Saintcrow grunted. As if he could forget.
~ * ~
Rosa was just leaving when Saintcrow returned home.
“Any luck with the witches?” she asked.
“Not much.”
“There has to be an answer somewhere,” she said. “We’ll just keep looking until we find it.”
Saintcrow glanced over Rosa’s head to where Kadie waited and then looked back at Rosa. “Kincaid’s waiting for you at home.”
Rosa grinned at him. “Okay, okay, I’m going. I can take a hint.”
To Saintcrow’s surprise, she went up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then vanished from the house.
He glanced at Kadie, who was watching from the sofa. “What the hell was that about?”
Kadie shrugged. “Maybe it’s just a show of gratitude for bringing her and Kincaid together. Their anniversary is tomorrow. Or maybe, like the rest of us, she’s worried about you.”
“I don’t need the Ravenwood family and the others worrying about me,” Saintcrow growled. “I’ve been looking after myself for a thousand years and....” Seeing the wounded expression on Kadie’s face, he sat beside her and pulled her roughly into his arms. “You’re all I need, darlin’,” he said, lightly stroking her hair. “You’re all I’ve ever needed. All I ever wanted.”
She rested her forehead against his chest, hot tears stinging her eyes.
“I know you’re worried and afraid,” he said quietly. “But, shit, so am I.”
“Did you learn anything from the witches?”
“Izabela summoned the image of a woman I knew decades before I was turned. Thinking about her tonight, I realized she was a vampire at the time.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” Kadie asked, a note of excitement in her voice. “Maybe she can help.”
“Maybe, if we can find her. Alara says my blood is the problem.”
“Your blood?” Kadie shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s her opinion that something is causing it to turn toxic.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Kadie remarked. But then, she hadn’t been a vampire very long compared to Saintcrow and Kincaid. And then she frowned. “If it was toxic, the other vampires wouldn’t want it, would they?”
“Maybe it’s only toxic to me. It didn’t have any bad effect on Alara.”
Kadie rested her cheek against his chest. “I hate this, not knowing exactly what’s wrong and not even a guess as to how to fix it.”
Staring into the distance, Saintcrow lightly stroked her shoulder. So, his blood was becoming toxic. It was the damnedest thing he’d ever heard of, and he’d heard a hell of a lot of incredible tales in a thousand years. His blood had killed arat. Would drinking it also kill the fledglings? What if whatever was eating at him was nature’s way of culling the vampire population? Or destroying it altogether? He needed to talk to Izabela and he didn’t want Kadie there when he did.
“I’m going out,” he said, abruptly.
“I’m going with you.”
“No. I need some time alone. I won’t be long.”
“Rylan–”
He silenced her with a kiss. “Why don’t you go soak in a nice hot bubble bath? I’ll be back before the water gets cold to wash your back,” he promised, and vanished from the room.
~ * ~
