Part of me knows that I need to go home, but I find that I’m not quite ready to as Luciana and I clear away our breakfast, having ended up making some plain toast when our stomachs rumbled. I’m surprised and pleased by the easy camaraderie that surrounds us, but there’s a part of me that’s worried, too.
Have I somehow affected Luciana? She has fallen just as quickly and easily into this odd, peaceful relationship as I have, and I wonder if maybe the fact that I’ve claimed her as my mate has affected her emotions. If so, I’m not entirely sure what to do about it.
For now, I decide, I’ll just watch and keep an eye on the situation.
Instead, I turn my mind to her offer. It had floored me when she had brought up possibly making an antidote to the poison, though I’m not sure why I should be so surprised. I had seen how interested she was last night when I brought it up.
And having an antidote to that dreadful poison would mean there’s one less threat against Dane and me in the world. Now I just have to convince Dane to trust Luciana enough to allow it to happen.
It’s probably another reason why I should be heading home. But, instead, I find myself following Luciana as she heads out the back, flipping through an old, leather journal.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“My father’s journal,” Luciana says, glancing up and squinting in the morning sun. “He left it for me before he died. It’s all the instructions on how to care for the animals.”
“That’s amazing,” I say, eyeing the ratty thing.
“Yes and no,” Luciana says with a sigh, snapping it closed. “It would have been really helpful if he had actually catalogued what was on the farm, but apparently he’s hopeless with those sorts of records. I’ve been trying to find out where some of the rare creatures came from, but his study is a mess and I can’t make heads or tails of some of his files. So I’ve decided to start my own catalogue.”
She holds up another, larger notebook, this one crisp and new.
“You’re really taking all this seriously, aren’t you?” I ask.
“Of course,” Luciana says with a nod. “Someone needs to care for these animals. My father is gone and he’s left me to do it. They have no one else.”
I look at her. She’s staring out into the fields, the sun gleaming on her dark hair. I can’t read the expression on her face.
“Do you miss him?” I ask before I can stop myself.
But she doesn’t seem offended. She gives me a small, sad smile.
“The longer I’m here, the more I realise just how much I don’t know about him,” she says. “My mother and I moved to Brazil when I was young, and I didn’t connect with my father until I was older, after she died. But our relationship wasn’t really great. I was really surprised that he had left this place to me and taken the time to write this journal for me. I would have thought there was someone closer to him that he would trust more.”
She shrugs, as though the notion doesn’t affect her.
“But here we are,” she says. “I thought I would hate it here, to be honest.”
“Is it different from where you live?” I ask curiously, wanting to steer away from the subject of her family.
“I lived in Manaus, a city in Brazil,” she says. “But I also travelled all around the world. Just before I came here, I was in Burkina Faso.”
“I have no idea where that is,” I admit, and she laughs, patting me on the shoulder.
“It’s fine,” she says.
“Do you like it here now?” I ask, suddenly needing to know the answer.
“I think so,” she says, and the smile she gives me is beautiful. “So, country boy, want to take another shot at proving you actually can milk a cow?”
“You are not going to let that go, are you?” I ask wryly.
“Never,” she says, shooting a grin at me.
I spend the morning following Luciana around the farm, watching as she interacted with the animals. I finally got to prove that, yes, I could milk a cow, but Luciana just teased me about getting Dane to teach me, much to my exasperation. It didn’t help when I stood up and almost knocked over the bucket of milk again.
Still, I enjoy myself. I can see how at peace Luciana is here, and the animals seem to have taken to her, understanding that she’s no threat to them at all.
Around lunch, I find myself sitting with her in the shade of a large tree, watching as some of the animals roam around the field.
“You know, when I first came here, I did consider selling it all,” Luciana says suddenly.
I pause in the act of biting into my sandwich.
“Really?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she says. “It just seemed like way too much, you know? Especially when I discovered all these mythical creatures here. I was definitely in over my head. I even started looking up how much this place would sell for, and I was this close to calling a real estate agent.”
“What stopped you?” I ask.
“Well, I was actually sitting here on the second night,” she says, laughing. “I was feeling sorry for myself, and I was really angry at you.”
I cough, embarrassed. She grins at me.
“And while I’m sitting there, Jump comes up and just crawls into my lap,” she continues.
I follow her gaze. In the grass not too far away, I can see a tiny, white fox, a rare albino, napping in the sun. She’s a beautiful creature who loves all sorts of affection, and readily gives it out too.
“She just sat there and demanded me to pet her,” Luciana says fondly. “And that’s the first time it occurred to me that maybe I’m needed here. So, I decided to give it a shot. I was surprised to find how nice it was here.”
I glance at her. She’s staring out at the farm, a small smile on her face. This is the woman that I could fall in love with if I let it happen.
And I want to.
The thought doesn’t scare me at all. I always knew I’d find my mate in the world one day. But I also know that it’s far too soon to be talking about all that. Luciana is willing, it seems, but I’m not about to scare her off with talk of forever commitments when we haven’t known each other for very long.
I just need to wait and see where this goes.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I say.
She turns to smile at me.
“So am I,” she says.
Despite knowing how mad Dane is going to be at me, it’s evening before I enter my own home again. I’ve kept Dane updated via text all day, not wanting him to worry that I was dying somewhere, but I know my brother is going to be furious anyway.
I sniff appreciatively at the air. Though, it seems he cooked dinner, so he couldn’t be too upset.
Maybe I’ll just wait to tell him that Luciana is my mate until after dinner.
Dane is standing at the counter, stirring something in a pot, and I can see the tense line of his shoulders as he glares down at it. I clear my throat and he looks up, transferring the glare to me.
“Warwick,” he says stiffly. “You’re home in time for dinner.”
“Thanks for cooking,” I try.
It doesn’t appease him. Slowly, I sit at the table as he dishes up the food, a spicy curry that we both love with rice. He carries it to the table and sets my plate down slightly harder than normal.
“Thanks,” I say.
It takes Dane four bites before he cracks.
“Where have you been all day?” he asks.
“At Luciana’s,” I say.
Dane’s expression darkens.
“And last night?” he snaps.
“There, too,” I admit; there’s no point in lying now.
Dane scowls and sits up straighter.
“Are you an idiot?” he demands. “You have no idea who this woman is! For all we know, she could be a Hunter herself, who collects rare animals. You haven’t even seen her farm, so you have no idea if those creatures are even still alive. Plus, she’s human. We both know that’s never going to end well.”
“Actually, I saw them today,” I say. “There are quite a lot of them and they seem to adore her. And you’re wrong. You’re the only one who actually knows about being in love with a human.”
Dane huffs and his eyes register surprise. He never mentions Isobel and I don’t either, because it’s such a sore subject for him. After we fled the Dead Sea and made our way to Australia, she stayed with us for another year. If Dane’s honest, it was longer than he thought he’d have with her but not as long as he’d hoped.
“Either way, we know nothing about her,” he says stubbornly. “How can you trust her so easily that you would spend the night with her. Were you that desperate for a good fuck?”
My hackles rise instantly.
“No,” I say coldly. “She’s my mate.”
That pulls Dane up short. He sits back, stunned.
“What?” he gasps.
“I realised it yesterday, while we were talking to her about what we are,” I say. “I had that feeling our parents always told us about. She’s my mate, Dane.”
“She can’t be,” Dane splutters. “She’s a human!”
“And?” I ask.
“Warwick, think about it!” Dane exclaims. “Fine, you’re happy now, but you and I both know that we’ll live far longer lives than any human. What are you going to do when she dies of old age? It’s just going to leave you heartbroken! That’s why phoenixes usually mate with other phoenixes!”
“Unless you haven’t noticed, other phoenixes are in fairly short supply right now,” I say.
But my tone isn’t as sharp as I wanted. “I know you’re trying to stop me from making the same mistake you did.” How can I snap at Dane when he’s just looking out for me?
“It’s not the same thing. Don’t try to draw parallels with Isobel.” Even after all these years, saying her name still makes Dane pause.
“It doesn’t matter, anyway, Dane,” I say with a small smile. “I don’t get to choose who my mate is, you know that. She’s been my mate from the moment we were both born. Maybe it is the world’s idea of a joke, but it doesn’t matter right now. I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” I pause. “If we come to it. Luciana doesn’t know anything about phoenix mates, okay? I don’t want to scare her off yet.”
“What happens if you’re together for the next couple of months and she still doesn’t accept it?” Dane demands.
“Then, that will be that,” I say with a shrug. “I can live with being rejected, you know. A lot of phoenixes never even find their mates.”
Dane glares down at the table.
“I don’t like it,” he grumbles. “A human should not be in our world. I don’t know what her father was thinking, dragging first himself and then her into all this.”
“Well, what’s done is done,” I say. “Just give her a chance, alright? If nothing else, she’s my mate, which means she’s trustworthy.”
“Maybe,” Dane says stubbornly, and I know that’s the best I’ll get out of him.
“Thanks,” I sigh. “Oh, while we’re on the subject… I’m going to give Luciana the poisoned dagger.”
“What?” Dane exclaims. “Are you out of your mind?”
“She’s a toxicologist, Dane,” I say. “She wants to study the poison and maybe see if she can develop an antidote for it. You can’t say that won’t be useful.”
“Of course it will be,” Dane scowls. “Right until she stabs us in the back with it.”
“You said you would give her a chance,” I remind him.
“Giving her a chance does not mean giving her one of the only weapons in the world that can kill us!”
I sigh and grimace. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me. One way or the other, however, I’ll be getting that dagger to Luciana. The only question left is just how long it will take to convince Dane it’s a good idea.
I glance at my brother. I don’t even have to wonder.
We’re going to be here all night.