Her sudden sharp inhale jerked his focus to her face, then he realized she had caught his examination. Her cheeks were pink and she nibbled her lip, drawing his attention to a lovely mouth.
“I…” she hesitated, then said on a quick, raspy breath, “Why do you think the vamp who killed the guy is here?”
With her one-liner, all the heat rushing his veins fled, replaced with cold frustration. “Consider this another lesson: vampires can hear you in a noisy club.”
She slowly turned to the dance floor, as did he.
Every pair of vamp eyes was fixed in their direction and the crowd was now quiet. The mortals on the dance floor stopped dancing, looking around, confused and panicked, since clearly they hadn’t heard what Nexi had said.
“You know,” obvious irritation made her voice snappy, “you could’ve mentioned that a little earlier. Then I wouldn’t be looking like an all you can eat buffet.”
Kyden regretted that he hadn’t thought of it, too. Until Nexi had voiced their reasons for being at the club, most would’ve assumed they were here for pleasure since he hadn’t acted yet. Now with the real purpose exposed, the vampires parted, clearing off the dance floor. No one wanted involvement in the Council’s troubles.
The second a path cleared, displaying the tables at the far end of the dance floor, Kyden locked onto one vamp. From experience, he knew well enough that only someone guilty would hold his stare so intently, and he was pleased the tracker, Alazar, hadn’t been wrong about the vamp’s location.
Pushing away from the bar, the vampire also stood from his chair, then he bolted for the door. Kyden rushed forward and called to Nexi, “Stay with me.”
The crowd moved out of his way swiftly and when he brushed past the bouncer at the door, he heard Nexi behind him. Once outside, the warm air engulfed him and he sprinted toward the parking lot. When he spotted the vampire, who stood between two parked cars, he slowed to a brisk walk.
The night was quiet, the stars above him were bright, and the parking lot was empty except for the cars, which pleased him. He didn’t want to have human memories to deal with afterwards. Clean and simple, that’s how he preferred his assignments. Especially considering he had Nexi, an untrained guardian, with him.
An odd sensation of protectiveness filled him as he approached the vampire. One thing was certain: he didn’t like this vampire anywhere near her.
Part of that reaction only confirmed his interest in her, since he’d never been protective over a female guardian before. The other part of him wondered if the level of confidence the vampire radiated was the reason.
He’d never seen a supernatural not regret taking a mortal life. In fact, he couldn’t recall a single time it’d happened. However, what bothered him more was how the vamp stared at Nexi behind him. Hot rage flickered through his veins, and if the vamp thought he’d get close to her, he thought wrong.
To garner his attention off her and onto him, Kyden said, “State your name.”
The tall, thin vampire grinned. “Silas.”
Kyden sensed an odd difference in this vampire, though he couldn’t tell exactly what was off. Silas’s cropped black hair, crooked nose, and slanted dark eyes lent him an unnerving air, but Kyden’s instincts flared with a warning that he needed to proceed with caution. “You will answer for the life you’ve taken.”
“I have nothing to answer for,” Silas said, noticeably satisfied.
That brought Kyden to a dead halt only a few feet away. He didn’t bother to draw his sword, but he tightened his muscles in preparation. He studied Silas for a moment longer before awareness simmered over him, and he recognized the difference in this vamp.
An odd sense of power emanated from Silas and raised the hairs on Kyden’s arms. Not age necessarily, but something almost authoritative… “Do you deny you took a mortal’s life tonight?”
Silas peered over Kyden’s shoulder to Nexi, his eyes positively glowing. “No, I don’t deny it.”
Kyden’s muscles twitched, a burn filling his veins to extract retribution for the life Silas stole. Not only had Silas not regretted the kill, but he didn’t deny it either. Kyden hadn’t seen that in all his eight years as part of the Guard. Which was a good lesson for Nexi to learn, and why they couldn’t only depend on the trackers. A scent wasn’t enough proof a supernatural committed the murder. Now, he assumed, Nexi realized exactly why Haven had been protected since birth. Her magic had made the Council’s Guard stronger.
While Kyden could’ve pissed around with Silas, he’d learned long ago that listening to excuses was pointless. Take a life and die—that one Otherworld law ruled his life, and soon it would rule Nexi’s, too.
Kyden reached for his sword, and Silas’s smile turned dark, the vamp’s focus sliding to Nexi when, without any warning he vanished. Kyden heard Nexi’s gasp before he managed to exhale himself. He scanned the area in a fast sweep, only greeted with a dark night and an empty parking lot.
Nexi rushed to his side. “What. The. Hell?” She spun in a tight circle, then stared up at him with frantic eyes. “How did he do that? Is there a portal around here?”
Kyden approached the area Silas had vanished and he squatted down, pressing his hand against the rough pavement. A tickle rushed up his arm and raised the hairs, which indicated magic. “No portal.”
She blinked, her expression portraying the same concern he had within himself. “Vampires don’t have vanishing abilities, right?”
He shook his head. “Vampires don’t possess magic.” He pondered, knowing there could only be one logical assumption. “It’s possible a witch is helping him, but most witches stay out of trouble.”
She snorted, looking down at the spot where Silas had stood. “Well, apparently not anymore.”
“Apparently not,” he agreed.
Chapter Five
The warm, moist breeze raised goose bumps across Nexi’s skin. Only her deep sigh, plus an owl hooting in the distance, broke the silence. At her feet were leaves and dirt, not what she expected to find after she and Kyden teleported out of Salt Lake City.
Confused, she turned to Kyden and asked, “I thought you said we needed to go and tell the Council about the vanishing vampire?”
He ran a hand through his hair, his bicep doing that sexy flex. “We do.”
“Sorry to break it to you.” She waved around at the forest in front of her. “You took a wrong turn. This is still Earth.”
“Yes, I know.” His mouth twitched. “Turn around.”
She spun on her heel and when she caught the sight of the meadow behind her, time slowed. “How did…who…what?”
Kyden stepped in close and his arm brushed hers, only increasing the goose bumps trailing her skin. Of course, now they rushed across her for a reason other than the breeze, which happened to be the feel of his masculine body against hers.
“When the Council assigned me to find you after your first escape from the Otherworld, Zia told me you liked to come here. It’d been the first place I looked for you.” He paused, his eyes searching hers. “I thought after tonight, with it maybe being hard on you, this might make you happy.”
She tilted her head, regarding him. Not only had he offered to train her, which supported her desire for revenge, but this… Perhaps the tough guy was a big softy beneath all those hard muscles. She’d rather see him this way—not overbearing and pushy, which he’d been toward her for the past weeks, but sweet and thoughtful.
Enjoying this softer side to him, she was also entirely suspicious how Zia knew about her favorite meadow in Carson City. More than once Zia seemed to know things she shouldn’t, and Kyden had mentioned earlier that certain witches had mind reading abilities. Nexi now wondered if Zia held that power, and she sure as shit didn’t like that anyone could read her mind. Haven reading her strong emotions with the soul-bound was enough of an intrusion.
Regardless of all of that, Nexi hesitated at getting too excited. “But what about the Council?”
“It can wait.”
“But—”
He sighed, arching an eyebrow. “Nexi, the vamp vanished into thin air. We have no clue who he is or of his whereabouts. We also have no way to track his scent. You’ve been through a lot, not only tonight, but for the past month. You like it here. Enjoy this.”
She paused, then saw sense. “Right, why in the hell am I arguing with you?” She did love it there.
Turning away from him, she noticed the half moon provided enough light that the view in the meadow wasn’t hindered by the dark night. Near the center of the meadow, surrounded by thick forest, the weeping willow stood proud with its wide, tall trunk. The slender branches led into long, flowing leaves dangling into the creek behind.
She approached the tree, sat down by the trunk, and raised her hands, tangling her fingers into the soft leaves. The tree, located deep in the Carson City wilderness area, was her own little piece of paradise, and she let the familiar, rich, earthy scents comfort her.
Returning to her willow was like coming home.