Kuras’s text remains unanswered on my phone. It’s pretty shitty of me to not have answered immediately and it dominates my thoughts through lunch. I should at least acknowledge that I got it and promise to get back to him. That would be the right thing to do.

I stare at the screen, trying to figure out what to say.

“You’re going to burn a hole in it if you keep that up.” Nyve flops into my chair and props his feet up.

I power down my phone and put it away. “I thought you had a client coming in. Isn’t that why you rushed back from your lunch with Austin?”

“She canceled and we rescheduled. So I have a block of time free. What’s worrying you?”

My brows knit tightly. “I’m not worried.”

“And you’re a terrible liar, too,” Nyve says. He nudges at my arm with his boot toe. “Dude, I have known you for ages. Something weighs heavily on you and you’re doing a shitty job hiding it.”

It’s stupid of me to try to bullshit my way out of this. Nyve knows me better than most. He was there when we found my brother’s body. I lean back on my stool and scrub at my face. “What the fuck am I doing, Nyve? I keep leading Kuras on and then punking out on him. The guy is so turned around he’s a merry-go-round at this point and it’s my fault.”

Nyve gave me a searching look. “What are you doing? Or not doing?”

“I’m feeling pressure from Kuras. He wants to move ahead with us. You know, fated mates and all that.”

“I know a little bit about that.”

I give him a sour look. “Fuck you. What I mean is he’s ready. He wants a family and he’s looking to me to get the ball rolling on it.”

“Makes sense. Fated mates and all that.”

“If you’re going to fuck with me—”

Nyve holds up his hands. “Sorry, man. I’m being a jerk and I should be a friend. Do you feel like he’s not your fated mate?”

“No. I mean, I know he is. There’s no mistaking that he is.” I rub over my heart. “No doubt at all.”

“Then what’s the problem? You two get to know each other, bond, have little dragonlings running around setting fire to the curtains—”

“Is that where Taran is now?”

“Yep.”

I chuckle. Taran and Nosko’s little girl is already testing out her ability to shift and breath fire. “Good luck to you on that, my friend.”

“We’re taking down the window blinds and drapes when Austin delivers. Everything valuable is going in a fire proof safe until our kid learns to handle it.” Nyve’s toe catches my stool and he pushes me away a little bit.

Irritated, I roll back over and glare at him.

He gives me a cheeky smile. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I’m not ready, Nyve.” That’s a hard confession to make. I am not one to back down from any challenge.

Until Kuras.

“Ready for what?”

I roll my eyes. “You’re going to fucking make me say it.”

“I am. Pull on your Underoos and man up.”

“I can’t risk losing him, too.”

“Mmm.” Nyve falls silent at that.

“It’s still fresh to me. Hafaz didn’t have to die. I should have been there. Done something. Paid attention. It feels like a knife in my chest every time I think about it.”

“’Naz, man. I get it. Stepping out is scary as fuck. It is and I understand it. You’re afraid if you love Kuras, he’ll be taken away, too.”

I glare at Nyve accusingly. “Won’t he? It’s my luck. Hafaz was more than my brother. He was half of me. We knew each other’s thoughts. Finished each others’ sentences.”

“I’ve heard losing a twin is like losing a limb,” Nyve says sympathetically.

“It’s worse.” I bury my face in my hands. “If I let Kuras close as my fated mate, if we bond, then I risk being close like that and I can’t risk going through that again.”

“Mmm.”

“Good fucking gods, is that all you can say?”

Nyve sits forward. His hand clamps down on my shoulder and he shakes me. “I only have one thing to say and it’s something you already know. He’s your fated mate, whether you want it or not. At least talk to him about it. Trust him enough with the truth. Let him know that it’s not something he’s done or said. Because I’m pretty sure he’s blaming himself.”

“Did he say something?”

Nyve stands and slaps me on the back. “He doesn’t have to. It’s written all over his face. Answer the damn text and offer to meet with him to talk this out. It’ll all work out, bro. I promise.”

I watch Nyve stroll off before staring at my phone. It occurs to me that he called me bro, and something small warms in my heart.

I’m not comfortable stepping off like this but Nyve’s right. I owe it to Kuras to talk to him about this.

We can talk tonight. I’ll call when done here.

Goldie races into the shop before I can put my phone away. “’Naz! Marigold has done the spell and she has a location for Rayne!” She’s waving a printout, which she thrusts at me. “Can we go? Please?”

I manage to get the page from her. A building is circled in red. The address is scrawled hastily at the bottom of the paper.

Varos takes interest and comes up to peer over my shoulder. “That’s in the old industrial park in Bolton Heights, just south of Grant’s River. That place as been abandoned for a few years now.”

“You know, it’s almost scary how well connected you are to Stelline City,” I say over my shoulder.

“I like to keep informed. You guys need a third to go?”

Nyve has an appointment coming in, Taran is off on a personal errand, I have no idea where Sako is. “No. Stay here in case we run into problems.”

“We can call Kuras!” Goldie offers.

I really didn’t want to do that but the hopeful look in her eyes overrides my good sense. “If he’s available.”

“Right,” she agrees. “If he’s available.”

She doesn’t sound convinced that he wouldn’t be available. She hooks her arm in mine and starts to pull. “Come on, ‘Naz!”

I stumble out behind her, trying to pull up Kuras’ number on the way out.

Kuras meets us at the address. He shifts from foot to foot as the nervous energy vibrates from him. “That’s one creepy building.”

I agree.

My grandfather used to tell me that all buildings have a soul. That’s why, when some of them are empty, they are simply empty—as if they are waiting for someone new to come along. There’s a sadness in being left alone but it disappears when people move in and life is revitalized within the structure.

For some buildings, he said, the soul is just gone. That’s when they start to crumble away. When nature starts to take over and reclaim the land for its own.

It’s like this building is neither. It’s caught in that moment of between. The soul is there but it’s sick. There’s something wrong with it. It’s less what I see and more what I feel. It’s like the life has left the building and all that’s left is the sickness in the soul.

Goldie looks up at the five story structure, her bottom lip stuck in her teeth. “What a horrible place.”

“And she’s in there?” Kuras asks.

She holds up the baggie which holds Rayne’s hair. The silver strands glow a dim blue. “Marigold says that this will grow more blue the closer we get to where she is.”

I catch and hold both of their gazes. “Stay close and don’t get separated.” This isn’t like some movie. Haring off and getting separated is the worst thing we can do.

When they nod, we strike off to find a way inside.

It takes a little hunting before we find a back window that has been busted out. I get it clear enough to heave Kuras through first, then Goldie. I bring up the rear, squeezing with a little more effort through the window.

The room is an abandoned conference room. Dust and trash are littered everywhere. A few broken bookshelves and sadly leaning rolling chairs are strewn about.

We make our way towards the front of the building to find the stairwell that will take us up. The structure itself isn’t very large but there are enough individual offices partitioned off that searching each one will go faster if we do as I ordered and stay together. We can clear a floor very quickly.

Coming out of the stairwell on the third floor, we enter a room that I suspect was a reception area at one point. Bent and broken chairs line the walls. The ceiling light fixture has broken loose and landed on the desk. Papers are scattered about.

“It’s like they left in a hurry.” Kuras picks up a piece of paper. “They didn’t take the time to pack their files properly.”

“Are there any company logos on it?”

Kuras shakes his head and lets it drop.

Goldie grips my arm in a tight hold. “’Naz, look.” She holds up the hair. The blue glow is much stronger.

“She was here. They had her here,” she whispers.

I strike off down the hallway, motioning for Kuras and Goldie to search the north side offices while I search the south.

“What’s this?” Kuras pauses to look at a section of the wall. “It’s… scorch marks?”

“Like from a flame thrower?” Goldie is peering over Kuras’ shoulder. I double back to see what they’re talking about.

Three deep scratches drag along the wall about chest height. I place my fingers in the grooves. “Claw marks.”

“From what?” Kuras ducks to get a close look at them. He pulls his phone and takes a picture.

That is a good idea. I’m sorry I didn’t think of it. My inner dragon is filled with pride that my fated mate would think of such a thing.

I can’t help but feel a bit of pride myself.

Further down the hall, Goldie stoops and picks something up. She holds it up for us to see. It’s a feather. “Or who?”

Kuras snaps a picture, then takes it from her. He pulls a baggie from his pocket and puts it in there, then seals it up.

I take it into an office and hold it up to the natural light. “That’s a griffin feather.”

“Scorch marks from a dragon, mysterious claw marks, a griffin feather…” Kuras steps back and shakes his head. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“’Naz! Come here!” Goldie’s voice echoes down the hall.

I race down the hallway and skid to a stop when I see her in an office, holding Rayne’s hair up. It’s glowing a vibrant blue.

What’s even more amazing is the glow coming from around the room itself. It’s lit up from this magical resonance with Rayne’s hair and what is all over the walls.

“Magic is all over the place. It’s Rayne’s. She was here.”

All right. This was not a revelation I was expecting. We know Goldie is a unicorn shifter and so we know her sister is as well. It follows she’d be magical in some manner but she knows how to cast spells too?

“These markings,” Kuras says as he approaches a wall. He tilts his head to one side. “It’s a magic script of some kind? I can’t read it.”

I stand behind him. It’s faint, but I see them too. I motion for Goldie to come over. When she is close, the blue glow intensifies. “Rayne’s magic?”

“Yeah. It’s hers all right.” Goldie draws close, still holding up the baggie. “I can barely make out her writing. Lux, lowercase.”

“Lux?” Kuras leans in. “What does that mean?”

“I have no idea.”

I continue to search the office. There’s nothing that gives us any clue of what business was on this floor. “Get pictures and send them to me.”

I forward a few images to Ronnie, including the word lux, and the address of the office building. He says he’ll get back to me as soon as he finds something. “Let’s keep searching, see if we can find anything else.”

Reluctantly, Goldie leaves the room but it’s obvious she’s pleased with what we’ve found. When she sees me looking at her, she beams at me. “She’s still alive. I know it.”

The rest of the building doesn’t turn up anything. “It’s getting dark.” Glancing out the window, I estimate we have another half hour before the sun sets. “Let’s get back. I don’t want to be caught here at night.”

We get clear of the building in five minutes. By the time we’re at the bus stop, street lights are starting to come on. My phone vibrates in my hand. It’s Ronnie.

“Tell me you found something.”

“Sorry, man,” he says, “I’m not coming up with anything right off. There’s no one named Lux, first name or last, that I can find. Well, other than some surfer from the bay area. I can’t imagine this guy has anything to do with it.”

“How do you know?” Goldie and Kuras are watching me intently.

“Kid’s thirteen. Just started middle school.”

My suspicious nature wants to tell Ronnie to keep an eye on him but my better sense does acknowledge he’s probably right. A kid wouldn’t have anything to do with this. “All right, keep looking. Something’s bound to turn up.”

I end the call and shake my head at them. “Ronnie says lux isn’t turning anything up but I know him. He’s not going to let this go.”

Goldie’s face falls and her shoulders slump.

Kuras wraps an arm around her shoulder. “Hey. We still have a lot of information to take back with us. You can take the feather and see what Marigold can do with it, okay? Maybe that will give us a lead.”

She sniffles lightly. “Yeah. That’s a good idea.”

When the bus comes, we load up and find a seat towards the back. There aren’t many on board so we’re able to talk amongst ourselves without fear of being overheard.

“We’ll ride with you to your house, Goldie,” I assure her.

“Thanks, ‘Naz. For everything. I appreciate you indulging me.”

I smile and pull her close for a hug. “We want to help and we won’t stop looking until we find her.”

It’s a dangerous promise to make. Now, more than ever, I need to save her sister. Not just for Goldie.

But for myself.