Page 70 of His Eternal Temptation

“Shit.”

“It’s fine. We couldn’t have acted any sooner. I wouldn’t have wanted to traumatize Caden further by taking his blood before he was settled. And if this is him settled …” He and Lane shared an understanding look. “In case killing his sire doesn’t smooth out his transformation completely, we can’t do anything to set him back.”

“No, we can’t, and it’s not like we weren’t busy dealing with a curse, Emile, and the damn Hillmans. Our schedule’s been full.”

When put that way, Rowan didn’t feel he’d fallen short. He was doing the best he could. There was no need to criticize himself for focusing on other problems ahead of Caden. He’d entrusted him to Felix, who was doing an exceptional job. If Caden could have given blood sooner, Felix would have said.

“I’ll message Cecile and ask her to gather a crew so we’re ready to move.”

“What if this sire has a whole coven with him?”

Rowan’s fingers flew across his phone, filling Cecile in. “This isn’t the work of any coven established in the city. They know me better than to think they could get away with it, and I’d have heard of a group of vampires coming to town. The Valeros have eyes everywhere. This guy is on his own or part of a very small group. It’s the only way he could have snuck in.”

Lane’s apprehension remained. “Are you sure?”

“If he had a coven of vampires, why not attack me outright? Because he knows he can’t win in an open fight. He’s creating trouble. Trying to get the city to turn on me for transforming ferals so I lose my allies.”

“But it isn’t working. Those witches didn’t believe it was you, and they weren’t your biggest fans.”

“Exactly. We need to strike before he changes tack. We’ll overpower him easily.” Rowan paused.

“I’m coming with you,” Lane said before Rowan could ask.

“Promise me you’ll be careful?”

This wasn’t the first time Rowan had fought beside a witch he cared about, or beside friends without immortal life. It was the first time he’d be with his partner, and Lane’s vulnerability scared Rowan more than anything had in a hundred years.

Lane bumped his shoulder, radiating beautiful confidence. “I will.”

NINETEEN

LANE

Lane settled in Rowan’s desk chair, the glass of Caden’s blood before him. Rowan, Cecile, Kai, and Evangeline waited as he gathered his thoughts. He’d never cast a surveillance spell like this and wanted to nail it on the first try.

Jack hurried in from the hall with a bowl and three candles. After filling the bowl at the sink, he deposited everything on the desk.

“Thanks.” Lane arranged the candles in a triangular formation, lighting them with a snap of his fingers and a flare of power. “I’ve double-checked everything, but I’ll save some blood in case I need to do this more than once.”

He poured a portion into a second glass and set the rest aside. Caden had been agitated after donating it, and Lane wouldn’t want to disturb him for more.

With the blood positioned at the center of the candles, he closed his eyes and began the spell. Generally, the tracking revealed the subject’s location in the caster’s mind’s eye, but Lane didn’t know the city as well as the vampires, so he’d added a clause to project the image into the water’s surface.

Lane spoke, and power thrummed through him. The candle flames sparked, fire crackling. An image of Rowan’s building—the Arcadia sign—swam into view. Shit, the spell was tracking Caden. He repeated the words, homing in on the link within the blood, not the blood itself.

A room appeared. It was tidy, the window overlooking the sidewalk in front of Arcadia. “Dammit.” This must be where Felix and Caden were right now, down the hall from them.

“It’s all right, Lane,” came Rowan’s steady voice. “Relax.”

He took a moment to collect himself and dug deeper.

The river came into view. A bridge full of people. An unfamiliar road. A warehouse with what looked like a junkyard out back.

“Looks like the South Banks,” Cecile said.

At least the image was projecting into the bowl all right. Lane kept going, but the vision fixated on the warehouse. The street returned to view. Then the warehouse and its dark interior. Caden’s sire must be there. Lane pulled back and searched for a street sign.

“There! Got it.” Cecile’s triumph had Lane opening his eyes, the spell broken. “It’s farther from the river than where we found Emile, but still within the city. Let’s go.”