Page 10

CHAPTER 10

N oah watched Silas walk out of the kitchen, the heavy coat swinging around his ankles. He was a little shorter than him but exuded some kind of power and authority that made Noah dizzy and breathless and hungry for more. Though more of what, he couldn’t say.

“Come on. There’s work to do.” Nan gathered up the empty plates.

“Do you want me to finish cleaning up the broken glass and tidy up the bar area?” They hadn’t swept or mopped or run the dishwasher. They’d done the bare minimum and fled.

“What’s so interesting out there?”

Noah ignored the heat blooming on his cheeks. “I’m curious, that’s all.”

“Curious about the palace or Silas.” She pinned him with her gaze.

“Nan. Please. He’s an incubus.” Silas could have anyone he wanted, and Noah wasn’t about to get caught up in sex demon magic. He collected the cups and put them in the sink.

Nan huffed, and her eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what he is. But he’s not an incubus.”

“What makes you say that?” Not that he was an expert in incubi or any mythological creature.

“Because he ate and drank, and incubi feed on sexual energy.”

Noah’s cheeks burned. He never wanted to hear his grandmother mention sexual energy again. “Our myths might be wrong…he said vampires eat.”

“Hmm. Maybe, but there’s something about him.” She tapped her nose. “I can’t put my finger on it, but he doesn’t seem to be lying about wanting to help his people and the dragon.” She frowned. “He talked to the dragon. Does that make the dragon a person?”

“I have no idea. You should’ve asked him.” Noah grabbed the broom and dustpan. “Thanks for volunteering me to search for the dragon.”

“I volunteered your friends, not you.”

“You’re just hoping Web will be eaten.” Why couldn’t he go dragon hunting? Did she think he wasn’t capable?

“I hope dragons have better taste.” She put her hands on her hips. “We have work to do here. Go and clean up. I’ll start sorting out the meat situation.”

When he walked into the bar, Silas was standing in front of the door, staring up at it as if waiting for it to open.

“Is no one answering?” The guilt of ignoring the screams resurfaced. He’d let them suffer and die.

Silas turned. “I haven’t knocked. I was debating different possibilities and preparing myself for the worst outcome. However, after everything that’s happened, I’m not sure I have the ability to imagine the worst outcome anymore. My world ended…and no one saw it coming. Not the gods, not the Strega. All the people connected to magic, the very essence of the universe, didn’t see it on the fate lines or feel it unraveling.”

“No one here realized, either. Our scientists noticed the existence of other worlds and were experimenting…” He stopped, not wanting to admit that they had caused the collapse.

Silas’ eyes tightened. “If there are no vampires in the palace, I’m not sure what to do next.”

“Who’s next in charge?”

He sighed. “This wasn’t my town. I was just in the area.”

“Oh…” Not only was he in a strange world but also a strange town. “So you don’t know where your family is?”

“I do not.” He frowned. “And I have no way to contact them.”

“Your parents must be worried. Mine are. They live on the other side of the world.”

Silas opened his mouth, but it was another heartbeat before he spoke, and Nan’s warning that something wasn’t quite right echoed in Noah’s head.

“My parents have been gone for a long time, but I have kin. Others like me.” He returned to staring at the door. “I guess I should knock, as that is the only way I’m going to find out, and there is no point in making alternative plans if they are alive.”

“Good luck.”

“Say a prayer for me.”

Noah smiled. “To which old god?”

Silas tilted his head, a curve on his lips that tied Noah in threads of heat. “Pan.”

“May Pan bless your path.”

For a moment, Noah was sure he saw a flicker of something in Silas’ eye, but it must have been the light catching in them because it was gone so fast. Silas reached out and wrapped three times on the door.

Noah held his breath.

“Who dares to knock while we mourn?” A voice from the other side called.

Silas glanced at Noah, then back at the door. “Silas Wilde.”

The door creaked and swung inward, revealing only darkness. Silas stepped up and was swallowed by the shadows, and the door closed with a heavy thud that reverberated through Noah’s bones.