A Den of Tricks (A Shade of Vampire #54)

There it was. The listing I’d been looking for. I moved my index finger along the line of text, recognizing the names and dates.

“I found something,” I murmured. “There’s a list of Druid delegations here, from the period that Rewa mentioned. There are eight of them, to be precise. But only six came back.”

Draven got up and moved around the large round table, pulling up a chair to sit next to me. He checked the page as well, then scoffed as he drew an unfortunate conclusion.

“The delegation that went missing included a swamp witch, ten fae from a neighboring galaxy, seven Druids, two Maras, and twenty incubi and succubi. It was a peaceful, exploratory mission headed toward the Yaris constellation,” he said, then pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes for a moment.

“The Yaris constellation?” I asked, my wariness weighing heavier on my shoulders.

“It’s in the direction of Neraka.” He shook his head slowly. “The delegation vanished, communications completely cut off…”

“Rewa said the Exiled Maras bid the Druid delegation goodbye,” I replied, my stomach churning. “Do you think it’s a different delegation?”

“I doubt it,” he sighed, pointing at the noted coordinates on the side. He then pulled out a map of neighboring galaxies, and showed me Neraka’s cluster. “The coordinates from which the vanished delegation last communicated are eerily close to those of Neraka’s galaxy. It’s definitely odd.”

“So, what, do you think the Exiled Maras lied? That the Druid delegation never left Neraka?”

Angst took over, and Draven instinctively took my hand in his, squeezing gently in an attempt to soothe me. He had this incredible way of immediately reacting to my emotions—and it only made me love him more.

“I’m not saying that. Not yet, anyway. I just think it warrants some investigation,” he replied, inching closer, then followed it up with a reassuring smile. “I’ll talk to Jax again tonight, and tell him about this, okay? He’ll know what to do, since he’s there.”

“It seems as though the Exiled Maras were the last to see that delegation,” I muttered. “He’s bound to have some good questions about that, and they’d better come up with good answers…”

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned into my chair. Draven put his arm around me, pulling me closer and dropping a flurry of short, sweet kisses on the side of my face.

“It’ll be okay, Serena,” he said. “They’re fully grown adults, and they are more than well trained for whatever might come at them. They will reach out if they need us.”

“You still feel… uneasy,” I replied, resting my head in the warm place between his neck and shoulder.

“It’s in my nature, my love.”

While that was true—Draven wasn’t the poster boy of optimism, in general—I couldn’t help but wonder how much of his concern was just a manifestation of his character, and how much was worthy of special attention.

His instincts rarely betrayed him, after all. If he caught a whiff of something, it was because there was something there to begin with.

Either way, we had to wait for the evening to come so he could speak to Jax.

In the meantime, all I could do was keep my head clear and try not to worry about Harper and her team.