Page 43 of Blood

“That made sense to you?” Kole whispers.

“It didn’t make sense to you?” I ask, loudly.

Tanner rolls his eyes.

Nova simply folds her arms in front of her chest and taps her foot against the floor.

“All right. So, we need Miranda. We need Rev’s aunt. That’s what you’re saying?”

“Precisely.” Thornfield nods.

“So, why haven’t you found her already?” Kole growls. “We all know the power you hold over this city, Professor.”

Flexing his fingers at his sides, Thornfield licks his canines with irritation. “I suspect Queen Zephyra has Miranda. And here lies the crux of the matter – a vow, ancient as the scepter itself, prohibits my family from causing any harm to the scepter. I am bound to protect it. And because my intent is to destroy it, every attempt I have made to find Miranda has been blocked somehow. At least, I believe it has.”

“So, that’s why you brought us here. To find her.” Nova raises her eyebrows. Now, she is irritated too. She spent too long being controlled and manipulated. She does not appreciate it when she doesn’t have the facts up front.

“Yes, Fire Bird. I need Kole’s abilities as a seer to locate her. And when we have, we will share the elixir. On the condition you help me destroy the scepter, of course.”

“Of course,” Tanner mutters sarcastically. “Wouldn’t expect anything less than a treacherous death mission and a bargain with a mafia vampire.”

“Why us?” I ask, still reeling from the hope he dangled before me. I frown at him. “You don’t care whether I live or die. You’re bargaining with us because you need us, and that’s fine. Because it seems we need you too. But why? You must have plenty of others you could ask..”

Assessing my question, Thornfield’s lips twitch into a rare, genuine smile. “You, all of you, are descendants of the Original Six. There’s a power in that lineage, a trustworthiness that’s hard to find. Especially when dealing with an artefact that could change the very nature of our world.”

He looks at Nova and fixes his eyes on her. Only her.

“You saved the world once, Fire Bird. Do you think you can do it a second time?”

22

NOVA

Our hotel is small and quaint. One of the few places Mack could find that would accept dogs – or a creature that looks like a dog, at least.

“We have two rooms,” Mack says. He’s holding two old-fashioned keys, not the card-kind, handed to him by a blonde receptionist with big red lips.

“Two?” I frown, aware I’m pouting.

“They’re not quite as open-minded here as they are back home,” Tanner says quietly. “Pretty sure if we all tried to pile into one room, they’d have something to say about it.”

I bite my lower lip. Choosing which of my boyfriends to sleep with, when usually we’re all curled together in Luther’s giant bed back at the cabin, feels wrong. Unnatural.

“I can’t choose.” I shake my head. “You guys will have to draw straws.”

“It’s okay,” Tanner says. “I should sleep with Mack and Snow. In case…” He trails off, not wanting to say what we’re all thinking. In case Mack gets sicker.

I glance at Kole. My heart lightens a little. Perhaps this is what we need – a few hours alone, so I can check on him. Persuade him to open up to me about how it feels being back here.

Instead of looking pleased, Kole simply nods and takes the key Mack is offering him. In one gruff movement, he picks up my bags and his holdall, and marches off down the corridor.

When the door closes quietly behind us, we stand in silence for a moment. In the dark.

The room is small, and cold.

A large window opposite lets in a soft orange glow from the street outside, but the large buildings that surround us block out the moon and stars.

Kole stands facing the window, shoulders rising and falling with a tremor that hurts my heart.