10. Lucien

My side hurts. I think Kieran knows I have been injured as his eyes keep dropping unerringly to the spot where Tristan clawed me.

I am thankful that my coat covers the wound. I am thankful that Kieran cannot be certain and that he clearly does not wish to ask.

"I need to make a call."

Kieran nods but makes no move to go inside. I have tried to edge him closer to the wards, but I am relieved, too, by the way he warily eyes the shadows as I lift the phone to my ear.

Njáll answers on the second ring. "Lucien?"

"Tristan was here."

"What? Where are you?"

Kieran gives me the street name—with no small amount of reluctance—and I pass it on to Njáll.

"What happened?" Njáll moves the phone away from his mouth long enough to shout orders, and I sigh when I realise his entire team is on their way. I need to call Elle. Adam may be useful here, as much as I despise the idea of bringing him so close to danger.

"I was walking Kieran home and Tristan attacked us."

Njáll's growl is low, but Kieran's sharp look tells me he hears it.

"We were attacked around the corner from here," I say. "I will call Elle and have her meet you, too. The magic user was there. Adam should be able to pick something up."

"All right," Njáll says. "I'll call Vasile. You'll meet us there?"

"When I am finished here, yes."

Njáll grunts before he hangs up and Kieran looks at me expectantly. "You think you'll find him?"

"Why were you still carrying a stake?"

His eyes widen. He did not expect the question. The surprise fades from his face quickly, replaced with irritation. "Why do you think?"

"Last night, Vasile said—"

"And today, Tristan escaped and tried to kill me. Tried to kill both of us."

Oh, I do not doubt Tristan came for one of us, but it was not me. We have barely crossed paths the entire time he has been part of the clan.

"I was simply in the way," I protest. "But you had the stake with you before he arrived. Before you knew he had escaped."

Some confusing expression crosses Kieran's face. Guilt? I wait for an answer. I can be patient, and for this, I will. Truly, I do not believe Kieran a threat to the average vampire. It is apparent he has been living in London for a while, and he has not been killing us the entire time.

No. I believe that he was acting in self-defence, as well as in the defence of his neighbourhood, his community.

So why is he risking everything now? He should have believed us. Until he brandished that stake this evening, I thought he had.

"I felt something weird this morning," Kieran says. The words sound almost forced out of him, the same way he gave me his name the night before. "Magic. I felt magic. At the gym."

"Why would that—" I have so many questions. "Why would that make you feel the need to carry a stake?"

Kieran glances back at the building, eyes falling on a window I suspect looks into his flat.

"We were worried about it," he says. "I didn't know if something else was going on, and now…"

"Was the magic you felt this morning the same as that we encountered tonight?"

Kieran's gaze cuts to me. "Yes."

So whoever is working with Tristan has been following Kieran, too. He is not safe, not even in daylight.

"Why do you think they were near you today?"

Kieran shrugs. "Who knows? She left quickly, but I don't know if it's because she got what she wanted or because she got scared. Doesn't matter. She's clearly helping Tristan, which is the bigger problem, right?"

"Yes."

"I don't… I'm not looking for trouble, Lucien. I don't want any part of this. I never have."

There is some truth in that, though Kieran's gaze darts away on the last sentence. Still, I nod. "I believe you."

Kieran blinks at me, apparently startled by my words. God help me, but I do believe him. He is dangerous—bordering on vicious at times—but I do not believe he is out to hurt our entire community.

That makes no difference to Tristan, of course.

"You need to stay inside as much as possible. Will those wards hold up against another magic user?"

"I think so. I'll ask." Kieran sighs. "I can't stay inside all the time. I've gotta work. I have a life."

I open my mouth, but Kieran shakes his head. "You don't know how long it'll take to catch him, right?"

"We do not."

"Then I've got to risk it."

I exhale heavily through my nose. Kieran lives in Chieftain Kayode's territory, whether he knows it or not. Not that it is relevant. Kieran is human. I should push him towards the Council, urge him to ask them for protection.

And yet, I do not know what Vasile has told them. I do not know if Kieran wishes to be involved with the hunters at all.

"Give me your phone," Kieran says.

"I—What?"

He simply holds out his hand, expression pinched with resignation. I hesitate before I unlock my phone and hand it over. Kieran sighs. He inputs his number and then gives it back.

"There. You have my number."

"Why would I—"

"I don't want the Council anywhere near me." His eyes flick to the window again but then settle on my face. "If you wanna tell me what's going on, now you can. It's gotta be easier than trying to turn up wherever I am."

"All right." There is logic in it, but that is not what has my heart beating a little faster. My side still throbs, and I need blood, but I feel as though Kieran is acknowledging some connection between us, as though he is allowing me past some invisible barrier others cannot surmount.

"You should go meet the others," Kieran says. His eyes drop to my injured side again. "And get that checked out."

Blood rushes to my face. Kieran's lips twitch. How beautiful would he be if he smiled?

"See you around, Lucien."

I say nothing. I simply stare after him as he walks through the wards and lets himself into the building without looking back.

What am I doing?

I do not give myself time to think about it. Nor do I allow myself to think about the fact that I have Kieran's phone number, but he does not have mine. He has given me the upper hand, the opportunity to reach out or not, and it eases something in my chest.

When I reach the spot where we were attacked, Njáll is already there. I still need to call Elle, but he spots me and waves me over, a frown marring his strong features.

"What happened? Tell me all of it."

It only takes a few minutes to explain, and by the time I am finished, Vasile has arrived with his two guards—and Hunter Moreau. They listen to the latter end of my story, and when I am finished, Moreau sighs, rubbing a hand over his worn face. He wears the same long leather coat he always does and pushes his hands deep into its pockets.

"A mage?" he mutters. "Fuck."

"That is never good news," Vasile agrees. Like Kieran, his eyes narrow in on my injured side, but I shake my head. I will be fine until I can return to the clan house. There are enough of us here now that I am not concerned about an attack.

"No, it's worse than that," Moreau says. "You say Tristan just disappeared?"

I nod. "He was there one moment. Kieran had hold of his shirt. A woman shouted his name, but I did not see her, and then Tristan was simply gone."

"Kieran?" Moreau looks at Vasile. "The human?"

"Yes," Vasile says. I hope neither of them asks if Kieran has a weapon. I do not wish to lie, but I do not wish for the truth of it to be uncovered, either.

"He's strong," Moreau murmurs. He looks up and down the street, but there is very little evidence of our fight. Only the magic left in the air, perhaps, but I do not think any of us here can sense that.

"I would like to call Adam here," I say to Vasile. "He can sense magic. He may be able to tell us if this magic user is the one who broke Tristan and Adelaide out."

Vasile nods, but Moreau speaks. "Would have to be."

"We cannot assume," Vasile begins, but Moreau shakes his head.

"Teleportation is old magic," he says. "Either you can do it, or you can't. There are barely any mages left who would even be capable of something like that."

Vasile hums as he thinks it over. The mage wars began over two decades ago, but they decimated the population of magic users. Their numbers have, of course, not yet recovered, but from my understanding, the loss of knowledge, of innate skill, has been far more devastating.

Hardly a member of the oldest families made it out alive.

"Call Adam all the same," Vasile says. "We need to be certain. I won't have us going on a wild goose chase."

Moreau nods absently and I step away from them both to make the call to Elle. She tells me she will be there soon, that they of course have come across no trace of Tristan tonight.

When I look back up, Vasile has turned to talk to Njáll and Moreau is watching me. Unlike the rest of us, he does not seem unnerved by Vasile's guards, but then, I believe he was the one to assign them to him.

Nobody knows why.

"The human," Moreau says. "What's his deal?"

Vasile turns back at the sound of Moreau's voice. "Shouldn't you know?"

Moreau shrugs. Hunters generally live longer than the average human, but they are still human themselves. That being said, Moreau has been here since I arrived in London, and he has always looked like the man who stands before me now. His grey hair is tied back in a knot at the base of his skull, and his blue eyes, so bright, are far too knowing for my liking.

He is something else, but I do not know what.

"There are, what, eight million people in this city?" Moreau raises an eyebrow. "You think I know all of them?"

"He is human," I say. "Strong, but human."

"Why so interested, Moreau?"

"Seems like at least one of your missing vampires might be fixated on him," Moreau says. His tone is light, but his gaze is hard. "Might be a good way to catch him."

Vasile frowns. Objectively, it is, of course, a good plan. Kieran is almost certainly able to draw Tristan out, judging by what I have seen of Tristan's actions over the past two days.

But it risks Kieran's own life, and I am unsure how I feel about that. I should not worry about one human, not when the potential risk is much greater.

"It is not the worst plan," Vasile says. "You could keep one of your hunters on him."

"No!" The word is out of my mouth before I can stop it, something iron squeezing my chest. "I mean—I could do it, crai. I could be the one to watch him."

Vasile looks at me for far too long before he speaks. "Lucien, are you certain? I expected you to be excited to return to your district."

I dare not look him or Moreau in the face and keep my eyes on the tarmac beneath my feet. "I am, crai. But until we have recaptured Tristan and Adelaide, it is likely none of us are safe. I have the ability to do it, and I have Elle to take care of my district in the meantime."

Vasile seems inclined to think it over, but Moreau claps him on the shoulder, aiming a grin my way.

It does not reach his eyes.

"Why not?" he says. "If Tristan's that fixated on the human, I'm sure he'll wait to kill him himself. Besides, if he and Adelaide are smart, they won't risk their mage again. A vampire keeping an eye out at night should be enough to catch him."

Vasile frowns at me. "You are certain?"

"Yes, crai."

"Fine. Stick close. Be careful. I fear the human is not quite what he seems."

I catch Moreau's expression out of the corner of my eye. It is speculative. Knowing.

What does he know about Kieran that we do not?