Besides the couch where the pair sat, there were only four other pieces of furniture: a small, round butcher-block table with two wooden folding chairs, and a mattress on a floor, which barely contained a sleeping Bruce. With his limbs hanging over the sides, it was like watching a giant trying to get cozy on a postage stamp. Bo searched for clues in everything, even in this cramped studio, and the thought occurred to her that Lauren and Kenzi must have grown closer to not only live together in this tight space but also not kill each other in it. She disliked the idea that their friendship bloomed without her. Their pursuit had taken them through cities and villages and countrysides dotted with Cypress trees, and Bo did not flag or waiver—until today. She ran herself and her companions ragged as hounds on a hunt and, had she relented even just a little, she might have noticed that this was the first time they’d stopped anywhere for longer than a day.

Bo darted her eyes between the wolf and the Valkyrie. Tamsin caught her gaze just as she looked up from the screen. ”When was the last time you fed? You look pitiful.”

“I made a vow,” Bo turned away from her; she was not going to have this conversation again.

“Yes, your oath to withhold feeding,” Tamsin snarked. “Ignore me. That’s right. I’m just a thousand year old Fae telling a baby Fae how to stay alive. What the hell do I know?”

Dyson lifted his forearm and his eyes wandered appreciatively at Tamsin, giving the Valkyrie a look that Bo sensed went beyond their partnership as cops or even friendship. “There are two of us,” he pointed between himself and Tamsin. “Bruce alone probably counts as two more. You have our blood oath. We can sustain you and no one will ever know. Not Kenzi,” he said lowering his eyes, ”and not Lauren.”

“No, I would know.” Bo crossed her arms. “No more oaths. No more promises. I don’t doubt that you can keep your word,” Bo paused, ruminating over the road that led to this misery. “Kenzi gave up on me. Lauren ran because I gave her no reason to stay,” she remembered how Lauren had looked at her accusingly the last time they were together.