From the steps, I clear my throat, not wanting to startle my violent sister.
“Finally awake?” Luca’s voice is smooth, edged with amusement. He steps closer, casual, but watching.
“You look like hell. Want me to put you back under?” he smirks.
A single shadow snaps toward him in warning.
What a dick. And yet … I like him.
“Good morning, Luca. Astrid. Thank you for cleaning my wounds and for fixing my nose. Honestly? Getting knocked out again sounds better than this shit. But I’m in a hurry,” I respond, wincing in pain.
“Sit.” Luca doesn’t ask. He just gestures, expecting obedience. His gaze flicks to Astrid before lowering himself into the chair across from me. “We need to talk.”
My sister glances at me from behind her cards, a quiet growl rumbling from her chest—which only makes me chuckle. I ease myself into the nearest folding chair, pain sparking down my side, and wait for the vampire to ask his questions.
Luca curls his fingers around Astrid’s hand, lips ghosting over her knuckles. He looks at me, calm but unflinching.
“Let’s start with who you are.”
“I am Astrid’s brother, Ezra. I am the same creature as her, made of shadows, billions of years old, all of that.
“My relationship with Renato is one I did not enter into willingly, though. I don’t work for him. Hate the bastard, if I’m being honest.
“A few years back, I fucked up. I could’ve just killed Ren and been done with it, but that would’ve meant wiping out every vampire in the U.S. And at the time, I had bigger things to worry about. So instead, I agreed to owe him a favor. A mistake, in hindsight.
“Anyway, to repay my debt, he asked me to come here to mediate your release. Because of extenuating circumstances, I didn’t have to promise your safe return, only that I’d try.”
Luca leans forward, resting his arms on the table. His voice drops, edged with suspicion.
“Ren doesn’t change the terms of a debt. Ever. What did you do?”
“My mate overpowered Renato. Nearly ripped his bloody head off. Perhaps I shouldn’t have intervened, but I didn’t want an international vampire incident to deal with on top of everything else.”
“Do you have a vampire mate, too?” Astrid asks, her dark purple eyes wide and curious as she leans over the table.
“I don’t have a vampire mate, sister. But I’m happy you found a vampire worth loving. I’ve only recently discovered the benefits of having a kind and loving mate,” I respond, trying to smile around the bruises on my face.
“If not a vampire, then what is your mate?” my sister asks.
She’s a curious thing, I’ll give her that.
And her accent. Icelandic, I think.
So, she stayed somewhere cold. Pines thick with snow. Skies stretched thin and endless. The kind of quiet that feels like peace, not loneliness.
Maybe we’re not so different, after all.
“Well, that’s a story for another day.”
I don’t trust them with the truth. Not yet. Not until Aurora claims her power. Not until she can wield it.
Astrid’s mouth turns down and her shoulders slump.
Luca’s thumb skims Astrid’s wrist, grounding her.
“She barely spoke when I found her.” His voice drops, heavy with something unspoken. “Now she talks. Asks questions. Laughs.”
He doesn’t look away. His gaze is unreadable but calculating underneath.
