With his knowledge of this world, I let him lead the next part of the discussion, but by the end even I realized Helix held something back, something important.
“Just spit it out,” I said, eyeing them and the barely restrained testosterone wafting through the room .
Helix cleared his throat and sat his glass on the coffee table. “Part of the process will require a lot of magic. I won’t allow Melinda to be drained after she helps in case we need to make an escape. I won’t leave her defenseless. So, this magic will be provided by you.”
Fin froze beside me and I had to look at him to make sure he was still breathing.
His voice was tight when he answered. “You want one of us to give up our magic?”
“Temporarily of course, and only as much as we need to complete the process. Nothing more and nothing less.”
And yet he expected one of us to do something it was obvious he’d never do, obviously. Which made me wonder, what would it feel like to once again, be magic-less?
Chapter Twelve
FIN HADN’T RELAXED next to me since Helix made his request. which made me think there was a level of this exchange I didn’t understand.
I waited for Fin to offer an explanation, but his attention was focused on the man across from us. “Now, why would you think we’d blindly walk into this deal?”
Helix dragged his gaze between us. “I assumed you needed help. At any cost according to you, Zoey. This is the price for that help. Take it or leave it. I don’t care either way.”
He looked down at his drink, then shook his head. “No, that’s a lie. I do care because I want her to say no. I want her to walk away from this entire thing and tell you to go fuck yourselves before she ends up dead.”
If I hadn’t seen the depth of his feelings for Melinda, I might have taken offense to that statement, and I might have thrown his ass off the balcony to see if flying was in his repertoire.
“Let’s pretend we say yes,” I started.
Fin grabbed my free hand hard in his. I cast him a placating glance.
“What would be required? How would it work or affect the person giving up the magic?’
“The how is the easy part. Once the contract is signed, the magic in the contract does the work. It’s like sucking a milkshake through a straw and then it’s done. It’ll take a few days likely for the person to recover the use of his magic and then he’d be fine, no lasting harm.”
Fin sq
ueezed my hand too tight, and I winced. “Except someone else would have control over another person’s magic to do anything at all with it. I’d say that has the potential for harm.”
Helix took a long drink and resettled with his arm over the back of the couch. “We would also be bound by the terms of the contract. It will clearly outline the parameters of the use of the borrowed magic.”
Fin huffed, and I almost laughed at how worked up he was getting.
I frowned at him. “But I doubt you’re going to list step by step what she intends to do with the magic. If step two in a five-step process is murder, and you only tell me the end result, I’ll still be complicit in murder.”
Fin was about to combust. It didn’t help that Helix threw out alpha vibes and Fin already owned that road in the house.
I tugged his hands into my lap, but I spoke to Helix. “Can you go away somewhere so Fin and I can have a chat?”
“Where do you want me to go?”
I stood, dragging Fin up with me. “I’ll show you to the door. You can go wherever you want but then come back so I can tell you what we decide. Or better yet, I’ll give you a call when we have a decision.”
Helix looked like wanted to argue, but he threw back the rest of his drink, set the empty glass on the table, and stood. Deftly, he buttoned his jacket and walked himself toward the door.
Once he left, Fin locked the door and then closed his eyes, no doubt working on the shields Helix had somehow shattered with seemingly little effort.
When he sighed and opened his eyes again, I closed the gap between us and let him put his arms around me. “Let’s discuss this, and by discuss, I mean you need to break down fairy magic for me yet again.”
He hugged me tight, pressing his chin on top of my head. After he pulled away, he led me back to the couch and settled with one of his legs bent in front of him.