"Before this goes up, I want to track Evan's scent," Xavier said, always the tactician. "Tash, you want to learn something new?"
Cue a fresh wave of panic, but curiosity overruled.
He beckoned me over to the edge of the yard, then dropped to a crouch. "You need to learn to separate the traces. Here. Get low. Breathe through your nose, not your mouth. The mint is a mask, but it never covers completely."
The world at dirt-level was a mess of impressions.Mint was fucking everywhere, making my brain want to bail. Underneath, though, I caught something else, a whiff of singed cloth, a high, acrid tang that might have been adrenaline. Then, lower, a melody of earth and wood smoke. Not William, not Chance.
Evan.
It was subtle at first. I had to roll the idea around, let Taryn toy with it. She picked up quickly, like the difference between cinnamon and nutmeg. Not huge, but if you paid attention, you'd never confuse them.
Xavier nodded, as if he could see the epiphany ignite. "That's it. Each dragon leaves a print. Evan's is spice based. Not floral, sharper. If you get past the mint, you'll find it deeper in the grass."
I followed, crouched and nose to ground, a full-grown woman reduced to wild-animal tactics. But it worked. After a few tries, the mint became background noise. I trailed the scent from the back step, across a patch of trampled ferns, into the thicket behind the shed.
Xavier shadowed me, not speaking.
Chance and Damon hung by the SUV, watching.
The Evan trail doubled back twice, then split. One way uphill, another cut along the creek bed. I pointed that out, and Xavier grunted approval.
"He's making us work for it. Smart."
Another trace was lighter, laced with a hint of lavender. Kira. It laced over the same track, but cooler, cleaner. Barely scented at all, but there. I locked it in my head, sure I could pick it out next time.
By the fourth loop, I was sweating, dizzy from the overload.
I straightened, dusted my knees, and tried not to puke.
"You got it?" Xavier asked.
"Yeah. I think so."
He grinned. "Fast learner."
I knelt again by William's body. The science side of me kept expecting to flinch, but I didn't. Not this time.
He was gone. So was his buddy, the one with the nose job gone bad. The threat was over.
I should've been wracked. Should've been destroyed.
But instead, I looked at their faces, at the slack jaws and blood-stamped shirts, and the only thing I could think was, good. Let that be a warning.
Nobody hurts my girls.
Nobody gets to turn me into prey and walks away.
If I have to learn to wear this dragon skin, if I haveto help mop up a murder scene or torch a cabin to protect my own, so be it.
Chance hovered, but didn't crowd. I could tell he wanted to wrap me up, but he kept his distance, letting me process.
For that, I loved him.
Chance
Hot damn,but the safe house needed a new floor soon. When I paced, the boards under my feet squeaked in protest, like they already knew I was ready to stomp out the devil himself if he tried for round two. That didn't slow me down. I prowled the living room with my hands braced behind my neck, rolling out the tension, but it wouldn't budge.
Tash had collapsed onto one end of the couch, an odd look on her face, like she was tasting thoughts she wasn't sure she liked. The twins settled next to her.
