Page 131 of Ulune's Daughter

She leaves us at the church colonnade to walk back to the fixed point she used to travel from Rome. Luca and I could walk back to the chestnut tree from which I know there’s a safe gate into Faery, but standing on the wind whipped promontory, smelling the sea and cooking garlic, I have no drive to return home.

I turn slowly in place, looking at the ancient city behind me, the glistening blue water in front of me. There’s something here. Something that still lies undiscovered. Something that calls to me.

“Home?” I ask Luca.

He’s looking out to sea.

He shakes his head. “Can we stay the night at least? I guess there’s not much point in going to Verona. This thoroughly disproves the Veles theory. But.” He shrugs. “I’m not ready to leave.”

I smile at his echo of my own feelings. “Me, neither. Let’s go to the hotel. I made a reservation and told them I’d cancel by eight if we weren’t staying. We can freshen up and then find some dinner.”

Luca nods, that eagerness shining in his eyes again.

Chapter40

A Fresh Bowl Of Clowder

LAW

Iwatch my brother and my mate as they walk along the seafront of this charming town. I’ve never heard of Scilla before, but it is a gem, with a long, sandy beach that must draw sun-seeking tourists like children to candy in warmer months, the defiant finger of rock and castle thrusting out into the sea, and a compact town hemmed in by forested hills. There is no Cait den here and barely any fae presence. The preternatural community in Italy was all but wiped out during the Inquisition and has been slow to recover in this homeland of the humans’ one God.

While my twin and my mate disappeared underground, I explored this place, because I intend to return to my father and propose it as a den for a new clowder. Wild magic flows through the hills of this place like the streams running down to the sea. Our little mortal cousins run rampant through the town, bowing to me from doorways and rooftops. Their larger, wilder relations roam the hills. I can smell them faintly; if I called, they would come. This is a good place for a new clowder, for Cait who have grown restless in their current dens. There is no fae court in Italy. No threat from the Mirk. We would be undisturbed here.

It is a good place for my mate. I can tell she wants to linger here. I can’t blame her. It’s a beautiful place. I will buy a house here and give it to her as a mating present: a place she can always retreat to, to restore the sparkle that’s back in her eyes, the spring to her step. Although I wish I had more of a hand in her recovery than one good sleep and allowing her to leave me for three days, I am glad to see it, nonetheless.

Kellan and Luca walk into a small hotel. Although it is a street back from the sea, it only overlooks a low building and the upper rooms have sea views. If my mate is not given one of these, I will slip back and arrange for one. She should have a glorious view, whether or not she allows me in her bed tonight. If she wishes to take Luca to her bed, I won’t interfere. He’s been more patient than I could have been. He should be rewarded.

But if she continues to toe the line between teacher and student, then I will change into my true form and reveal myself to her. She should not be alone again. Not ever, if I have my way, but certainly not now when she is just recovering from her malaise. She wore out that useless human, who was still snoring in his dorm room when I checked on him before following my mate and twin through the Fae Ways. Why my twin thinks him a worthy consort for our queen-to-be, I will never understand.

A human, who must have a drop of preternatural blood to be able to see me, approaches as I lean against a wall across from the hotel my mate’s chosen. He offers me a white rose. With a bow, I take it.

“Sei qui per prendermi, angelo?” he says to me.

I look him up and down. He is an old human, gray, bent, and tired. His skin sags around his eyes and cheeks. I don’t speak his language, but I took enough Spanish in high school to guess at his meaning. He thinks I’m an angel, perhaps of death, here to escort him into the afterlife.

I hold out my right hand and when he doesn’t flinch, lay it gently on his thin hair. “Be at peace, good man,” I say in Cait.

When I let my hand drop, he grasps my wrist. There’s no strength in his hands.

“Grazie, angelo, grazie.”

He shuffles off, leaving me with the rose and the pall that dealing with humans always drapes around me. There’s a reason fae hide away in the courts, in our barrows, under hill, and in our dens. There’s a reason magi withdraw to enclaves like Bevington. Being out among these sad, suffering creatures is too painful.

I follow him with my eyes as he crosses the street. He slips into a store front. It looks like a restaurant and a good smell of frying fish emanates from it.

As I’m still sniffing, my twin and my mate exit the hotel. They’re holding hands, which makes me smile. Luca must relish every small contact with our mate.

My twin lifts his chin at me. I got upwind of him while he and Kellan were walking from the Mother’s tree into the town so he’d know I was close by. He may not recognize the face I wear, but he knows my scent.

I cut my eyes at the restaurant the old man has disappeared into and nod. The human will be able to see Kellan and Luca without them dropping their natural glamor, which provides a modicum of protection. And I’d prefer the old man get the coin they’re going to spend on their meal.

Luca nods and points out the restaurant to Kellan, who gamely turns into the doorway.

Through the long front window, dressed with red and white half-curtains, I see the old man greet Kellan and Luca. They speak for a minute and then he ushers them through to the back, presumably where there’s a better view than of the street.

I stroll into the hotel to ensure my mate has a good view. Once I’ve secured the best room for my mate, I slip into the shadows and leave my clothes in her room. Taking to my fur, I follow the tantalizing fresh fish smells to find my own dinner.

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