Page 169 of Unravel Me

All eyes immediately turn toward me, and Emilio practically bulges his eyes out of his head.

"What the hell is that?" he blurts out in shock, while Renato gives me a small smile.

Jared answers for me.

"The magic of True Mates happened." And he smirks.

"Well, holy shit!" Gianni mutters, gaping.

"I never would’ve expected that!" Emilio explodes. "No way! And I learned sign language because I thought it was going to be like this forever."

"Same!" Gianni huffs. "What the fuck?"

"Gianni, don’t swear in front of the child," Renato admonishes him, then nods in satisfaction.

"I’m very happy for you, Mauro. This will make a lot of things easier for us, especially running the company."

He leans slightly forward and looks at me with intensity.

"I’m already sixty, and in five years I intend to step down and enjoy my well-earned retirement, so you’d better get ready to take over the responsibilities, and you’re gonna need that voice with our employees!" he adds, with mock sternness.

Well, I don’t say anything because I’ve simply grown accustomed to not speaking much and only communicating when I truly need to say something. But I’m not gonna object to Renato’s idea. A couple of months ago, he officially made me his sole heir, with a notarized stipulation requiring me to provide for Emilio and Gianni if needed. And I want that, since I want to give Jared a good, stable life, and owning a prosperous company is one way to do it.

Emilio turns to Renato.

"Wait. You’re not even a little surprised? Mauro can speak!"

Renato winks at me and then shrugs. "It was to be expected from the moment we knew they were True Mates. But he always could speak, Emilio. Just in a different way," he adds in a mildly admonishing tone, like a gentle reprimand.

"Of course!" Emilio nods so vigorously that his wire-rimmed glasses slip slightly down his nose. "I’m just a little shocked, but in a good way! During these… difficult days, every bit of good news is priceless," he adds somewhat apologetically.

Renato cocks his head, eyeing me. "It's also a matter of habit. It’ll probably take you a little while to get comfortable talking again, right?"

I make a sour face and nod because, truthfully, I’m still not entirely convinced about communicating this way. It feels awkward and uncomfortable.

For most of my life, I’ve been used to typing everything onto a screen and letting a voice read it for me, and in a way that also freed me from having to add an emotional charge to every message. It was like hiding behind a mask, and there were days when I needed it so much, especially as a Ferro. So for now, I still haven’t decided how often I’m going to use my voice.

Jared glances at me cautiously, as if trying to gauge my reaction to Renato’s words, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he looks over at Tommy, who is playing with the glass orb I gave him.

Tommy’s eyes, so much like Jared’s, turn toward me, and I smile at him. The part of me that connects me to the forest, which has grown stronger with every passing month since I returned to Rainbow Spring, shows me his true nature. Like Jared, he’s also from the forest folk.

Renato, who’s particularly attuned to these things, told me yesterday that Tommy’s abilities are much closer to the surface than Jared’s were when he arrived here. Jared never developed his own abilities while living in the city, and it was only with Silvio’s magic that he was able to bring them to the surface. With Tommy, his flexibility and youth mean that his green elf nature could emerge much sooner if he’s in the right environment, growing up surrounded by forests.

Renato believes that with Jared and Tommy here, the ancient alliance between the Virdelfi and the Silvari could become a reality again, and our bloodlines could work together as they did in the past, and even… merge.

I feel joy knowing Tommy’s here, and that his father’s dark energy won’t be able to cast a shadow over his childhood and innocence. I want to make sure he has the best possible environment here to grow, flourish, and enjoy a carefree, safe upbringing.

In the meantime, Tony, who is setting breakfast down in front of Tommy, unexpectedly says, "Listen, I have a swing in the trunk of my car that I bought for my friend’s kid, but I never gave it to him because it turned out his dad bought him a different one. So I’m still driving around with it in my trunk." Tony chuckles. "Maybe you’d like to put it up in the yard for Tommy?"

Jared glances at me somewhat uncertainly.

Our relationship is still very fresh, and he probably doesn’t know how much he can ask of my time or whether he should even be doing that.

So I nod, and Jared gives me a shy smile.

Right after breakfast, I decide to put up the swing. As I’m heading outside, Renato tells me he’ll need my help with some work at one of the construction supply warehouses he owns.

I promise him I’ll take care of it. Out of habit, I use my voice app again, and Renato doesn’t comment on it.