Page 95 of Unravel Me

But before anyone can answer, Tony walks back in carrying a tray with my breakfast.

Smiling, he sets it on the table, and Silvio immediately beams.

"There we are! Delicious sandwiches for you with mortadella, prosciutto, mozzarella, and pecorino. Too bad there's no brioche con granita left."

A flicker of irritation runs through me because Tony's arrival interrupted the super important conversation. Faking a smile, I start eating while debating whether I should bring the subject back up, but it could come across as pushy.

"So… are you originally from Italy?" I ask instead, steering the conversation somewhere neutral.

"From Sicily, sweetheart. My late husband was a pure-blooded Sicilian going back generation after generation. Most of my own family is Sicilian as well, though I also have a tiny bit of ancestry from somewhere very different… Poland. Small but very important."

I raise my eyebrows. "Really? That's interesting. My grandfather was Polish too. He immigrated to America and got married here."

"A very similar thing happened in my family, except it was my great-grandfather. He left a small village in southeastern Poland after vast stretches of forest there were cut down. He went searching for his True Mate… and found him in Sicily, on the fertile slopes of Mount Etna."

I blink because the way he phrases that sounds oddly specific.

"Why would someone leave Poland because forests were cut down? That seems like a very peculiar reason to emigrate. I can't imagine that's a normal motivation for leaving your country," I dare to say, a bit challengingly.

Silence settles over the room once again.

Silvio watches me with that same strange smile of his, and even Tony glances at me with faint amusement, the kind of look people give someone who's clearly out of the loop, almost reluctant to spoil the fun of watching them stumble around in confusion.

"We are Guardians of Forests and wild nature, Jared," Silvio says, placing unusual emphasis on every word. "When he left the Polish forest and went to Sicily, the two bloodlines of guardians merged, strengthening us."

"Whatever that actually means," I reply, holding his gaze. "Strengthening… like maybe allowing you to glow with some kind of magical green aura, as I assume?"

Silvio bursts into laughter, while Tony and Emilio simply lower their heads toward their plates and continue eating as though none of this is remotely surprising. Noted.

Only Gianni turns his head toward me, and his wistful, big eyes shift over my face.

"I can see you're very curious about our kind," Silvio says at last. "Many cultures believed in guardians of the forests, not only around the Mediterranean but also among the Celts and the Slavs. They differed from one another in many ways, but they all shared the same purpose: protecting and caring for the living wilderness. Sometimes, though, when their native forests were destroyed, they left those lands behind and traveled elsewhere to find their True Mates among similar folks, enriching their magical lineage in that way."

I narrow my eyes.

"I've read of one from Slavic mythology called the Leshy. I've also read about similar beings in the Mediterranean region. There was Silvanus, the guardian of the forests, the god Pan, fauns, satyrs… and the Celts believed in Nemetona, the protector of sacred groves."

"It seems you've done your homework, and those are all very good leads. In one way or another, all of those beings are connected. They share the same fundamental nature because the essence they carry is a spiritual bond with the natural world."

I wait for him to continue, but when he doesn't, I lower my head and focus on my breakfast.

Before long, Silvio, Tony, and Emilio drift into a conversation about the upcoming fireworks festival in Rainbow Springs. Silvio is pleased they'll be using silent fireworks, but Tony says he'd ban fireworks altogether because even the flashes frighten birds, while Emilio tries to reassure him by pointing out the show is supposed to be very short.

Gianni stays silent the whole time, occasionally glancing at me with that strange, melancholic look of his.

Meanwhile, I'm left sitting there with my own thoughts, and eventually I decide to head back to my room because the first signs of another wave of sleepiness are already creeping in.

Just as I stand, though, Silvio calls after me.

"Sweetheart, don't hesitate to join me for a swim in the pool again in about an hour."

"Thanks. We'll see if I don't fall asleep again first. I can barely keep my eyes open."

I head upstairs feeling completely all over the place. I turn into the hallway leading toward my room, and before I even realize what's happening, I walk straight into a tall, solid figure.

Mauro.

The sudden collision with him sends a rush of sparks racing through my entire body. The weakness and drowsiness vanish as if someone flipped a switch, though the force of the impact makes me stumble, and I have to brace myself against the wall.