Page 219 of Volik

But that’s for tomorrow. Later today, tonight, whatever the time may be.

Right now, I need to collect my mate and take her to bed.

Nix has been sleeping less and less, but she still needs rest.

The last several nights, we have been working on her self-defense in the evenings and practicing basic knife skills. Even though tonight has been less physical, it has still been a lot for her to take in. But since I watched Nix smile for forty minutes straight as she quizzed Barth about portals, I know Nix will say the exhaustion is worth it.

She laughs at something my uncle says, and I stride toward them.

My Flower has never left my sight, but I have been away from her side for the past hour, and that is too long.

“Ah, Volik, here to sweep you away.” Uncle grins at my approach.

He has the slightest sheen in his eyes, and I know it is from the cup in his hand.

Vampires have such intense metabolisms that straight alcohol does nothing to us.

But booze made by a druid… that shit is different. And it definitely works on vampires.

Though in practice, most of us do not drink much. If you get too drunk, you might let the wrong someone get close. And then you could be dead. So, not usually worth it. But fun when it is.

“I am here to save her from your blathering.” I clap my uncle’s shoulder with a smile.

He waves me off, not teetering on his chair, proving he is only a little drunk. “I was just telling her how it was when you were little and still figuring out your gravito. Broken dishes everywhere.” He laughs.

Nix is grinning so wide that her fang is dimpling her lower lip.

I step over to her and use my thumb to pull her lip free.

It would not cause mayhem if she accidentally cut herself here; there are no adolescents around still learning control. But I would rather not deal with my own inevitable freakout over scenting my mate’s blood in a room filled with predators. Even if those predators are family who would not attack her, I still would not handle it well.

“Are you tired?” I ask Nix in a quiet voice.

She lifts a shoulder, but I can see the real answer in her eyes.

“You can go upstairs in just a bit, but have a seat first. I have something to share.” Uncle Frio nods to the stone mantel they’re facing. “I know we’ll talk more as a group later, but I wanted to give you this information now.”

I sit with my back to the dwindling fire and hold my palm out toward Nix, dragging her, and her chair, closer, until our knees touch.

Uncle smiles at my controlled use of my power.

When he just keeps smiling, I lift my brows. “Well?”

“We found evidence of a mated pair like yours.” He looks back and forth between Nix and me. “A vampire and a human.”

Chapter 93

Nix

Eyes locked on Uncle Frio, I reach my hand out for Volik’s.

He wraps his fingers around mine. “Tell us.”

“After we spoke, we sent Barth out to check for tales. And he found one. In China.”

“Just one?” Volik asks the question I’m thinking.

Uncle nods. “So far. But if there’s one, there are more. And we’ve only been looking for a few days.” He lowers his chin to give Volik a look. “Now, if you’d told us a week prior, when you found your mate…” Then he waves that thought off. “I get it though. I may have found your aunt four-hundred-and-seventy-seven years ago, but I still remember what it was like.”