“Yes. It’s how we find vampires too. When they feed, they’re using magic to stay alive. It’s how we hunt them.”

He tosses my stake in the air and catches it. “There’s something else you should know,” he says way too casually. “Vampires can feel us too when we use magic. Magic feels the same no matter what type is being used, so it’s like we’re constantly calling to each other, but you don’t know who is doing the calling: a magician or a vamp. Vamps will eat anything, though, even each other, but they prefer to eat us.”

Fear prickles on the back of my neck. “Why?”

“Drinking our blood lets them do magic again, for a little while at least. It lets them walk in the sun again too. Burning in the sun was another side effect of the curse. They also get cold when they haven’t fed recently—not enough blood circulating. But with magician blood in their system, they can pretend they’re one of us.”

I swallow. “So every time you build your magic to hunt vampires, you’re drawing them to you.”

“Does that scare you?”

“No.” I’ve been looking for them my whole life, and now he’s telling me I can bring them right to me.

The fierceness in his answering grin takes away my uneasiness.

We sit in silence for a minute.

“So you said you did magic before this?” I like that it might not be just about hunting vampires for him, too, because while I want that, I also want the magic.

“Not really. I was into charming the ladies with little tricks, so nothing’s changed.” A weak version of his smile comes back.

I can tell he doesn’t want to dive into his memories again, so I do my best to make my tone light and joking, even though my throat aches with pain for him—for both of us. “So exactly how long ago did you become immortal?”

None of this has freaked me out, but the immortal thing is a looming question in my mind, and if he tells me this was forty years ago, well, that might change things.

“Four years. I’ve been seventeen for four years now.” His grin comes out in full force. “So now you know everything.” He clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair, flopping the green strands to the other side. “I guess you were following us for a while…”

“Yes.” I’m not sure where he’s going with this.

He gives a forced little chuckle. “It’s not what you think. It’s just part of our cover. A couple stumbling into a vampire and their meal in a dark alley is a lot less suspicious than the two of us just charging forward. It gets us closer. We have a better chance of staking it.”