Cara smiled at Vali. “Excellent. You can search the refs, for as long as I run Marcus through his paces, anyway. We won’t have much time.”
Vali tentatively approached Nikolai, her gaze on the skull. “It looks really interesting.”
“It doesn’t belong to any animal I am familiar with,” the Watcher admitted. “But the books you’ll have access to in my hideaway are rare, and maybe you’ll find something in them.”
Kiko bounced into view carrying a substantial pack, and slid to a halt, staring at Nikolai.
I gestured to the bag. It looked heavy. “That’s packing light?”
She stuck her tongue out at me. It shocked me enough that I just stared at her. Riley had done that, too. My heart twisted.
Kiko rubbed vigorously at her arm. I noticed a bright red welt on it. Vali leaned forward to examine the mark.
“What is that? A bug bite?” the Dragona asked.
“I bumped into Tareal in the building,” Kiko stated, “and he scratched me when he grabbed my arm. Didn’t mean to, he was very apologetic.”
“He nailed me once too,” I said. “He needs to be de-clawed. He’s a bit”—I searched for the word—“weird.”
Cara moved closer to Kiko. “Lore on the Hitzu is scanty. They are a secretive species.” The Watcher frowned as she took a look at Kiko’s welt. “I have heard that their scratches can cause infections—doesn’t look too bad, though. I’ll heal you when we get to where we’re going.”
“Infections? It’s burning like mad.” Kiko peered at her arm. “Does that mean they’re poisonous?”
Cara tilted her head. “I would think if that were the case, he’d be much more careful with his claws.”
Kiko wrinkled her nose. “I almost set him on fire, stupid bastard.”
Vali’s lips twitched. “Would have served him right.”
Cara clapped her hands together. “Alright, kids,” she said. “We’ve gotta go. To hinder any pursuit, I’ll be taking us through a few gateways. So we’ll have to hold hands for a bit.” She glanced at Havoc. “Can you handle that?”
The red Dragon peeled lips back from his teeth. “Let’s just get this done.”
Cara held out her hands, and I took one. The red Dragona, the big Bellati, and Kiko all joined in before Vali, who then offered her other hand to Havoc.
“I’m not toxic,” she said to him when he hesitated. “And this mission is moot unless you’re with us.”
He snorted, and folded his huge hand around hers. A muscle jumped in her jaw, and she looked away.
The big Dragon shifter growled at her, and said, “Let’s just do it.”
And we stepped through.
22
Riley
Even in daylight, Sarti was a city of shadows.
I was so wobbly I could barely stand. Rafael helped me descend to an alley that was almost as dark as night, using a switchback system of ladders that, in places, left narrow gaps we had to leap across.
My leaping efforts were dismal at best. Rafael literally plucked me from certain death every time. No matter how I swayed and staggered, his arm was always there, supporting me. I walked in a cloud of his intoxicating scent. At times, it was almost as though my feet never touched the ground.
He was half Satyr. For the first time, I truly absorbed what that meant. I wanted to wrap my entire body around him and invite him in. Would have taken the thought further if the world wasn’t spinning and I wasn’t burning up. Was this the Dragon virus taking hold? I couldn’t remember ever being so sick. Did anyone ever die from this infection?
Damn that fucking Dragon, anyway. Or was I damned because I’d fucked the Dragon? My spinning mind wouldn’t settle on which was more accurate.
By the time we made it to ground level, I shook so hard I could barely stay upright. Rafael kept his arm around me as we skulked along in near-perfect darkness. Skyscrapers weren’t an option with Sarti’s primitive architecture, but the buildings on each side of us were multi-storied, with the irregularities in each level speaking to the upper ones being added as needed. Many overhung their foundations, so that they blocked whatever stray sunlight might attempt to filter down.
