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He wasn’t sure Web could read much of anything, as Pan didn’t sense any magic around him. He glanced at Noah, wanting to know if his eyes were revealing the secrets of the universe. Noah gave no indication that anything was amiss, and so far, Noah was the only one to have caught the gleam of magic.

Noah gave him a tight smile as if expecting Pan to fall at the feet of his friends because they were supposed to be the better witches.

Ugh…humanity was lost. They’d forgotten how magic worked, but Pan played along, needing to see where this would go.

“What’s interesting about my aura?” Honestly, this conversation reminded him of the parties in Paris, where humans pretended they could see ghosts and talk to the dead. If he’d been in attendance, he was usually responsible for causing those conversations.

“It’s so bright… Like you’re filled with magic and desire.” Web’s lips curved.

Had Noah mentioned he was an incubus? Or was Web expressing his own desire for magic? Web’s thumb brushed over Pan’s skin.

Oh… Pan recognized what was going on here, and he didn’t like it one bit. He released Web’s hand and stepped back as he pulled the human map of the area out of his pocket.

He unfolded the map. “This is where we think the dragons were living before.”

“What are these markings?” Liam asked.

“Mythological buildings, so we could place their city over ours.” Noah pointed to the palace.

“The female dragon may be injured or dead, which is why she hasn’t taken to the sky to find her mate.” The third option he didn’t want to consider as he didn’t know how to explain to a dragon that she hadn’t arrived in this world. “Either way, we need to find her. Now, according to the map of Beita?—”

“What is Beita?” Web asked, still looking at him with soft eyes.

“Beita is the Tarikian city state. In the hills around the city, there are centaurs. They may be armed and dislike trespassers.”

“You didn’t mention that bit,” Noah hissed.

There were many things he hadn’t mentioned, but there wasn’t time to say everything. Find the dragon, help Feryn, convince the Tarikians to worship him, get magic back. And in the meantime, worship Noah until he was begging and calling his name with all of his heart.

He suspected that out of all the things on his list, the latter might be the easiest.

Though the way Web looked at him, he’d been the easier conquest. It was a pity he didn’t taste like magic.

Pan shrugged. “Because they may or may not be there.”

“Wait, like part horse, part man, centaurs?” Liam’s eyes went wide.

Pan pulled off the knitted hat to reveal his horns. He was the first Tarikian they’d both met, yet Liam didn’t really believe.

Liam gasped and lifted his hand to touch the horns but pulled it back.

“Don’t tell a centaur that they are half anything.” Pan tugged the hat back on. “The dragon we’re looking for is dark green and, as Linda put it, the size of a bus.” He glanced at Noah to confirm the description.

Noah nodded. “Big, winged, and they smell funky.”

“You’ve seen one?” Web asked, his gaze slicing toward Noah.

Noah blinked and paused for a second as if sensing the change in his friend. “In town, it’s how I met Silas.”

“He offered me a drink.” Pan smiled at Web. He was one to watch and not in the fun way.

Web fluttered his lashes. “I thought we weren’t allowed in town.”

“Businesses need to check their premises and report. I’ve been helping Nan.” Noah glanced up at the sky. “If we’re going to make use of daylight, we need to move. Do you have a place you want to start?”

Pan stared at the map, wishing that he did. “For the moment, we follow the road.” He traced the line on the paper. “But at some point, we’ll need to walk.”

“And if we run into centaurs?” Liam asked.