Page 122 of Mama Si's Paradise

I gave her the best smile I could muster. “What else did Valentine tell you?”

“That he’s afraid you’ll find your way out of here somehow,” Genevieve said without missing a beat. “He thinks you’re stubborn enough to pull it off.”

Yes, I had stubbornness in spades, but that wasn’t going to get me out of this castle, unfortunately.

“Well, he shouldn’t worry. The first and last time I tried to walk out of this castle alone, a snake almost ate me.”

She nodded. “You don’t have your powers yet. Of course, snakes scare you,” she told me. “But when you’re strong enough to defend yourself against mere animals, you’ll understand who the real snakes are.”

“I understand that just fine.” Mama Si was one of them. “The Evernight brothers all seem very…cunning.” Grey was her son, so I didn’t saymonstrous.

But Genevieve laughed a bit, and it was such a beautiful, heartfelt laugh. Maybe that’s why I liked her so much—she seemed so authentic. So natural. One hundred percent herself.

“Oh, we both know they’re more than that. Beasts wearing man’s skin. I should know—I gave birth to one of them myself,” Genevieve said, and she sounded a bit sad about it.

I swallowed hard. “Grey, yes. I’ve met him.”

“He is his father’s son,” she said with a nod. “I knew hewas going to be challenged to a duel—and win—since he was about five years old. Vampires grow at a much higher speed. They’re basically teenagers at seven, and adults at fourteen. Their personalities develop so early.”

She looked down at the floor for a minute, shaking her head in wonder, while a million questions filled my head.

The most important one was,Grey had beenchallengedby his father?

“I can imagine it is scary for you, Fall. I only had one Evernight, and I loved him dearly with all my heart, but his nature still terrified me.”

“Thank you for saying that!” Laughter burst out of me. I had no idea how frustrated I’d been because of this. I felt like I was the crazy one among brides who adored the ground the Evernights walked on. They made me feel like I was insane because I couldn’t find it in me to believe that they were theangelsthey painted them to be.

Genevieve laughed again. “You’re very welcome. Rassin was a handful, I’ll tell you. Like I said, I loved him, and it was still too much most of the time.”

“Buthow?” I wondered, hoping my questions didn’t insult her. “How can you love someone like that? Someone who has a…dark side. A monstrous side.”

But she shrugged. “We all have a dark side. Theirs is just deadlier,” she said. “And I loved him because of how he treated me. How he made me feel. He respected me, gave me everything I asked for. He loved me, too.”

“I…” My voice trailed off—I didn’t want to say it.

“Oh, come on. Say it already—I’m an old woman. You’ll find it’s very hard to offend me.”

My cheeks flushed a bit. “How can a man love you but have children with four other women? Did it not bother you? The brides, they…” I shook my head. “They don’t mind. They couldn’t care less that they share a partner, but the thought ofmypartner being with someone else makes me want to break something.”

I didn’t understand how the others could be sookaywith sharing—I couldn’t even think about it without my stomach turning, especially after I caught my boyfriend cheating that day that felt like years ago now.

She reached for the cup of tea on the table and took her time before she answered. “There were times when it bothered me, I’ll admit. Especially in the beginning, but it’s crucial to understand the way of Ennaris. It’s crucial to fully grasp the concept of the Evernights. Once your blood picks your partner, Fall, you will understand so much more. You will know exactly why it’s so important that the world isneverwithout an Evernight, and the more of them there are, the better our chances.”

I narrowed my brows—she sounded genuinely afraid. “The better our chancesfor what?”

“You’ll know,” said Genevieve. “You’ll know in time.” Then she put her cup down again and reached for something in the pocket of her pants. “I want to give you something that’s reminding me of you, Fall. Look at this.” She leaned closer and opened her hand to show me a ring in the middle of her palm, a beautiful golden ring with a gorgeous purple gemstone in the middle, surrounded by tiny white ones.

“Oh, that’s beautiful,” I whispered, and it really was, especially the way that purple stone looked under all those reflections.

“It is. That’s an amethyst surrounded by small diamonds. It’s the stone of peace and clarity. I think the latter is what you need in bulk right now,” she said and offered it to me. “Take it. It’s yours.”

“It’s far too much. I can’t accept this.” It was a golden ring with precious gemstones—waytoo much for me.

“It isn’t, and you can. I want you to have it.” She reachedfor my hand on my lap, put the ring in my palm and closed my fingers around it. “Wear it—the amethyst will bring you the clarity you seek. Sometimes that comes in the form of options, more options. Sometimes it comes in the form of acceptance. We never quite know.”

I looked at the ring in my hand, shaking my head. “Thank you.” It was indeed gorgeous. I wouldn’t mind keeping it on me at all.

“Try it. Go ahead,” Genevieve said, and I did. It fit my middle finger like it was made for it. “And thankyoufor coming to see me, Fall. I was so curious ever since Grey and Valentine told me about you.”

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