* * *
It wasa short drive to the pho shop, which was in a little nondescript strip mall. Definitely not the place where you would expect to find an entrance into a magical world. Luka thanked the driver and paid him as we grabbed our backpacks with a change of clothes and bottled blood on ice. We were hoping to only be here a couple hours, maybe one night at most. I still hadn’t drank from a live person and I was going to keep it that way forever if I could. Luka was drinking “dead blood” in solidarity with me. We stepped to the curb, looking at the frontage of the building for any indication this was some supernatural building, but all I saw were a few people eating from steaming hot bowls by the window, and a sign that readExtra Spicy.
We had just stepped onto the sidewalk and Luka was about to open the door when I heard someone trying to get my attention.
“Pssst!” they hissed behind us.
I spun, and when my gaze landed on Liv and Ruby peeking out from the side of the building, I nearly fainted.
“What the hell are they doing here!?” Luka hissed.
We pivoted and hauled butt in their direction. I was hoping Liv could read the look of anger on my face, because the fact that they’d come here after we told them not to wassoincredibly stupid.
“Talk,” Luka growled at them.
Liv winced, looking at Ruby as we stepped into the side alley.
“We want to come too. You’ll need more eyes—” Liv started.
Luka cut her off. “We’ve talked about this. We don’t know their views on Ithaki—”
Now it was Liv’s turn to cut him off. “We arebasicallyhuman. You couldn’t even tell Aspen was part fey. We’ll pose as your feeders. Vampires need those, right? Perfectly reasonable explanation.”
Luka growled and looked at me.
I stared at my bestie. “We don’t want you guys to get hurt. We’re vampires…” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “We can handle ourselves, but if we are separated…”
Ruby laughed, actually tipped her head back and laughed. “Aspen Rose, I will forgive that comment this once. You of all people know what hunters are capable of.”
Damn.She was right. When I was human, I had hated when Luka treated me so fragile. Hunters took down vampires. They were more than capable. Shame burned inside of me.
“I mean, it would be nice to have a second set of hands in case we need to split up and scout the area,” I told Luka.
He threw his hands up in exasperation. “They’re your friends. If they want to risk it…” He shrugged his shoulders.
I nodded, turning to face the girls. “Not a word of who Luka really is. We are posing as traveling vamps looking for a place to stay as we move to New York City,” I told them.
They nodded, looking excited that we were going to allow them along.
“You’re not carrying any weapons, right?” Luka asked them.
Both girls looked at each other guiltily and Luka rolled his eyes. “Stash them behind the trash can,” he growled. “Feeders don’t walk around with stakes in their waistbands!”
Liv and Ruby ran over to the restaurant’s big industrial trash can and tossed their weapons behind it before joining us back on the sidewalk.
“I will lead the conversations,” Luka informed us.
I nodded, fine with that. I hadn’t been a vamp long enough to know the ins and outs, especially not in a new world.
We took off down the sidewalk and back to the pho restaurant. This time, we stepped inside and I was hit with the scent of salty broth and smoky meat. Not nearly as mouthwatering as it would have been to me months ago.
“Hello!” a short woman with black hair tied into a bun said as we approached the counter. My gaze flitted about the room, taking in everything and looking for any sign of anything supernatural. The couple eating seemed human to me and my nose. There was a door that led back to the kitchen that could conceal something I guess, but other than that—
Oh,the woman. The woman had pointed fey ears.
“Greetings.” Luka smiled, flashing his canines.
The woman raised one eyebrow and glanced at the human couple eating. “Can I help you?”
