defeated because someone chopped off your finger.”

Chris wriggled all his intact fingers. “That’s not true. Once the elves united, I began to take on the fae.” He couldn’t remember exactly, but there were a lot of battles and death.

“The red tide.”

He’d heard some call his military campaign such. “Yes. But that was halted eventually. I was caught because I was overconfident and messy.”

Alex grimaced. “By messy do you mean the slaughter of one-fifth of the fae army?”

“They took more of mine.” He was surprised at his response. “And by that, I am not justifying my actions, more stating the truth.”

“The myths say the bodies littered the ground and rivers ran with blood.”

“Seems a little hyperbolic from my recollections.” He probed his thoughts but couldn’t remember many of the details of the battles. “The fae fought just as viciously.”

“The fae may sparkle, but they are not nice. They have a story about the capture of an elvish warrior, but I have never heard them name him. I assumed it was deliberate as giving something a name gives it more power.”

“I was captured in a nice piece of strategic battlefield tactical play. Good job really, as I think I was on the verge of cracking another power source.” There was a ritual, and he’d located the missing ingredient but hadn’t had the chance to reach the designated grove to perform the spell. “They broke through my inner circle and bound me in spell-soaked iron. But they weren’t sure what to do with me at first, it took some time for them to figure it out.”

“Your punishment was the worst they could manage.”

“Understandable given what I’d done.”

Alex’s jaw dropped. “You sound like you don’t begrudge them.”

Chris shrugged. “It was for the best I was stopped.”

“Well, they did succeed.”

A series of memories hit him hard. He was being handed down his sentence once they had realised they couldn’t kill him. Instead, they had called their greatest magical practitioners and had devised a way to hold him. “Took them months, and when they collected me, they weren’t certain it would work. But the spell stripped away my flesh and imprisoned me as an echo and sealed me in my jar. They couldn’t kill me completely, and even what they did had limitations.”

“You remember the judgement?”

“Mostly, it’s coming back. I would be in darkness until the dark had left, and with no knowledge until I was pure.” He scrunched his nose trying to remember. “Once I had no malice, I would be free, but it would need to be fuelled by love, and once I was capable of love, I would be whole.”

Alex snorted. “Love seems a bit far-fetched.”

“Love is the opposite of hate, and I had been fuelled by hate, so it kinda makes sense.”

“Oh, hang on,” Alex’s eyes were wide, “the fuelled by love… is that your eating habits?”

Chris laughed. “I guess so. Fuckers.” Maybe the fae had a sense of humour after all. “But also I now have Jack.”

“And you are capable of love.”

The thought of Jack made him happy, he meant the world to him and Chris would spend this new chance of life ensuring Jack knew he was loved.

The windows rattled and the temperature in the room plummeted, his breath now icy clouds. He turned to Alex who was on his feet, on high alert, and Chris felt a ripple of what he could only describe as anger and malice flow through him. A high-pitched scream hurt his ears and the glass shattered. He dived to the floor.

The house shook as a loud booming voice echoed through the hall. “Bring him out now or Crofton Hall will be raised to the ground.”

Alex had thrown a shield up to the window and was trying to look outside.

“Who’s there?” Chris asked.

“It’s too dark to see if there’s anyone at the back.”

Jack barrelled into the room. “There’s a small army of fae outside the front of the hall.”

“They’ve come for Chris, but they won’t be able to get in because of the wards myself and Karl set up. They won’t last forever, but long enough for you to get him out of here.”

“My portals are blocked,” Jack said. “Yours?”

Alex tried but nothing happened. “Bastards. There are tunnels under the house that extend beyond the perimeter and into the grounds about a mile or so. You might be able to open a portal once you’re at the end there. Go through the cellars to the larder and there’s a trap door. It’s how we manage live feeding for Ben and his guests.”

The hall shook again. “You have been warned. Bring out Christopholous.”

Jack grabbed Chris’s arm. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

“No.” Chris wouldn’t let people he cared about be harmed because of him, and Crofton Hall had been his home for centuries. “I can’t outrun them; they will just keep coming.”

“Chris, please,” Jack said. “We need to get you somewhere safe.”

“Only if I show them I am not a danger will we ever be safe.”

Chris knew he was right, knew this was the only feasible way they could have a future together. He headed out of the room, refusing to let Jack or Alex pull him back.

He stopped Jack at the top of the main stairs and kissed him. “I love you. I’m going to need the best lawyer there is, and that’s you. We’ll be okay.”

Before Jack could argue he was down the stairs and outside. In front of the hall were at least twenty fae, all beautiful and shiny and deadly.

“I believe you’re looking for me.”

A dart of red light sent him to his knees and his world went dark.