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“Of course there was. But they weren’t going to stay when you were busy hunting them.” He sighed. “There used to be much more crossover between our worlds. Perhaps it was the lessening of magic here that reduced the contact, or the rise of technology, or perhaps the way humans started attacking those who weren’t like them. Our myths have as many holes as yours and just as many mistruths.”

Over the road, the florist was boarding up windows. Flowers were hardly an essential business, so it would be a low priority. Noah pointed further up to the street corner. “That’s new.”

They crossed the road. Noah was surprised that this section wasn’t too badly damaged. There was no rhyme or reason to the cracks or buckling. They stopped and stared at the meter-high piece of something. It was made of stone and about a meter square. On the ground next to it was a smashed statue. Silas bent and picked up a chunk of stone. He placed it on top of the pale brick box, then pulled out the map. “It might be part of the bridge. Or some other landscape feature around the palace. We’re definitely inside the palace grounds.”

“How can you be sure?”

Silas traced what Noah assumed was a scale bar along the side. Before tapping the palace on the map. “Because if the spire is there, we have not walked far enough to be beyond the grounds.”

“So we need to get out of the palace grounds. Perhaps you should’ve taken the dragon up.”

“I’m wearing clean clothing. Perhaps you should’ve clung onto his leg and gone up.”

“His leg? You don’t ride on a dragon’s back?”

Silas laughed, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. “I would love to see you try, but I don’t want to see you killed, either. You might manage to climb onto his back, but the first thing he’d do would be to launch up and then roll so you fall off. Then he’d probably catch you and eat you in a couple of bites. And no one would condemn him for it.”

“Right, so laws don’t apply to dragons.”

“There are definitely laws around dragons. Most of them involve being polite and not pissing them off. So, if you tried to ride one, you would be the one at fault. There are similar laws about mermaids.”

“Don’t piss them off, or the one about human sacrifices?”

“Both. Tariko is…was…made up of many cultures. Some places only had one or two different beings. Others were a mosaic of many. A city where elves and vampires and minotaurs and werewolves?—”

“Werewolves?”

“Wolf shifters. I have heard humans have tales about them and other kinds of shifters. Anyway, they all had their own culture and ways of doing things. And yes, there were clashes, but for the most part, people got along.”

“And where do incubi fit in?”

Silas was silent for several seconds. “They usually leave home and travel with others around the same age until they find a place they want to stop.”

“And no one cares incubi feed on sex?”

“Why would they? The sheer number of people having sex in a city can sustain quite a number of incubi. It’s not as though incubi go round having sex with everyone. Though that is a very good way to feed.” Silas’ voice lowered, and the way he looked at Noah made him feel as though he were Silas’ next meal.

“Does it hurt?”

Silas’ eyebrows pinched together. “Does what hurt?”

“Being fed on.”

“No. Some people enjoy it.” Silas took a step closer.

Noah resisted the urge to lick his lower lip—not that it mattered, as that’s where Silas’ gaze landed anyway. “So, to find your magic, you need to be around people having sex?”

Silas glanced away. “It’s not that easy. I’m hoping the Strega will have some answers.”

“And if she has no connection to magic?”

“Then it’s not only me. Which is an answer. Not a good one. Although if I’m broken and can’t reconnect to magic, that’s not good either.” He shook his head, his dark curls bouncing around his cheeks. “None of this is good.”

“Yeah, the collapse kind of fucked up my world, too.”

Silas made a noise that might have been agreement. “Do we keep walking in this direction, hoping for another clue, or do we go around the block?”

“If we go around the block, we’ll still be too close to the palace. Let’s continue.”