Byron smiled.
“What? You want me to find your body?” I cried.
“I want to speak freely,” he said. “I only wish you had asked sooner, angel.”
“I don’t want to see your body! You’re both being very demon right now. I don’t suppose you can give us any hint at all about where you’re buried?”
Byron just rubbed his forehead like we were giving him a migraine. “Curses,” he said, “tend to be annoying that way.”
“I don’t know anything about wizard burial,” Graham said, “but if you can find him, I’ll dig his ass up.”
“Ewkay,” I said, noticing that a distinct tension was starting to crackle between Graham and Byron, and it was all coming from Graham’s end of the table.
“During the waking hours, she’s all yours,” Byron said.
“Back up, back up,” I said, waving my hands.
“Well, we might as well cut to the chase,” Byron said. “I know how Graham feels. We’re the same race. He wants you, and you want him, and—“
“You don’t know that!” I said, at the same time as Graham growled, “Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“How…human of you both.” Byron crossed his arms, looking patient and even a little entertained. “The pleasure of being an incubus is to share this attraction and act on it. There is no way you aren’t thinking about it.”
“I am not just going to fall for every man who crosses my path now just because he’s an incubus,” I said, although…I probably already had. But dream sex and real life sex were still very different. I hadn’t made a batch of birth control spell in…well…ever. There was a chance I could get pregnant. There was a greater chance I might get tangled up in emotions I didn’t have time for.
“All I’m saying is that there is no reason we can’t share—“
“Share? No way,” I snapped. “I’m not going to get caught up in some scandal and get completely disowned from the family and start popping out kids—“
“Who said anything about kids? I’m a ghost,” Byron said. “What is all this about, angel?”
I didn’t want to explain that there was already a super scandalous bond-marriage in my family. I didn’t want drama or attention or cousins gossiping about me.
I was surprised that Graham wasn’t interjecting to tell Byron that he wouldn’t share either.
“All I want is for you to solve the mystery I can’t tell you about,” Byron said. “My old friend Fiore thought that Graham might be interested. He thought you might find the Arcana and start investigating. Instead, you hid them and tried to run, but you’re right back where you belong. Two heads are better than one, so I don’t want to chase you off. But I have been very much enjoying my dreams with Helena. That’s all they are. Just dreams. They give me power so I can help fight, but they can’t intrude on real life. I can only make myself corporeal for seconds at a time. So I’m not saying you two have to hook up. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t feel awkward about it.”
You would need a machete to cut the tension in the room as Graham mulled over this strange situation and Byron looked at me like he was just waiting for the next dream.
“I can’t stay long anyway,” Graham said.
“Yeah, this—this isn’t going to be romantic anyway,” I said, following his lead. I think we were going to swing for changing the subject. “Are you buried on this property, Byron?”
“You know I can’t tell you that.”
“I had to ask.”
“If he can’t tell us anything, then let’s forget about him,” Graham said a little grumpily, “and work out a plan on everything we do know, then work from there. Tell me every potential lead you can think of, and I’ll see what I can remember about Grandpa and his friends, and…you know.” He found an old notepad on the desk. “If we can just find Byron, we’ll have all the answers.”
“Good idea,” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic, although I was definitely not. “Byron, are you able to tell us—“ I turned around to where Byron had been standing but the room was empty.
“He vanished,” Graham said. “Like he had somewhere to be.” One eyebrow raised as he looked at me with a small yet possessive smile that reminded me of our first date, when I got this feeling he’d be dominant in the bedroom, in a way that would leave me quivering. It was hard not to quiver now just thinking about it. “Good riddance.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Byron
THE PERPETUALLY GRAY skies of Sinistral and the bell tower of the Great Library would always feel like a home to me, even though they were—objectively—a bit depressing compared to the life I once led in America.
I could admire it from afar, but I could not enter.
This library was the site of one of the greatest heists ever committed in Sinistral. Ever since then, security had been tightened, guards posted everywhere and wards laced through every stone.
All thanks to me.
The theft of the three Arcana had gotten me in serious trouble, and time would tell if it was worth it.
Many had died since because of that theft, but I had managed to keep my three dear friends safe into their very old age. The three warlocks who had formed the Sons of Pandora with me, vowing to be the keepers of the triad, had never been famous or power-hungry. They were just curious about what made our world what it is.
They were my friends, but they never had the courage to do what had to be done.
Now, I wondered if she would.
That dumb-assed Caleb fellow…he said the council sent him. They know something. But do they know what they need to know?
The need to protect the maps was more urgent than ever.
Because of her…
Landing on the forest path, I slammed a fist into the nearest tree, welcoming the pain of bark scraping knuckles.
