My Dante.
My eyes close, and I find myself drifting off to sleep.
seventeen
DANTE
Idon’t know when I lost track of Cielo, but the strangest thing is that somehow, despite not having seen him leave the room, I know exactly where he is. I feel a pulse just under my skin—a second heartbeat that is him.
He’s…happy? No. Something else. He’s not afraid or anxious. I don’t know how the fuck I can tell, but it doesn’t matter. I follow the pulsing beat until I find Cielo slumped on the bed, snoring quietly with Nonna standing beside him, the bottle of grappa Gia was hiding from her in her hands.
She gives me an unapologetic smile when I groan. “Nonna, what did you do?”
“Nothing, amore della nonna. He had a drink. He’s not as sturdy as we are.”
“Yes, I know. He’s delicate,” I tell her, swatting her away as I kneel beside him.
I have no idea how Vyastil systems process human alcohol. I know they have herbs that can do wild things to people, but I’m a little worried. I need to find Rathyn so he can check in on him.
“Stay here with him,” I tell her, then snatch the bottle from her hands. “And no more of this.”
She swears at me in Italian, but I ignore her as I turn and hurry back to the party. Gia catches what I’m holding and groans.
“She found it?”
“She gave some to Cielo, and now he’s passed out.” I set the bottle on the counter and find Rathyn across the room, poking his claws delicately at one of the balloon strings as Luca shows him a few signs. It looks like they’re reviewing numbers.
“Damn,” Gia swears. She takes the bottle and passes it to Amara, muttering something under her breath, and Amara nods before taking it out of the room.
“Where’s your monster, Tesoro?” My mom touches my arm to get my attention.
I glance down at her, and I see she’s holding one massive sock that—if she’s lucky—might fit over Cielo’s clawed foot. The gesture is sweet, though, and it makes my heart twist in my chest.
“Can you not call him a monster, Mama? I don’t think he likes it.”
Her eyes go wide. “Oh. I hope I didn’t offend him.”
“No. He’s…” I bite my lip and let my mind search for him because I can still feel him—the soft weight of his slumber in the other room. I wonder if this connection between us is from the sex. I wonder if Everest feels this with Rathyn.
I need to ask.
“What is it?” she presses.
I haven’t told my parents about what Cielo went through. I wasn’t sure he’d like it if I did. “He’s used to it. He’s been through a lot. His people weren’t kind to him. He helped a friend and got banished for it, but they hurt him before they sent him here.”
Her eyes go wider. “Oh, Dante…”
“It was bad.” My voice cracks a little, and I clear my throat. “He’s better now, but it was rough at the beginning, and I just want to take care of him.”
“Oh, amore,” she says softly. “You care about him.”
“Is that…weird? Do you think it’s?—”
“No,” she interrupts. “I don’t. The only thing that’s ever mattered to me is that you’re happy. You and your brother both. Luca…” She trails off with a sigh, and we both glance over to where he’s now teaching Rathyn more complex ASL idioms. Rathyn, being a Vyastil, is absorbing them with the same ferocious perfection Cielo did. “He’s been quiet since he got back from Las Vegas. We worry about both of you so much.”
Luca has been very quiet. We haven’t had much time to talk about it the past few days. Between work, planning the party, and Luca’s damn-near superhero ability to dodge questions, I haven’t gotten anything out of him.
But I know something’s wrong.
