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When Scott’s gaze landed on me, I nodded toward the open seat across from me. I had messaged him in advance, letting him know where I was sitting.

His eyes widened briefly at my altered appearance, but he zigzagged through the maze of tables and slipped into the seat.

Jade smiled warmly at him. "Can I get you anything?"

"Uh, sure, a mocha frappé with extra whip."

"Be right back." She patted me on the back and headed to the counter.

Scott wiped his palms on his jeans and continued to look around. "You sure about this place, man?"

This branch of The Morning Grind was one of the safest places for us to meet in public. Like Subliminal, it was a place for Gifted types to gather safely. But unlike the gym, the diner wasn’t hidden from non-Gifted sight. Plenty of humans had the pleasure of enjoying Jade’s coffee.

Because of that, the GIG strictly forbade magic use here, except by the owner in case of an emergency. However, like most things in life, there were always loopholes. The potion disguising my appearance and scent wasn’t considered magic. At least not enough to enforce.

I still wasn’t sure what loophole Frankie, the fae woman who owned Subliminal, had found to hide her illegal fight nights from the authorities. She was an enigma I hadn’t figured out yet. Too many other priorities took up my time.

I sipped my espresso, savoring the rich flavor as it slid across my tongue. "Everything will be fine if you act like everything’s fine."

"Easy for you to say. I wasn’t sure it was you at first. That’s one hell of a good potion. Only the best for you Satos, though, right?" A blender roared to life behind the counter, making Scott flinch. "But if shit goes down, your dragon is also a whole lot more powerful than mine." He smiled affectionately, as if reassuring his own beast after his degrading words.

Not that he was wrong. My dragon was one of the most powerful alive today. But I didn’t plan on either of us getting caught.

I also wasn’t here for small talk. "What did you want to tell me last time?"

The man licked his lips. I cleared my throat to catch his attention, then shook my head. Scott’s nervous behavior was the only problem here, even if we were virtually alone. Two other patrons were working on their laptops and wearing headphones, but they’d wisely chosen to sit on the other side of the diner.

My face might not have been recognizable right now, but the warning in my glare had done the job.

Jade stopped by again to drop off Scott’s drink. "One mocha frappé, extra whip."

"You can add it to my bill," I said.

Smiling, she nodded and moved to clean the condiments bar near the counter.

I stared at Scott, waiting for him to continue.

"I haven’t figured out what it is yet, but I happened across a delivery receipt from an address I didn’t recognize." He took a sip from his frothy frozen concoction. Something way too sugary for my taste. Then he pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket and slid it across the table.

Suddenly, he slapped the side of his leg. “Ugh. Damned mosquitos. I hate this time of year.”

"And you think this place is important?" I scanned the paper. It was an address, but I didn’t recognize it either.

"That’s just it—it’s so plain and ordinary, it stands out." He licked whipped cream from his upper lip and took another long drink. "It’s some sort of science place, like a lab."

My interest was piqued at the mention of a lab. That was unusual for our line of work. Common for human dealings, maybe, but trafficking illegal magical artifacts didn’t require labs; it required storage and access to witches and wizards.

Had Ichiro figured out a way to manufacture faux pyrocrystals? The few rocks I’d seen had looked real, but I wouldn’t put it past my grandfather to replicate them for profit.

But how would he have created the magical element? There was no faking the blaze that had come from the pawnshop owner. Perhaps Ichiro had mixed real and synthetic together so his stash of actual crystals would last longer and idiots would be none the wiser.

There were still too many unanswered questions.

"Like I said, I don’t know what it is, but?—"

Scott clutched his throat. His eyes bulged from his head, and his face took on a deep shade of red.

Knocking my chair backward, I leaped to my feet, ready to help him expel whatever he’d choked on. Except the veins in his face turned black, writhing and wriggling from the magic held within.