I quirked a smile. “Yes, but then you wind up turning your back on your future.”
He chuckled warmly. “You’re witty. Maybe that clever mind of yours will help Christian become a better man.”
“I’m not here to make Mr. Poe a better man.”
A strip of hair slipped in front of his face. “Blue and I didn’t always get along, but we found common ground. It’s not easy for Christian either. Something about you provokes him; perhaps you remind him of someone.”
“Himself?” I snorted.
Niko’s eyes darted around the room as if he were able to see it. “Viktor couldn’t have known your aversion to Vampires. The fates put you together for a reason.”
“I’m sick of the fates. They need to mind their own business. No more wisdom, Niko. I think my hangover is coming back.”
“I find it hard to believe that you spent hours with him and found no redeeming qualities.”
I thought about some of the moments in the bar when Christian and I had shared a laugh. Even the bar fight had been an unexpected highlight that made us bond like a couple of outlaws. Then I remembered the wistful look in his eyes when he spoke about his sister. It reminded me that he was once human, and that before he became a killer, he was just a young man who loved his family.
“What are you thinking?” Niko asked, his eyes scanning my body.
“Will I lose my heart the older I get? Is that what happens to us?”
“Do I seem heartless?”
I briefly touched his hand and then sat back. “I didn’t mean it like that. But you can’t deny that you’re different than you were as a human. We’re immortal. We outlive our families and can’t have children. Everyone around us will die.”
He laced his fingers together. “Do you know how a sword is made? The steel is heated, placed on an anvil, and forged with a hammer. It’s bent out of shape, repeatedly struck, and reheated. This process can go on for weeks to craft it to perfection. The point I’m trying to make is that the sword will never come into existence unless it’s been challenged by the elements and by force. It becomes a weapon, but it’s also a protector. We’re not human anymore, Raven. You have to accept that. Their purpose is to have children to continue their race, and that to some degree requires love. Our purpose has changed. The way you love will change, and perhaps it will diminish, but it doesn’t lessen the person you are or the great things you can offer this world.”
Betty set down the tea and ice water before hurrying off to the kitchen. Niko’s fingers discovered the straw, and he pushed it away, instead choosing to drink from the glass.
“I think we need to find you a girlfriend,” I teased.
He suddenly coughed, setting down his glass and wiping his mouth.
“I’m just kidding, Niko. I already had this discussion with Gem.”
His eyes flashed up, but I never got to hear his response.
“Miss Black… I wasn’t expecting to see you on this side of town,” Detective Glass said, towering over our table. “Mind if I join you?”
* * *
When Detective Glassmade a surprise appearance, Niko got up and sat next to me, giving Glass the other bench. He slid all the way until he was directly across from me. We made idle chitchat about the food until Betty delivered our plates.
“Just pie?” Glass gave me a friendly smile that made him seem younger than his rugged appearance suggested.
“Their pie is the only thing I look forward to.”
“I’ve always preferred the main course myself.”
Glass had blond hair the color of straw, short with the top brushed messily forward. His ears were a little small, but I hardly noticed because of his piercing gaze. He rubbed his clean-shaven jaw and looked as if he was trying to decide something. Now that I was finally getting a good look at him, I couldn’t help but notice his dark eyebrows. They were oddly attractive against his otherwise light features and put emphasis on his eyes. He sure looked like a detective. Clean-cut, a little rough around the edges, always hiding a smirk, perceptive, and probably had an after-hours bar he frequented. Some quiet place with a friendly bartender who knew him by name.
Glass turned his attention to Niko, who was touching everything on his plate. “Are you blind?” he asked bluntly.
Niko lifted his burger. He seemed to tolerate the question, but his annoyance was obvious. “My vision is impaired, yes.”
“Pity.”
Questions like that weren’t necessarily considered rude among Breed. Most immortals were very forthright with their thoughts and opinions and didn’t tiptoe around someone’s feelings. It was something you grew accustomed to. And the joke was on him if he thought Niko was someone to feel sorry for.
