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After I nudged her to take credit where it was due, Colby gave him a rundown of her sleuthing.
“Three weeks.” He frowned. “If the specimens were collected in the same location, why wait?”
“Whoever is behind this wanted the creatures hungry.” I talked out my reasoning. “Lock them up, starve them, then set them free in populated areas. They would fall on the first prey they came across. Most likely humans. That would get them noticed faster, and any response from me would be immediate. Less time to wait for whatever result they hoped for.”
“Aedan challenged me a few weeks ago,” Asa said, zeroing in on the timeline, “but he didn’t show.”
“He’s clear,” I assured him. “I interrogated him to make sure the blood oath held.”
Approval brightened his eyes, and I bet anything it stemmed from me claiming my daemon birthright.
I might not be ready to shout it from the rooftops, but I wasn’t ignoring it either.
Between the bond forming with Asa and the blood oath taking root, I had to accept it.
I was part daemon. A quarter, max. And I had no idea what that meant for me—or us—long term.
“His sister could have used that time to plan this.” I turned it over in my head. “Aedan saw her before he came here to sign trumped-up paperwork, so she knew he was on his way to see you.”
Delma had lured him in with the inheritance ploy, and he had fallen for it. Prior to that, he had kept off her radar so that he could secure his younger siblings’ foster situations. She could have planned this—the timeline fit, mostly—but why? She had to know he was going to his death. So, what did she really want?
“This was good work,” Asa praised Colby. “Keep digging. You might be onto something.”
The flitter of her wings betrayed her pleasure at having impressed him, and I couldn’t help smiling.
A ping on my phone had me reaching for it to check my texts.
Clay had finished reviewing the footage from the night of the festival.
>>Delma wasn’t there.
Her absence lent weight to our supposition the goal had been to flush me out of hiding.
“Come on.” I took his hand. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Yes, please.” Colby shielded the side of her face again. “I’ve already lost two eyeballs tonight.”
“Smarty fuzz butt,” I muttered, guiding him outside for a moment of privacy. I followed him to the SUV, enjoying the fresh air. “Maybe next time, you can bring Clay with you and avoid making the trip twice?”
“You know Clay.” Asa turned so his back rested against the vehicle, and he drew me close. “He won’t leave until the paperwork clears.”
“You couldn’t wait twelve more hours, huh?”
“I’ve waited a lot longer than twelve hours for this.” He lowered his head and captured my mouth in a slow kiss that melted my knees. “I have no regrets.”
“Neither do I.” I bit his bottom lip. “You realize I’ll never hear the end of this from Clay.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re the romantic in this relationship.” I tingled from head to toe, addicted to his flavor after just one small taste. “I hadn’t even started thinking about our date night.”
“You’ve had your hands full.”
“So have you, but you made time for me.”
“I don’t need you to be anyone other than yourself.” He cinched his arms around me until we stood flush from hip to shoulder. “You ask nothing of me. It’s not your fault if I want to give you everything.”
“You can’t help yourself.” I banged my head against his chest. “You’re perfect.”
