“My father wouldn’t have provoked him.”Lyra pointed at the feather outline.“Who can do this?Another Caido, I imagine.”
“A powerful and dark one.Which makes this a bad situation for a Dragon in particular.”
“Why?”
“You’re a yellow Dragon, yes?”
“Citrine, technically.Dragon deities love gemstones.”
“Emotional.Impulsive.Two good reasons right there for you to stay away from this situation.”
“But those are good traits.”Well, mostly.
He was shaking his head, though not one hair moved.“Those are bad traits when dealing with Caidos because we are neither emotional nor impulsive.”
“See what a great team we’d make, balancing each other?We have a common goal—finding someone we care about.Their disappearances are connected.It makes sense to work together.”
He gestured to the wings.“Whoever did that would not hesitate to incinerate you.”
“Watch it, or I’ll think you care about my safety.”
The corners of his mouth twitched.“You will complicate my investigation, and if you’re killed, I will have to deal with your remains.”
Ooh, he was a tough one.“Okay, then, here’s the deal.I’m not your responsibility, so my remains will not be your concern.Nor can you stop me.”She fisted her hand at her chest.“Maybe Caidos can’t love or care, but I do.I love my pop, and I can’t sit by and wait for the generosity of your updates.”
He took subtle steps backward as she spoke.“Unwise.But as you say, you are not my responsibility.”
“I don’t suppose you’ll let me look around for clues?”Which she did as she slowly headed toward the door.
“No.”
Her gaze strayed to two coffee mugs at the table, and her nose picked up the scent of cinnamon.She sidestepped Archer and lifted the mug to her nose.“This is what my pop drinks, coffee with a dash of cinnamon and cayenne.How did they get here when their cars are at my pop’s place?Wait, you guys can teleport from one place to another, can’t you?”
“It’s called ‘Leaping.’Jeremy probably brought him here when things got ugly at your father’s.”
Fear rippled through her as she imagined those wings on the floor.“Then they disappeared from here.”
Lyra noticed that whenever she felt strong emotion, Archer backed away.Wonder what that was about?Well, no matter; she had more important things to do, like investigating several pictures taped to the fridge’s stainless-steel doors.They were taken at a nightclub, three pictures of two men posing together and one with them flanking a woman with long blond hair and striking features, each man kissing one of her cheeks.
She pointed to the man with a muscular-but-wiry build.“This is Jeremy?”
“Yes.”
He was muscular, with dark blond hair.And laughing.She glanced at Archer, whom she couldn’t imagine in full-out laughter.
She turned back to study the other man.Crescent magick features, like the flames in a Dragon’s eyes or the mist in a Deuce’s eyes, were indistinguishable in pictures.“Who’s the redhead?”
Archer paused, as though he were considering answering.Finally he said, “That’s his boyfriend, Marik.”
“Boyfriend?That’s not very common among Caidos, is it?I mean, having a lover.”
“No.”
Whenever Lyra did see a Caido, they were often alone.“Do you have his number?”
“No.”
She studied Marik’s fuller face, searching for clues as to his personality.“Could he be a psycho who would cause two men to disappear?”
