After I told Taran what I was planning with Goldie, he offered to cover me at the shop. Goldie and I agree to meet at the small cafe where we regularly go during our breaks. I’m trying to breathe through the tension that builds in my chest. Kuras is also going to be there. During our dinner, he was stubbornly insistent that he come and help.

Nothing I said dissuaded him.

The thought of Kuras coming with me is giving me pause for concern. We are dealing with some rough and nasty people. Putting Kuras in their sights as another person to terrorize makes me extremely uncomfortable. He’s my fated mate. I shouldn’t just allow him to fly around to put himself in harms way.

My inner dragon helpfully reminds me that neither Taran nor Nyve could stop their fated mates either.

Is that a fated mate trait? Or an omega trait?

It’s frustrating, that’s what it is.

Kuras arrives first, dressed in plain jeans and a gray hoodie. It’s a great combination to be able to not call attention to himself. Not everyone knows how to do that, so I have to give him kudos for that.

As a mythical shifter in a world which doesn’t know about us, not standing out any more than necessary is one of the most useful skills.

“Hey,” he says with a bright smile, and my inner dragon helpfully reminds me of just how great he is not only as a person but as a fated mate. He’s attractive and smart, enthusiastic and compassionate. His offer to help someone he doesn’t know is generous.

I stand and kiss him on the cheek. My lips tingle when they touch his skin.

He gives me this curious look but before he says anything I hear my name. Goldie comes trotting up to us and throws her arms around me in a hug. “Oh my gods, Bronaz, thank you so much for helping.”

When she pulls away, she sticks out her hand to Kuras. “I’m Goldie! I work across the street from the guys.”

Kuras untangles his hand from his hoodie pocket and takes it. “I’m Kuras, a friend. Bronaz told me what was happening with your sister and I’m so sorry. I wanted to come along and help in any way I can.”

“That’s so nice of you,” she says in her consistent effervescent way. “I’m not sure what the game plan is but I figure we can just wing it and see what the Universe brings to us.”

They both look at me as if they think I have the answer. I almost laugh out loud. “Let’s try to retrace her steps from the day she disappeared.” I pull the chair out to sit at one of the patio tables and they both follow suit.

We put in coffee orders and wait for the waiter to disappear before I continue. “So,” I say, sipping at my coffee. “Do you know what she was doing that day?”

Goldie props her elbow on the table and rests her chin in her palm. Her pinky finger pulls at her lower lip while she’s lost in thought. After a stretch of quiet, “I know she had work. I don’t think her gardening club met that day. I’d have to check my phone and pick up the pattern of when they meet.”

“Alright. So we’ll head over to where she works and talk to her coworkers first.” A glance at my watch shows we should have plenty of time to do that before lunch. “Where is that?”

“The Raven’s Moon.”

Kuras snaps his fingers. “I’ve heard of it. It’s the art supply store down on Superior. Just off Shadowdawn Boulevard, right?”

I think I know that area well enough to find it. “That’s the place where you can get specialty craft spells.”

“Well, not everyone knows about that,” Goldie says with a small smile. “But yes, that’s the place. She works as a clerk there.”

It follows—since Goldie is a talented artist, Rayne might be one, too. “Then we go there first. See what they know.”

Goldie huffs out a breath, the puff fluffing up her bangs. “Anything beats sitting around fretting about it.”

We finish up our coffee and hail a cab to get us to The Raven’s Moon. It’s located four stores down from the corner of Shadowdawn and Superior, just like Kuras said it was, tucked between a shoe repair store and a vintage vinyl record store. I make a mental note to tell Sako about this place if he doesn’t know about it already.

On the surface, it looks to be very much like any upscale art store that can be found around the city. Art displays on the walls reminds me of Nosko’s gallery. Even prints of Annika’s art are displayed. It reminds me of how closed our mythical shifter community can really be at times.

The door jingles merrily as we step in and the counter clerk looks up. “Welcome to Raven’s—Goldie! Oh my gods, how are you? How are your folks doing?” She circles around the counter and rushes to pull Goldie in a fierce hug. The clerk’s pink bangs flop across her forehead and into her eyes, giving her the appearance of wearing a patch. Two silver rings are fitted in her lip and several line down the shell of one ear. Every finger is graced with a ring, some small and tasteful, others large and glittery.

“Neeta, hi. Yeah, everyone’s just trying to hold it together right now.” Goldie looks like such a little girl at times, with her bashful lips and large eyes. “Is Marigold in?”

“Sure, she’s in the back. Let me go get her.” Neeta disappears through the doorway behind the counter.

“Marigold is the manager,” Goldie tells us.

Moments later, an older lady appears, her face filled with sadness as she looks at Goldie. She’s not as tall as Neeta and very grandmotherly in build. Still, there’s a timelessness to her appearance, so it’s hard to gauge her age. “Goldie, darling, come here.”

The moment her arms fold around Goldie it’s clear she’s used to being the mother hen type.

Kuras and I exchange a small smile.

Since Goldie knows these two better than I do, I stand back and let Goldie ask all the questions. She’s surprisingly insightful when she talks to them, getting what precious little information is available.

No, to Marigold’s knowledge, Rayne has no enemies. No one lurked outside. She never complained about someone following her or giving her the creeps. Rayne simply came in, did her job and went home. The routine never changed until she went missing.

Goldie says her goodbyes and we leave.

At the corner, we pause to figure out our next move.

After swiping through her phone, Goldie pulls up the address of the gardening group that Rayne goes to twice a week.

“Is it even worth going to talk to them?” Goldie taps her phone against her lip in thought. “She didn’t have the meeting the night she disappeared.”

“Let’s try there anyway,” Kuras says. “If for no other reason than to rule out anything they may have seen as well. I’d hate to overlook something.”

I have to agree with Kuras. “I think that’s a sound plan.”

The gardening group isn’t much help at all. They report the same thing that Rayne’s manager had. She seemed in good spirits, there was nothing that seemed to distract her. No notice of unusual activity or suspicious people hanging around. When we leave, Goldie is quiet and withdrawn.

“Hey,” I nudge her gently before putting my arm around her. “Rayne’s tough. We’ll find her, I promise that to you, Goldie.” It’s a promise I know I shouldn’t make. None of us should make it. There’s no way to know if we’ll find her in time before these people do something monstrous to her.

I have to keep my spirits up for Goldie’s and Rayne’s sake. I didn’t have the chance at optimism with my brother. Now he’s gone and everything that I could have tried is dead ash on my tongue. I will not allow someone else to lose their sibling.

Kuras is standing close and he leans into me. “Hey, this isn’t over yet, you two. We’ve just scratched the surface of what we can do to find more information.”

I close my eyes and draw a deep cleansing breath in. Until Kuras said something, I didn’t realize my own mood was starting down a dark path along with Goldie’s. “He’s right. We’ve eliminated two places, which means something out of the ordinary happened.”

“I’m not sure what else we can do,” Goldie says with a resigned sigh. “I am out of ideas.”

A glance at Kuras puts my mind on a different track. “Kuras, could you call Austin and tell him we need to talk to Ronnie?”

That has Kuras’ attention. “Oh? Will this require a bus or a car?”

“We’ll need a car. I’ll handle that.

Kuras has his phone out. “Where is he meeting us?”

“The shop. I have an idea.”