4. Florence

Chapter four

Florence

It's dark by the time we make it to the manor and Adelbert asks us to take a seat in the living room. He heads over to a group of men standing in the corner. One of them hands him a ring and, right before my eyes, I watch Adelbert's pointy ears round to a more human shape.

I study the men a little closer and realize they were the ones from the clearing, but they all have a more human look now. No more fur, no horns, no tails. This must be how they blend into society and go unnoticed by us.

"Saved you a seat," Natalie calls. Dede and I join her and Diana on their cream-colored couch just as Adelbert steps into the center of the room.

Conversations taper off and the tension ratchets up. Next to me, Sadie slips on her mask of unaffectedness and I lean in a little closer, brushing my shoulder against hers to lend her my silent support.

Clasping his hands in front of his body, Adelbert straightens his spine and addresses the room. "Welcome to the Alberad Caribbean Estate. I shall get straight to the point. Your presence on this island is highly disturbing to me. It defies all the laws of our magic. This residence has been in my family for many generations, and our wards have never been breached. The supernatural beings of the world prefer to keep our existence concealed." His brows contract and something in my chest smarts when he adds in a low voice, "Humans are… unpredictable at best."

I don't know what happened in the past to make Adelbert say that, but I know it must be serious. You don't go to these lengths to keep your whole existence a secret for no reason. I feel awful that we have unwittingly added to their burdens.

The room is charged with nerves, no one daring to say anything as his words hang in the thick air. There's something pivotal in this moment, like what he'll say next has the power to alter our lives.

I reach over for Dede's hand, needing my sister's touch to anchor me, and she laces her fingers with mine.

Adelbert attempts to arrange his expression to look more relaxed, but the tight set to his shoulders and the way the corners of his mouth pull down give away how much stress he carries. "Our secrecy is both for your benefit as well as ours. It is, therefore, imperative that we determine how you were able to make landfall upon this island. Until this is concluded, I must insist you all remain here… as my guests, of course."

Everett steps forward and takes over talking, but I can't hear him over the rushing in my ears. I sit, completely frozen, as my mind flits through what this could mean.

How long would we have to stay here? What about Sadie's job? What about everyone else's jobs?

The men all look friendly enough, but is it wise to stay with strangers—monsters, as they call themselves?

I snap back into the moment as Adelbert runs a hand through his hair, making the silky strands messy with the action, and his other hand flexes next to his thigh.

Adelbert looks each woman directly in the eye and I see so much sincerity in his gaze. "We mean you no harm. I vow by the fates that you are safe in this house with us," he says, imploring us to trust them.

A deep-seated need to help ease his stress skitters through the cells of my body. I gather all my courage and, to my own disbelief, my hand lifts into the air to catch Adelbert's attention. "Maybe you can tell us a little about yourselves? I think that will help everyone feel more comfortable," I suggest.

The look of sheer relief and gratitude on Adelbert's face makes speaking up in front of everyone worth it. He gives me a small smile and nods vigorously.

"That is a splendid notion, Florence."

Adelbert lines all the males up—not men—and introduces each to us. He is an elf, Harvey is a minotaur, Edmond a gargoyle, Daehan a grim reaper, Jamie a leprechaun, Jasper a krampus, Erik a selkie, Sawyer a bear shifter, and Rollo is a wolf shifter.

After Everett introduces himself as a dhampir, I stare out the window, letting the sliver of the moon's reflection shimmering on the dark ocean entrance me.

So much has happened in such a short span of time, and there's way too much information to take in, so I quietly sit and run through the names again and match them to their species. There isn't much I can control in the chaos of this situation, but I can attempt not to accidentally offend someone by calling them the wrong name later.

Jamie suddenly blinks into existence in the center of the room with blood streaming from his nose. I didn't even notice he had left.

What could possibly have happened now?

I gasp at the sight and reach toward him, wanting to help him but not knowing how. My fingers curl back as I look around the room, searching for tissues or anything to stem the flow.

"So, that didn't quite go according to plan. I swear, I don't usually have performance issues," Jamie says with an uncomfortable chuckle.

Adelbert steps in front of Jamie and helps him while someone starts giggling. I still don't understand what happened, but the laughter spreads and soon even Jamie joins in with bright pink staining his cheeks.

Next to me, Natalie shifts the hem of her miniskirt and studies the tattoos on her thigh. With a deep frown and cherry-red pursed lips, she tilts her head from side to side, and runs her fingers along the pretty overlaid sun, moon, and star design.

"So, not to alarm anyone or anything, but this is new," Natalie says, pointing to her tattoo.

I look to Adelbert for some kind of explanation, only to find all the color drained from his face and his eyes the size of saucers. My heart starts galloping in my chest at what this could possibly mean.

The women and males pick up on the strangeness of the situation and frantically search their bodies, marking their findings one by one.

Jasper prances over to Natalie with a giant smile lighting up his face.

"Well, will you look at that? Twinsies!"

Adelbert steps into the center of the room once again and raises his voice to be heard. "Could each of you be so kind as to please voice if you have discovered a new marking and said marking's location? I would like to ascertain if a counterpart could be paired."

Subconsciously, my hand goes to my ribs where I had the oddest itch earlier this evening, and I instinctively know I'll find the same tattoo there. I glance up to find Adelbert's gaze already fixed on me. His right arm is crossed over his chest, resting on his left side, right where mine is. I pull my bottom lip into my mouth, suddenly feeling very shy, and blood warms my cheeks up to the tips of my ears.

Adelbert nods at me and my lips quirk into a timid smile, silently acknowledging what it means.