Whether or not it was romantic, I still thought what was between us had been special. It had certainly been something entirely new for me. There were few people in any plane that I trusted so deeply, and that was probably the reason his loss kept hitting me so hard.
Finding him is Lyra's job, now, I reminded myself. Just like I trusted Kane to survive, Lyra and Dorian were the people I trusted most to find him. The somber resignation hit me just as Luke started waving his hand in front of my face, rolling his eyes. Oops. I'd been caught. And I didn’t even care.
Even if there had been no future for Kane and me, Luke was nowhere close to the vampire I’d lost.
"I didn't mean to bore you," the man across the table huffed. He crossed his arms and pouted.
"Well, you did," I replied easily, and got up to throw a ten-dollar bill onto the table. "That should cover my one-third of the appetizer."
He narrowed his eyes slightly and curled his lip. "Another great date for the books. A girl who needs to make up stories about killing monsters just to make herself sound interesting."
I met his gaze. Yeah, I was done. "I couldn’t care less if you think I’m interesting."
I sauntered out of the restaurant, slightly annoyed about wasting my time, knowing the scent of fried food wouldn't leave my clothes until I washed them. I barely thought about Luke once he was out of my sight, but the voice... the voice worried me. Was I going crazy? Maybe I should've taken Clemmins’ offer to see a Bureau counselor about my grief. The psych department had given us a small briefing when we came back about processing our trauma over the torments we’d experienced in Itzarriol.
I snorted, remembering the flowery tone the counselor had used as he talked to us. My life was rough-and tumble, and I liked it that way.
I just wished Kane hadn't gone away. That was all.
Maybe my sanity was slipping. After so much time in the Immortal Plane and seeing the kinds of tortures and battles I had, it was reasonable to expect some side effects. Still, even when I’d encountered the rulers' sway, even when I’d been deep in the worst Immortal prison there was, even during the meld, I hadn't heard voices in my head. It was so clear and familiar, it felt like I was hearing Kane’s very thoughts—but that was impossible, right? I chalked it up to a side effect of the meld, for now. I needed to put it aside and focus on my work. There was plenty for me to do.
I held out hope, though, to someday see Kane safe and sound again.
5
Dorian
I had grown accustomed to the sound of both mortal and immortal birds in the distance wherever I slept, but the creatures in the Leftovers were something different. They were changed. Something about their song grated on my nerves and made it hard to rest comfortably. The problem with being a vampire was that I heard everything… even among vampires, my hearing was considered exceptionally strong.
Waking up to see Lyra sleeping in front of me was an immediate comfort against the strangeness of the sounds outside our carrier plane, but my relief quickly faded to concern. She was having a nightmare. Ever since the meld, she slept like she was fighting in her sleep. Right now, she tensed and tossed her head to the side on the bedroll right next to mine. I rested a hand on her arm, and her body immediately eased.
We had no privacy inside the carrier plane, but the others knew we were married. It was no secret that our bedrolls were pushed up together so that we could sleep alongside each other at night. Bryce had joked it was the least he could do for newlyweds, since we hadn’t had much privacy in our first month of marriage. Cam had looked partially scandalized at Bryce's joke. Perhaps his military training told him that there could never be anything between team members, especially on a mission. Oh, well. We weren't hurting anyone. The curse was fixed for the moment, and the snoring in the plane told me that everyone else was sleeping.
Lyra twitched beneath my hand. Her face had relaxed at my touch, but she was still in the depths of her nightmare. I pulled myself against her to cradle her gently. She turned to me, adjusting to fit my body perfectly even in sleep. In Chicago, she’d told me that she would never need to turn on a heater at night, since vampires run warm. I would happily serve as her heater for the rest of her life. I ran my hand through her hair, admiring how silky it felt against my rough fingers. She would throw it into a quick braid when she woke up, but it was loose for now.
We had been through so much together. It was hard to believe that we were here—partners in life and work—on a daring new mission into the world after the meld. There was nobody else I could imagine myself with. She used to be a stranger, but Lyra now occupied a priceless space in my life. I admired her in ways that sometimes scared me. I had no idea I could have these feelings for someone, but we were here on this new mission together.
Lyra's eyes sprang open as she jerked awake from whatever nightmare she’d suffered. Most nights, she was used to waking up this way. Her hazel eyes were wide as she took a deep breath.
"The survivor," she breathed. Although she was groggy, she quickly realized the others were still asleep thanks to Bryce's snores. They covered her whispers. Her eyes sparked with some clarity. "I was dreaming that I found the survivor." She sighed with disappointment, and I ran my hand down her cheek.
Cam reviewed the records last night after we returned from searching the
