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“I understand.” Indigo led the group toward their caravan, the cantankerous camels at rest. “Roark? You control the wallet.”
“No need,” he said. “I am familiar with the languages.”
Indigo swung a leg over her camel’s hump. “You’re just full of surprises. What other shit can you pull out of your ass?” Once more ensconced in the uncomfortable saddle, she clutched the reins.
“You like my ass. I have the scratches to prove it.” Roark leaned backward when his beast straightened its hind knees.
“Hmm.” She flipped her hat onto her head, slipped on her sunglasses, and prepared for a long, gritty ride back to the Alexandria National Museum, followed by days or months of going through dusty tomes.
Roark, looking almost eager to play the caravanning Arab again, pulled a scarf over his mouth to filter out the sand while he shifted in his saddle.
Indigo had plenty of time to think during the return journey. To go through miles of ancient documents, she needed a knowledge absorber, someone who was a speed reader on steroids. It was a rare skill. She’d make some calls, but with Arisen Dawn sympathizers everywhere, she preferred to keep things on the down-low.
Wait a minute!
Hadn’t Braelyn just told her about a new Blood Coven witch who was a knowledge absorber? This one would be inexperienced but in the family so-to-speak.
****
Galena wove through the crowd at the Blood Shed, the Scotch for Miller held above her head in a hand, a Demon Brew for herself in the other. Her destination was the overstuffed sofa in the Firebrand section where she had deposited the human, worn out after a few days of training.
“How ya doing?” she asked, plonking the drinks onto the table.
“My legs are Jell-O, my ego’s bruised, but I’m gobsmacked. Again.”
“You talk funny. What’s the last word?”
“Gobsmacked? It means you amaze me. I love a strong woman who buys my booze after she hands me my arrogant British ass.” He swirled the amber liquid in his glass.
“It’s the least I could do. You gotta take your game up a notch. You may be Blood Coven, but your powers aren’t active.”
“About that, luv. I’m a tad worried I’m not improving. My tempus is fugiting. Brae, Margo, Skyler, Denim, and even the asshole Nico are in touch with their inner mages. I haven’t met the rest, but I hear they’re the same. Why not me?”
“You don’t know?” Galena wasn’t certain she wanted to tell him about the coven’s version of the birds and the bees.
“If I did, my peepers would be purple, I’d have had you flat on the mat, and I’d be buying the drinks.”
“Don’t be too sure of that. I’d still take you down nine times out of ten.”
“Come on. You’re my partner. Fess up.”
She fisted her Demon Brew, brought it to her lips, and swallowed. “Nico’s a prime example. He was pissing and moaning because he wasn’t the strongest junkyard dog on Scath. Once he hooked up with Sabine, biblically speaking, his warlock took hold. Apparently, screwing a Firebrand jumpstarts descendants’ powers.”
Miller threw back his drink. “I’m going to need a second Scotch, luv. Make it a double.”
Galena rose, pushing through the crowd to the bar again to order another for the Brit. When she returned, he had been thinking, the pained look on his face a give-away. “What’s doing, partner?”
She took a swig of her beer, avoiding Miller’s eyes. His fancy loafers were hitched onto the table, his muscled thighs stretching soft black pants. The sleeves of his silk shirt were rolled up to his elbows, showing off athletic forearms. She loved a well-constructed male body. He was a great specimen.
“I’m considering my options. Here’s the thing. Cerberus had a nasty-ass time bomb planted in my head.”
“What?” She clutched her ale, halting its journey to her lips.
Miller raised his hand. “Let me finish. If I don’t get intel on Blood Coven descendants, kablooey. I have no intention of sharing jack shit with Cerberus. Okay? For the moment, though, I’m safe. So let’s not get our knickers in a twist about the bomb.”
Galena worried her brows. “What could possibly be more important than a bomb in your head?”
Miller shook his head. “I’m out of my element in a foreign realm and don’t like the situation. When I don’t like a situation, I find a solution.”
