5. Killian

Chapter five

Killian

T he gong sounded all over the house, and I hurried across the pool room, pleased and worried about the glass roof. It was a warm seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit in here, which was perfect.

I opened the front door, and a harried-looking young woman stood there holding a little boy’s hand. They backed up when I opened the glass door, and she raised her eyebrows. “I’m Maisy, and this is Jules. Axl told me to bring him to this address?”

“Come in,” I smiled. “I’m his Uncle Killy. You’ve come to the right place.”

I squatted down, and Jules smiled softly. His gaze flamed, and his lion, Hendrix, explained that his granpa came to see him and fed him one drop of blood so that he would know his new papa. I held a hand out, and he stepped forward, letting Maisy’s hand go.

Maisy, however, turned around and returned to the black SUV she’d arrived in like a marionette.

“She’s not staying, huh?” I asked, eyeing the bags left on the porch.

“No,” Jules sighed. “Granpa didn’t like her.”

“Ah. Well, then. Are these your things?”

“Yes. Gramma brought them.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You met Cressida?”

Jules grinned and nodded. “She said there was a pool, and you’d take me swimming and feed me when I was hungry. Maisy scheduled food.”

Well, he didn’t talk like he was two. “Come on. Let me get the bags now.”

I grabbed those, and Jules waited for me, not running off.

“Gramma said I was a Flèche, like her.”

“Did she?” I asked, closing and locking the door again, setting the alarm.

“Yes. Granpa could touch me. He was happy about that. He burns things.”

“He does,” I nodded. “Are you hungry now?”

“I am. We didn’t stop on the way here except when I hadda go potty.”

“Do you need to potty now?” I asked, sending his bags to my bedroom. “There has to be a bathroom in this part of the house.”

“No,” Jules laughed. “You don’t know where the bathroom is?”

“I know where mine is. I’ve only been here for a few hours. It’s a big house,” I said, lifting him to the island. “Sit right there and tell me what you like?”

I made him a cup of juice first, bleeding into it. Enzo and Cressida established bloodlines, and this feeding would complete that, making him my son.

Do you have peaches? he requested as he sucked the juice down.

“I do. Don’t move, now.”

I made him a plate of ham and cheese and peeled a peach while he ate. Then he ate the fruit. I rinsed his cup, filled it with cold water, and put the lid back on. We toured the house together, finding all the bathrooms, which he thought was fun. We talked about staying in the house and not swimming by himself.

When we reached my bedroom, he was tired. He used the bathroom before climbing into the toddler bed in his little alcove. I put his clothes away while he slept and smiled softly when I found my old baby blanket in the bottom of the first bag. I placed that on the bed beside him, and he snatched it to his nose but didn’t wake up.

When I’d sorted his things, I sorted mine, closing the pocket doors to his little room, but left them open a crack so he could see me when he woke up.

The tux was ruined, and it went into the trash. I rubbed the back of my neck, missing my hair as the tux reminded me of last night. So many things had changed since then.

“Hello, honey.”

I turned from placing a stack of jeans on the shelf and smiled. “Grand-mère!” I pulled her into a hug and breathed her in. “He has the baby blanket. I didn’t know you kept it.”

Cressida laughed softly. “Of course I did. I’m glad he’s here. He’s very sweet, Killy. Less solemn after Enzo and I added a drop of blood to his juice. He spent too much time with adults. You’ll let him have some fun, won’t you?”

“Oh, we had a good time checking out the house together and finding all the bathrooms,” I smiled. “He ate, and I fed him first thing.”

“Every morning, now, Killy.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Have you met Zander?” she asked, moving across the room to peer at him through the crack.

“I have, yes—last night. Ozzi introduced him to me, and I bled on him. What a great introduction.” It was humiliating, truth be told.

She turned then and raised her eyebrows. “Did you touch him?”

“Um, yeah, I think so. I did. I wiped the blood off his hand.”

“Did he say anything?” she asked.

I frowned. “He smiled slowly and said no problem before I excused myself.”

“Nothing else?”

“What should he have said?” I didn’t understand the question. “He did leave me a note last night with the security code, the wifi password, and his phone number. Said he’d be here Monday to clean the pool.”

“Nothing else?”

I cocked my head to the side. “What are you getting at?”

“He’s the Tarot, Killy. He can’t touch anyone without seeing their future. He also warns them. It’s his job.”

“Oh, well, no prophecies.” I shrugged. “His lion did talk to mine, too, and nothin’.”

“His lion greeted yours?” She arched a brow.

“Yeah, okay. He’s cute. How old is he?”

“A hundred. The same age as you. Thesis went into labor in the council chambers. Fate and I helped to deliver him. Fate cut her finger, and one drop landed on his tongue. Zander is still Thesis’ son. Fate just changed his magic.”

“Oh, I should invite him to dinner then and see if we have anything in common,” I shrugged. “Maybe, get him to read some of the ancient tomes in the library and search for fingerprints.”

“Killian Di Gatti!” she hissed, and I winked at her. “I swear. You are worse than my sons.”

“I come by it honest, Grand-mère.”

“You do,” she sighed. “Well. Let me go before Jules wakes up. I can’t stay. Be nice to Zander, now.”

“You and Enzo must come to supper, too.”

“Give us a bit before you invite us? We’ve been here for too long as it is, and Enzo gets testy if we don’t sleep at home.” She hugged me again and then shimmered away just as the pocket doors slammed open.

“You’re here!” Jules yelled as he ran at me. I scooped him into a hug, and he breathed me in like I’d done to Cressida.

“I am here. Do you want to go swimming?”

“Ooh! I do,” he nodded. “I don’t know how.”

“You will.” I kissed his cheek. “I’ll teach you.”