“Kinky,” Luz said with a grin.
“I was going to kill him,” Naya said, low. “I planned to. But…”
“But how could you possibly run a dagger through your mate’s heart?”
Naya wasn’t ready to address her feelings for Ronan with herself, let alone her cousin. “He said he was looking for his sister. That she told him she’d found a relic.”
Luz’s eyes narrowed. “What sort of relic?”
“He wouldn’t tell me.” Naya let out a long sigh. “But if we’re dealing with vampires, it’s got to be old. Ancient.”
“Did you ever think you’d see one?” Luz sounded like a kid at the zoo. “I mean, holy shit. A real freaking vampire! The white whale of the supernatural world.”
Not only did Naya never think she’d ever see one; she also sure as hell never thought she’d find herself mated to one. “I thought they were all dead.”
“Everyone does,” Luz said. “This will change our world.”
“He mentioned the Sortiari. Paul won’t be happy if he thinks they might find out about what’s going on up here.”
“No. It’ll make trouble. And I’m not interested in trouble that doesn’t start with Cuervo and end in the company of a well-muscled male.” Luz handed Naya the dagger and she tucked it back into the cabinet. She’d need to siphon the magic out of it before she went out hunting again. “Do you think Ronan’s relic has something to do with the influx of magic on El Sendero?”
“I do.” She just didn’t have enough information to connect the dots yet. “We need to find his sister. I think she’s the missing piece.”
“She might have been the mapinguari you killed last night.”
Naya had already thought of that and it made her heart ache for Ronan. “She could have been. I sure as hell hope not, though.”
“You do realize that none of your theories or plans will matter if Paul gets his hands on your vampire first.” Luz gave her a pointed look. “You can’t hide from him for much longer.”
“I know.” She was surprised she’d gone this long. “I’ll go to him. I’m not turning Ronan over, though. What happens from here on out has to be on my terms.”
“Good luck with that.” Luz looked away, her expression sad. The reality of their life within the pod could be harsh at times. Their esoteric existence left little in the way of freedom. “When word gets out, it’s not just our pod you’re going to have to worry about.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.” And why she needed to get to the bottom of this mystery before anyone else got hurt. Or died.
“What’s your plan?” Luz patted the cushion beside her and Naya sat down. “Let’s hatch something while Prince Charming is sleeping.”
If she didn’t find Ronan’s sister and her relic soon, Naya had a feeling that she’d be forced to kill Ronan before Paul had the opportunity to get his hands on him. Sorrow bloomed with a deep stabbing pain in her chest. If Ronan died, Naya wasn’t sure that she’d be able to live without him.
“We need Manny.” A magic sensitive—not to mention a human—would be the perfect bait for rogue magic looking for a host. “Do you think he’d help us?”
Luz flashed a smile. “I think he’d be game.”
“Good.”
* * *
Something dark and powerful festered in Ronan’s soul. His body had succumbed to the daytime sleep, but his mind was wide awake. A turbulent storm of thought and worry that swirled through his consciousness in a dream-like haze.
Sharp claws raked at his skin as though trying to break through. A need rose within him, stronger than the thirst of the newly turned, more intense even than the lust for his mate. A deadly desire that made him yearn to sink his fangs into the nearest body and tear the flesh. Want to glut himself on blood.
Rage pooled like gasoline in his gut. All he needed was a spark to transform it into an inferno. His body was lifeless. Useless. Trapped until sundown, the force within him paced like an anxious wolf in the confines of a cage. It wanted out. Needed out.
A roar of anguish echoed in the confines of Ronan’s mind. He fought against himself and the urges that rose up inside of him like a tide. In order to protect Mikhail, Claire, and Jenner, Ronan had closed himself off from the Collective, building a wall between them. He’d relied solely on Naya’s blood and their tether to sustain him, but if he couldn’t control the force trying to breach the surface of his psyche he’d have to block her out as well.