Embarrassed, Golden slips out of my hold. But I don’t allow him too far, instead steering him to one of the stools where Kai and Ramy are already perched. Ramy grinning at me, Kai poking at Golden’s cheeks and snickering.
“Do you guys have any ideas?” Golden asks, slapping Kai’s hand away, then punching him in the arm.
“Ouch, you dick.” Kai then aims a kick at Golden and it takes everything in me not to stop it. “You lot can scent people right? Can’t you just sniff them out?”
“It isn’t that easy,” Ramy says as I grab a tall glass and fill it with water for my flowers, Golden watches me the whole time, his face, if possible, becoming brighter “Because blood mages use, well, blood, it messes with their scent. And in a city this big? It’ll be impossible to find them.”
“We could set a trap with some bait,” Rurik suggests.
“Using what?” Kai asks.
Rurik inclines his head to Golden.
“Over your dead body, brother—” I snap, “—will you use my mate.”
“Yeah, shitty idea, Rurik,” Kai adds.
Rurik raises both hands in mock surrender and rolls his eyes—at Kai, not me—and I catch my brother shooting a sly wink at Golden’s friend. Then the teasing middle finger Kai replies with.
‘Interesting,’I think.
I know they slept together, but it appears a friendship, possibly something more, is developing.
“I mean, it ain’t a half bad idea, Lucero,” Golden tells me.
“There’s no need for you to put yourself in harm’s way,” Ramy replies gently.
While Kai just says, “Don’t be an idiot, mate.”
I ignore Golden and his ridiculous statement, placing my flowers on the table with pride.
“We should check if people have been turning up with massive blood loss injuries,” I remark. “There are few other vampire families in the city, but none would be stupid enough to start draining people.”
“Lucero, c’mon listen to me.” Golden tries to get my attention, but is again ignored, making him huff.
“Blood banks, too,” Rurik adds. “You know what those assholes are like, take whatever they can grab.”
I nod. “And we should also find out why this Emma even attached herself to Jace.”
“Is that weird?” Kai inquires.
“Kind of,” Ramy replies. “Do you remember how I explained that vampires have families and werewolves have packs? Mages have towers and are run by Sovereigns. There are always going to be people out there who don’t know they have magic in their blood. But mages aren’t exactly going to go out of their way to find them.”
“So Jace didn’t accidentally discover he was a mage?” Golden asks.
I move back to his side, my fingers tangling in his curls. “Magic isn’t just waving your hands and hoping for the best. It requires intention, hard practice.”
“So use me as bait and we’ll find them faster—”
“Golden, enough. You say it one more time and I’m taking you to the other side of the world and only bringing you home when this is done.”
Golden’s brows draw in, his big brown eyes serious. “Lucero, c’mon. You said it would be difficult to find them.”
A growl rumbles from my chest. “You put this idea in his head,” I snarl at Rurik.
Golden jumps off the stool, arms crossing. “Everything that has happened is because of me! Let me fucking help, damnit. Let me make up for all the bloodshed.”
“Even if you weren’t here—” Even saying the words feels wrong. “We’d still need to take the blood mages out. I’m also an ancient vampire, and you, while perfect in every conceivable way, are still human, and therefore breakable.”
