The King's Captive (Gate of Myth and Power, #1)

by K.M. Shea

“He disappeared all of a sudden,” the barista continued. “We assumed the Curia Cloisters found out about it and put an end to it.” Charon stepped aside when Ker and Aristide re-entered the café, making room for them to join in. “Was there anything besides the location he was selling in that made him suspicious?” Noctus asked. “He was weird,” Landon said. “Weirder than a werewolf on a harness.” “Landon, you need to let that go,” the barista said in a sing-song voice. “He didn’t make a very convincing human,” Landon added. “How?” Aristide asked, his voice serious and compelling. A thick, syrupy sensation rubbed my nose, which was how vampire powers felt to me. He must have been breaking out his vamp-y pheromones for the occasion. Aristide is old enough to use pheromones? I would have guessed he’d been turned in the last century or two based on how well he’s adapted to modern society. How old is he? I sneezed twice, and Noctus adjusted my collar on me. Like most magic, pheromones didn’t work on me, but the sensation on my nose was ticklish. “He looked human—he dressed it, too.” Landon scratched his elbow and mashed his eyes shut as he tried to remember. “But whenever me or my friends asked him about what he was selling, he copped that ‘I’m-better-than-you’ attitude that some supernaturals get. And he didn’t seem to get how money worked.”

oO