Page 47

She swings her legs, grin growing on her face. "Because while your words were fake, your reasoning was sound."

I tilt my head. "Eh?"

"You like Ekon," she settles on that.

"That's not the point!"

"That's exactly the point, Yue."

I groan, dragging both hands down my face. "I'm losing my mind over a man who is probably going to end up with some perfect gargoyle woman who can give him stone babies!"

"Stone babies?" Eos repeats, her eyebrows shooting to her hairline.

"You know what I mean!"

She hops off the crates, landing lightly on her feet and crossing her arms. "Do you want to know where Ekon's mate is right now?"

My stomach twists. "What?"

"I can help you find her," Eos says, her tone suddenly serious. "But you have to be honest with me first. Do you really want to know?"

I stare at her, my heart pounding so hard it vibrates my throat. Part of me wants to say no, but the other part of me, the one screaming inside my heart needs to know.

"Yes," I whisper. "I need to know."

Eos nods. "Then we're doing this the right way. You're going to do another locator spell."

"I don't have my stuff," I reply.

She shrugs. "You won't need it. All you'll need is this." She waves her hand.

I tilt my head. "Huh?"

She pulls a small silver knife from her pocket. Before I can ask what she's doing, she slices a shallow cut across her palm. Dark, shimmering blood wells up, glowing faintly with divine energy.

"Eos—" I start.

"Relax," she says, squeezing her hand into a fist so the blood drips into the center of the floor. "Goddess blood is the most powerful magical conductor in existence. If Ekon's mate is anywhere in this city, this will find her." It crashes into the ground. "Now do the spell thingy."

I exhale and then begin, chanting in the familiar tongue. The words rush from me freely. Blood spreads across the bare floor. It rushes sideways, but it doesn't splash. No, it defies gravity, floating outward to different spots. Long lines appear on the ground, spreading like roots under a large tree. They keep going, moving rapidly until they stop near my feet.

"Eos... what the fuck?" I ask.

She flicks her wrist, and the wound closes. "You probably can't see from there, but if you get on this crate, you'll know."

"You can't tell me?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

I roll my eyes and march around the blood like roots to the crate. Climbing on top, I spin on my heel and gaze at the mess. Angling my neck, I squint. "Wait, that can't be..." I trail off.

"It is."

"It's the French Quarter," I whisper.

Roots have formed intersections, streets and more. A warm light glows toward the outer edge on the opposite side from where I stand.

"There," Eos says, pointing at the glowing marker. "That's where his mate is."