They needed to set up a meeting with the Stratos guard to tell them what had happened. Bethan contemplated calling Dion, who was friends with Dana and one of the best detectives in Krete. Still, he was probably working on the missing vampire cases.

She watched the Etruscan Mountains shrink through the window. A place once close to her heart had since been tainted as the place her sister was found dead. And murdered.

Lenovik’s death became clearer; they had to be behind it. She told them what Lenovik told her.

She squeezed Kellan’s hand. His head snapped to her.

‘What?’ he asked, concerned.

‘What if they have the grimoire already? They have the Antiphonus. What if they found clues, they knew Dana was interested in it?’

‘That has crossed my mind as well’—he cocked his head—‘but the more I thought about it, why send us on this wild goose chase. When they could’ve announced they had it in their possession, they would be heroes.’

Bethan wasn’t too sure what to think of it. She wasn’t sure what to think about anything. The night before, she tried Circe’s potion to see what else she could remember, but it hadn’t worked because there was no missing object.

Kellan suggested she try using magic, but she’d cast simple enchantments, and nothing would happen. However, she has sworn that she felt a flicker, a remnant of the power she once possessed.

The train pulled into the station. Kellan carried their small overnight bags. The pair didn’t feel like taking a portal and decided to walk back through the city, as it was a lovely spring night.

Kellan walked at a faster pace than her. One bag was thrown over his shoulder while he held the other in his hand. He took longer strides, which caused her to shuffle just to keep up with him.

Bethan knew he was eager to get to his apartment to see Lupo. He told her they hadn’t even been separated for that long before. So, it made sense why Kellan was itching to get home.

She caught up to him, and his bright eyes gleamed at her.

‘You have a question, don’t you?’ he stated.

She laughed and nodded sheepishly. ‘Are you immortal?’

Kellan shook his head. ‘Royal fae cannot be. Immortality is a choice. Once a fae reaches maturity, which is twenty-five, they get to make that choice.’

‘So, you can never be immortal?’

‘Imagine the same monarch ruling for centuries. For the country to advance, the crown has to as well.’

‘What’s the process of becoming immortal?’