Origin of Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Protector #3)(42)

“It was. Meet me at P&P. I’ll brief you.”

“Perfect,” Cass said.

“See you in ten,” Del added.

I cut the connection on the comms charm just as Connor was walking out of the kitchen with two plates piled high with cheese quiche and cheese scones.

“Thank you.” I fell upon them ravenously, scarfing down Connor’s magic and only barely managing to chew with my mouth closed.

“I’m noticing a trend in your food preferences,” Ares said.

I shrugged, swallowing. “As far as I’m concerned, cheese makes up the base of the food pyramid.”

Claire laughed. “You also think it’s part of your five-a-day.”

“If I believe hard enough, anything can happen. Even cheese turning into a fruit. Except that it would stay cheese.” I popped the last bite of scone into my mouth and chewed.

Behind me, the door creaked open. I turned to see Cass and Del enter.

“Did you get it?” Cass asked.

“Yep. Gave the recipe to Connor ten minutes ago.”

“Perfect.” Cass smiled.

“Not only that, we have a lead on Drakon’s location. Some place called the Valley of Darkness in Siberia.”

“Sounds fun,” Del said. “I’ve been needing a vacation.”

I laughed. “It’s going to be a nightmare. But at least Ademius was able to give us a contact. He’s a guy with a serious grudge against Drakon.”

“I bet there are a lot of those,” Del said.

“Very likely.” I nodded. “But we can head over there tomorrow. I need to rest because I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus, and we need to wait for Connor to finish the potion for the Vessel of Truth. I want to know what that prophecy says before we ambush Drakon.”

“Smart,” Del said. “I’ll get Roarke.”

“Aidan, too,” Cass added. “If this is going to be the big showdown, we’ll need backup.”

“Then don’t leave me out.” Claire propped her hand on her hip. “Scone and coffee duty starts to wear a girl thin, you know.”

“Haven’t hit your demon-slaying quota for the week?” I asked.

She grinned. “Nope. And I’m starting to get itchy.”

“It’s settled, then,” I said. “We set out tomorrow morning. Operation Catch Drakon—take two.”

“Into the belly of the beast,” Cass said.

“That’s the truth.” Ares frowned. “Siberia is no joke.”

“Ever been to the Valley of Darkness?” Del asked.

Ares shook his head. “Never heard of it. But I’ve got a feeling it’ll be a picnic.”

I snorted, then punched him playfully on the shoulder. My fist moved a lot slower than I wanted it to, exhaustion weighing me down. “Right. I need to go get some shut eye.”

“I’ll walk you back.” Ares stood.

“Okay.” Did he plan to spend the night? Since I didn’t want to ask in front of everyone, I kept my lips zipped and stood, joining Ares. I looked at my deirfiúr. “I’ll see you guys in the morning. Seven, okay?”

“Sure.” Cass’s eyes traveled back and forth between me and Ares. She knew I liked him, but she was just now getting an inkling of how much.

As we walked out, I sent my deirfiúr a death glare, forbidding them from any comments, or worse, wolf whistles.

Del waggled her eyebrows. I ignored her.

Ares and I walked down the darkened street in silence. Though it was still fairly early, I was exhausted. Even if he did stay over, I’d have only enough energy to fall face first into bed.

We stopped in front of my door and I unlocked it, then stepped into the tiny foyer. Ares followed, shutting the door behind him.

He turned to face me. “I need to get back to the Vampire Realm.”

“Business?” I asked. Though I knew it was a bad idea for him to sleep at my place—two nights in a row?—I still kind of wished he’d come over.

“Of a sort.” He stood and grinned. “I’m hungry.”

“But you just—” It dawned on me then. “Oh. Blood. Right.”

“Vampire.”

“Of course.” I opened my mouth, almost ready to suggest that he drink from me, then snapped it shut.

Idiot.

That was a huge step. Huge. And one I was not even close to ready for. So I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. He groaned low in his throat, and then pulled me to him, his strong hands at my back.

Tension thrummed through my veins as I envisioned dragging him into my apartment and having my way with him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, wanting to climb him like a tree and wrap my legs around his waist.

His lips moved expertly on mine, warm and soft and so talented that they drove all rational thought from my mind. His hands at my back burned a hole through my clothes, warming my skin in the chill air.

I clutched him tighter, pressing my body fully against his, wanting to feel every curve and plane of hard muscle.

Ares shuddered and pulled away. “I can’t, Nix.”

“What?” I gasped, my blurry gaze slowly focusing on his face. “What do you mean?”

He coughed, gaze averted. “When I’m, ah, hungry, I can’t do…” He gestured between us. “This. It’s dangerous.”