Page 120 of Crave Me

Which explained the male’s uncanny awareness now, his wings nearly brushing my arm as he fell into step beside me. “We’re tracking Vesperus,” he said, not a question but a statement.

“We are,” Kaspian confirmed. “He’s been taken by Klas.”

“Klas?” Slater repeated, his attention shifting to Fallon—who was walking on Kaspian’s other side with Nolan and Nox right behind her.

I kept them all in my peripheral line of view while I focused on the stardust. It seemed to be leading us toward a residential area.

“He’s alive,” Nolan replied. “And according to her, he’s been drinking her blood and using her powers.”

“According to her,” Fallon parroted at him. “Like I’m lying.”

“You’re not,” I murmured. “Klas is responsible. Klas will die.”

I glanced up at my moon, noting the fractures and fiery tears.Yes, he will pay for making me hurt you,I vowed.He will bleed.

The stardust hummed in response, the glitter continuing to soak into my being and rejuvenate my soul.

“What has it done to Vesperus?” Slater asked. “I can hardly sense his power.”

“Death magic,” I replied.

“It’s a decaying spell. The same one used on the bullet that hit Nyx,” Fallon added.

“What’s the antidote?” Kaspian demanded.

“Me,” I said simply. I would drown my mate in the power of the moon until he came back to me. There would be no choice. He would survive.

Right?I asked, looking up at the moon.

More stardust fell in response.

Right,I echoed.

Except the path suddenly stopped, causing me to pause and stare up at the sky while Fallon murmured something about a spell that could break the decaying magic.

Then she followed it up with, “But it’s not guaranteed.”

Kaspian started drilling her about her powers, demanding to know exactly what she could do and what had happened earlier tonight.

She explained the deadly sleeping magic to him before going into Klas’s motives and plans.

All the while, I waited for my moon to continue guiding me.

But it didn’t.

I looked around, trying to figure out why it had stopped. We were standing in the middle of a street. The closest building was almost a block away. Otherwise, we were surrounded by trees.

“Are you trying to tell me he’s here?” I demanded. “Or… or have you lost him?”

The latter would not be acceptable.

And the former made absolutely no sense.

“I don’t sense him here,” Slater said quietly, his keen eyes searching the street. “This can’t be right.”

I agreed with him. “Where’s my king?” I asked the moon.

Stardust fell on me in response, making me look down at the ground. The last time my magic did this, it wanted me to dig. And I found Fallon.