How could he tell her now? How could he say the words?
The Cruor Venator killed your friend, and that’s how they tracked you to this city. They drained his blood, skinned him, and ate his heart. But don’t worry, because I’m here to take care of you.
Right. Like hell.
She’ll blame herself. She’ll run from me. I can’t let her do that.
But silence stuck in his throat like a claw. It wasn’t honest. She had a right to know.
“Why you, Lyssa?” he asked hoarsely, hating himself. “It sounds personal.”
She was silent a moment. “They’re hunting me because that’s what they do. My. . blood. . is valuable to them.”
“Because you’re a dragon.”
She made an exasperated sound. “Don’t say that out loud.”
“No one’s around us.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t like you knowing what I am.”
“You know my secret.”
“I don’t know anything about you.”
“You’ve been hiding for years. It’s a hard habit to break. I understand that.”
“No,” she muttered, looking down at the sidewalk. “No, you don’t. How could you?”
Because I killed a man when I was thirteen years old, then ran away from home.
Lyssa stumbled. Eddie caught her elbow, and heat roared up his arm. He let go, startled, and she gave him a haunted, troubled, look.
It was so quiet. Every sound, muted. Every car engine, every voice, dull in his ears. His beating heart was louder than it all.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he whispered.
Lyssa let out her breath. “Like what?”
Like you heard what I thought.
Eddie backed away and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I left home after the first time I lost control of. . of the fire. I was just a kid. I lived on the streets for years until it was safe enough for me to be around the people I cared about. So I know about hiding. About. . holding back.”
“You were homeless,” she said.
“About as homeless as a person can be,” he replied. “I think about it every day.”
Lyssa swallowed hard and looked away. “Hard not to, isn’t it?”
“You have some experience with the street?”
“You could say that. It was the only option for a long time.” She spoke with particular brittleness and gave him a lingering look full of doubt. “You said Long Nu told you about the Cruor Venator.”
“Some. Not enough.” Eddie started walking again, needing to move, to focus on something other than her. “I asked Lannes to help me gather more information.”
Lyssa matched his pace. “You shouldn’t have. You’ll make him a target. Maybe I did already, by being in his home.”
Maybe, he thought. “I need to know what the Cruor Venator are. What they do.”
Lyssa walked faster. “Witches have the blood of the fae in them. That’s what gives them their power, diluted as it may be. Sometimes it doesn’t even manifest, or if does, it can be mistaken for intuition or good luck.”
Eddie stared. “I. . the fae?”
“You know.” She wiggled her fingers and raised her brow. “Faeries. Sidhe.”
He had thought there was nothing left that could surprise him — but he was wrong. Crazy or not, though, it wasn’t worth arguing over. Not after all the other strange things he’d seen in his life.
“So why does everyone act as though the Cruor Venator are different from other witches?”
“Because they’re descended from a specific bloodline.” Disgust twisted her mouth. “Not fae. Demon.”
“No.”
“Yes. If you don’t believe me, that’s fine. But—”
Eddie touched her arm, stopping her. “I was told the Cruor Venator haven’t been seen in one hundred years. How come you know so much about them?”
Lyssa grimaced. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Can’t you just answer the question?”
“No. I shouldn’t even be here with you. I wasn’t. . thinking.” Her voice was sharp, but he heard a hint of pain that was all too familiar. Before he could say anything, Lyssa walked into the street and hailed an approaching cab.
Eddie stepped in front of her. “Not without me.”
She gave him a haunted look. “What is your problem?”
“You,” he said, and grabbed the front of her jacket, pulling her close with gentle, firm, strength. Lyssa made a small sound of protest, staring at him with huge, troubled eyes. The cab slowed, then drove past.
“You,” he said again, quieter.
Her hands rose to cover his, but she didn’t try to free herself. Her touch was soft and warm, and a terrible prickling heat rose beneath his skin, behind his eyes. It scared him, but only because she slipped so easily behind the walls he’d worked hard to build. Years of keeping his heart quiet and calm, segregated from emotions that were too strong.
Because it wasn’t safe. Fire reacted to the heart.
His heart reacted to her.
Her gaze flicked to his mouth, sending a bolt of hunger from his throat into his groin. Embarrassing, impossible to control. All he could do was keep his focus on her eyes, but if he looked at her delicate lips, the pale curve of her jaw. .
“What do you want from me?” she whispered. “Why are you trying so hard for a complete stranger?”
A million reasons tumbled through his head. She was a job, it was the right thing to do. . if only someone had done the same for him all those years ago. .
But shining through those thoughts was the memory of seeing her across Columbus Circle — that first sight when he hadn’t realized who she was, when all she was to him was a faceless, graceful woman — who had sparked a feeling of connection so powerful, so deep inside him, he could barely think about it, let alone try to describe it in words. He had wanted to take care of her, then. A complete stranger.
Now that he was face-to-face with her. .
I don’t care what Lannes says. I don’t care.
“I need to do this,” he told her, finding it difficult to say the words. “I don’t think I could. . live with myself. . if I didn’t make certain you’re safe.”
Uncertainty flickered in her eyes. Eddie forced his hands to loosen. “I don’t expect you to understand that.”
“Just like you don’t understand the danger you’re in, being near me?”
He gave her a crooked smile. “How many times are we going to have this conversation?”
Lyssa looked away, visibly swallowing.
Eddie let go of the jacket entirely though his fingers ached and felt stiff. “We could be on a plane in two hours.”
Her gaze darted toward him. “I thought you were determined to stay here.”
“Because of you.”
“So if I leave, you’ll forget about the Cruor Venator?”
He couldn’t lie to her, not about that. Lyssa waited a heartbeat, then gave him a bitter smile.
“No, thanks,” she said.
“Okay,” he replied, watching her carefully. “Does that mean you’re going after these witches?”
Again, she said nothing. Eddie sighed. “Fine. We go our separate ways. I’ll stumble along until these witches find me, or I find them. And you can do the same.”
“You’re serious,” she said.
“Yes.”
“You’re manipulating me. That’s ridiculous.”
“We don’t have time to fight each other.”
She took a deep breath. Both of them, watching the other. Standing so still as the leaves rustled on the trees, and cars drove past. Far away, sirens. Far away, laughter.