Page 30 of Gift from the Wing

They’re at Corentin’s beck and call willingly, lovingly. He’s a sweet prince in their eyes. Plus, they spoil me with treats nonstop.

My eyes continue to trace the space, and I notice four exit points. One leads outside, where I can see a patio area much like ours at the mansion off to the right, and my heart thunders with excitement about eating out there, looking over the gardens.

Another exit leads up to a set of stairs that I can’t wait to take two at a time to see what’s up there. The third and the last one, I’m not totally sure because wooden doors block it.

As I approach the mysterious door that’s at the back of the kitchen first rather than the other by the stairs, a gold plaque stops my nosiness, and my hand pauses on the knob.

Molva Quarters.

Of course.

Admittedly, it took me an embarrassingly long time to put two and two together that Mrs. Grace and Chef, which is his real name, and the rest of the house staff, Oscar, Lou, and Flint, are in a Nexus together. I caught Mrs. Grace with two of them teasing and touching in the kitchen once, and I backed out quietly like I caught them being naughty.

Corentin makes his way over to me with a small smile on his face as he traces the plaque tenderly. “Their Nexus has been taking care of the Vito family since my uncle was a child. When we moved out of the central quarters and into the east wing on our own, he asked them to move there with us. Look after us. They’ve been with us since we were children, bouncing from wing to wing, then the mansion. Now they’ll come here.”

“Well, thank goodness for that. I can’t cook for shit,” I say teasingly, hiding the emotion clogging my throat.

I don’t get very much interaction with them since they’re always so busy, but they go out of their way to take care of us and our mansion. So I’m incredibly thankful that they’re able and willing to bounce between locations for us.

Deciding I have no business snooping through it since this is going to be their personal space, I turn on my heel and make my way toward the door by the stairs. Beating Tillman there, much to his disapproval, I poke my head in and find a formal dining room. It’s nice, grand, just as the one at the mansion is, and I already know, even though it’s beautiful, it won’t get much use from us unless we have guests.

Allowing the guys a second to poke their heads in as well, I impatiently head to the stairs alone, which gets them moving. They all follow, just as excited as me now, with little chuckles falling from their lips that I know are directed at my elated curiosity.

Up two short flights of stairs, we come to another hallway and two large wooden doors conceal the room to our left. Tillman, not giving me the opportunity to barge in first, cuts in front of me and slings the doors open. I grow nervous and halt my steps when his feet quit moving suddenly, but before I know it, he’s throwing his head back, laughing. That reaction spurs me forward so I can see.

Stopping, mesmerized, a laugh bubbles out of me as well as I see a breakfast room that matches ours at the mansion to perfection. The only difference really is the scenery behind the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. Instead of a thick forest, our view is the pristine, beautiful gardens that do eventually lead to a forest.

We all take just a moment to look around at the similarities and familiarity of the space, then we head out. The smile that takes over my face feels permanent for the time being. The more I see, the more at home I feel and the need to see the rest becomes persistent.

On this same floor, we come across a lounge that I know is crafted more for the guys than me. It’s obvious the one downstairs that we were in was built to perfection for me.

Coming up a few more flights of stairs, skipping the random guest rooms and other extra spaces, I know we’ve hit the last floor and my feet skid to a stop as a gasp falls from my lips.

This hallway seems to defy the laid-out design we’ve seen so far. The width between the walls is far larger, and on each side there’re two doors, totaling four new rooms.

At the very end of this gargantuan stretch, the hallway forks left and right, obscuring what lies each way.

“Hell yeah. I think we found our rooms.” Draken cheers, rubbing his hands together with childlike excitement.

Taking in each door from my frozen position, I know he’s right. I don’t even have to enter them, and I know which room belongs to who. I feel their signatures coming off the doors like the room itself has already been infused with pieces of them.

“Draken, that’s your room there. The first one on the left,” I whisper.

“How do you know that, little wanderer?” he asks, cocking his brow at me with a twitch of his lip.

“I just do.”

He rushes over to it and lays his hand on the knob before turning toward us. “Well, what the hell are you all waiting for? Come on.”

He doesn’t waste another second as he slings the door open with a chuckle on his lips that fades just as fast as it came. His features grow more serious, more revered, and I hustle into his side.

Straight ahead on the massive stretch of wall is a mural.

Two dragons, one auburn, one silver, are in a playful flight with fire flowing from their mouths. Their tails are intertwined, with the much larger auburn dragon flying beneath the smaller silver one. Tears prick my eyes as we take a step forward. Then another. And together, we raise our hands and lay our palms on our counterparts.

Letting my gaze wander, the entire room is painted in a similar design. Three of the four walls depict our dragons doing various things together. Laying our foreheads together, our heads tilted to the sky, breathing fire. It’s like a live portrait of the things we’ve done together.

I swallow my gasp as my eyes land on the last wall. The mural here is smaller, nestled between bookshelves lined with more knickknacks than books. When he turns and spots it, his steps falter, and he stumbles back.

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