“Certainly.”
I wiped the tears off my face, ignoring the ache in my chest. I was surprised by how badly this was hitting me. Part of it was guilt. Most of it, probably. Lanche had trusted me with something so integrated with his body, with his soul, and I’d lost it.
Fuck. I felt terrible, and I was terrified of the ramifications.
If that icicle really did have a piece of his magic, someone could take control of him, and from the little I’d seen, they could do terrible things with that power. Not to mention the mental toll that’d take on the snow yeti. I couldn’t imagine being in that position.
The guilt ate at me.
But something else ate at me too.
It felt like I’d lost a piece of myself too.
How was it possible for that one little piece of ice to feel so much like a part of myself after one day? How was it possible to feel so… connected to it?
And to Lanche?
And that connection only made the guilt and worry for him feel bigger. Scarier. Harder.
I had to find his icicle. I had to. There was no other choice.
Just as I was about to suggest to Anton that we join the tracking party, Jed and the others crashed back into my apartment, and my heart sank.
My friend frowned at me. “We lost the scent near the bus stop down the street. We canvassed the surrounding area to see if we could pick it up again, but there’s nothing. It’s as if the personhopped on a bus… or used other magic to change his scent and leave—perhaps both.”
“Fuck,” I hissed out, covering my eyes again before I started crying.
A hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Oakley standing in front of me. “We’ll keep searching, Dain, okay? We all have the scent, right?” They glanced around the room and got a few nods and grunts of agreement. “Then let’s make a plan and search the city. Surely, we can find something. Between Dad’s guards and Tan’s security business, they’re likely to pick up some chatter if someone’s selling the icicle or even bragging about it on the web or anywhere. We’ll review the surveillance videos from the bookshop and any buildings around this area and try to find an ID. We’ll figure this out and get Lanche’s icicle back.”
I took a breath and stared at my friend. “Okay… okay. Thank you.”
They nodded and squeezed my shoulder. “In the meantime, I think you need to call Lanche and let him know so he isn’t surprised if someone calls on his magic.”
I blanched at that. “I… I… can I… can I wait? Until we have more news?”
Oakley stared at me for a long moment. “I don’t think that’s the best idea, but it’s your call.”
I bit my cheek. “Let’s at least look at the surveillance footage first.”
They nodded before they turned and started giving out jobs. Anton, Jed, and the other vampires looked bemused by this—probably because they were all a million years old, and Oak was younger than me—but they let Oakley take the lead.
Anton pulled up the bookstore footage on a tablet someone retrieved from his car, and everyone got to work.
I swallowed thickly, pushed the tears that wanted to escape down, and jumped into the fray.
Chapter Twelve
Lanche
To say I was surprised to wake up to a message from Dain asking if we could meet for breakfast was an understatement. But I couldn’t say I was upset about it. As soon as I texted him back and made plans, I quickly showered and gotready before heading out. I ended up getting to the diner early, so I was surprised to find Dain already sitting at a table.
I headed over with a smile, but when I got a look at Dain’s face, my smile faltered, and I almost tripped over my own feet.
He looked… terrible. He had dark circles under his eyes and a haggard look about him. He was pale and was emitting a sort of sad and upset, perhaps worried, aura around him.
“Hey,” I said when I was close to the table.
He jerked like he hadn’t realized I was standing there, and when his gaze met mine, I could tell he’d been crying.
