“Breakfast then. I’m feeling pancakes.” He lifted his gaze from the gigantic menu and arched one dark brow. “You?”
“I thought you brought me here to tell me how to find Silas’s house.”
“No, I brought you here to eat. You look as though you could use a hot meal. I thought we could discuss your friend’s predicament over dinner like civilized creatures.”
I scowled. Clearly Kaden wasn’t going to tell me anything until I ordered some food, so I plucked up the menu and stared at the sun-faded photos of hamburgers, omelets, and waffles doused in puddles of syrup.
A pale blond waitress sauntered over to take our order. She was a mortal who looked to be somewhere in her mid-forties, and her face was slathered with too much makeup. My eyes drifted to her neck, which was peppered with angry purple puncture marks.
My stomach twisted.
“What’ll it be?” she asked in a falsely peppy voice.
“French fries and an order of bacon,” I said decisively. “And a chocolate shake.”
“Sweet, salty, and savory.” Kaden cracked an approving grin. “I am a disciple at your feet.”
I rolled my eyes, but he’d already turned his smoldering gaze on the haggard-looking waitress. “Coffee, pancakes, the deluxe avalanche with a side of gravy, eggs over easy, a double order of bacon, four sausage links, and a chocolate shake, please.”
My brows rose almost to my hairline, but the waitressdidn’t so much as blink. She merely shuffled behind the counter to put our order in, then returned to our table with a carafe of coffee.
Once she’d filled Kaden’s cup and drifted off, I leaned across the table and hissed, “Why are we here?”
“I thought we’d been over that already.”
I let out an annoyed huff. “I mean, why are wehere?” I gestured around the fifties-style diner with its squeaky red booths, sticky menus, and the half dozen or so sad blood tourists slumped over their plates.
“Why not here?” Kaden asked, leaning back in his seat. “Ample seating, comfy booths” — he bounced on the seat for emphasis — “and a variety of delectable offerings sure to rot your insides.”
I wrinkled my nose. “It’s just not very . . .fae.”
Kaden’s eyes flashed. “Exactly. Only mortals on the verge of death. No nosy supernaturals with their annoyingly good hearing.”
“Oh.” Suddenly, I understood. “Are you afraid of what the fae would do if they learned you were conspiring with someone like me?”
“We’reconspiring, are we?” Kaden grinned wickedly. “That certainly makes things more interesting.”
I rolled my eyes, but that delighted spark faded from his eyes, replaced by a darkness that made me shiver. “It’s not the fae I’m worried about.”
For a moment, I just stared, but then Kaden’s expression cleared. “Anyway, how can we be conspiring if I don’t even know your name?”
I hesitated. Everything inside me screamed that I shouldn’t trust him, but Kaden had saved my life twice. He already knew where I’d been staying and a disconcertingamount of what I’d been up to the last few days. What harm could a name do?
“It’s Lyra,” I said quietly.
Something like surprise flickered in Kaden’s expression, but he tucked it away so quickly that I couldn’t be sure of what I’d seen.
“Well, Lyra, you should know that I always make it a point not to get my co-conspirators killed.” He paused. “Tell me about your friend. The one who was taken.”
Right. As if I had more than one.
“She’s a witch,” I said, fiddling with the wrapper from my straw and tearing off one end. “We . . . knew each other as kids, but I hadn’t spoken to her in years. I never wanted Silas to know about her, but after I left him . . .” My throat stuck. “I had nowhere else to go.”
Kaden closed his eyes for a moment, and I looked away. I didn’t want to see the pity in his gaze when he opened them again.
“What did you do to piss off Silas?” he asked. “I’m guessing it had something to do with whatever you were up to the night those demons cornered you in the alley.”
I bit my lip, trying to decide how much to tell him. Information was power — especially to the fae — and I didn’t want him to know anything more about me than I’d already revealed. But he knew I was no longer under Silas’s protection, so there didn’t seem to be any point in trying to hide what I’d done.
