Tag: Tani

“Dante, this place is epic,” Thomas said, folding his hands against his chest. “I can’t believe it is not on a roster at our department for visits.”

“They’re low key about visits,” Dante said, fighting the urge to pace with impatience.

They were in a waiting room. The eight students who had come along sat in the leather chairs around the room murmuring amongst themselves. They were all waiting for their guide.

“How did you find them again?” Justina asked.

“Professor Roberto from biology,” Dante said. “He said they have a lab that tests soils. Though he has not visited the conservancy, one of their researchers worked with Professor Roberto.”

“No wonder,” Thomas said. “If Roberto discovered this place, we would not have heard the end of it.”

Justina chuckled, and started to comment only to stop when the door opened.

Tom walked in first. Looking formal in his business suit. Hera followed, looking beautiful this morning in a navy blue dress. She smiled at Dante when their gazes met, giving him a short nod of recognition.

Then…Tani walked in.

Dante forgot all the reasons why he was here. His gaze riveted on Tani, taking him in from his red brown hair, to his amber eyes hidden behind reading glasses. He looked handsome in a white shirt and tailored dark trousers. He wore white slip-on Vans this time. Dante smiled as he realized Tani seemed to have a serious fixation with the brand.

Tani stood behind Hera and Tom, hands in his pockets. His gaze moving around the room.

Dante took in a breath, waiting…he breathed out when Tani finally looked at him and their gazes held. Time stopped, for a solid minute, and all he could do was look at Tani.

Then, Tom started talking and Tani broke their gaze. Dante sucked in air, feeling the loss of Tani’s gaze on him deep in his soul.

“I want to welcome you to The Elderwood Conservancy,” Tom was saying. “We have not had guests in a while, so we’re all excited to show off a bit of our fortress.”

“We hope you enjoy the tour and the stories you’ll learn about this fortress from one of our patrons,” Tom said. “Next to me, is Miss Hera. She helps manage our conservancy. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to approach her. Professor Arturo, you mentioned in your message that you want to look at the architecture of the building, and learn about the fortress’s history. Is that right?”

“Yes,” Dante said, nodding. “We’re learning how architecture from the different eras in history still influences modern architecture. Also, if we can get an explanation as to why the horrendous addition of modern walls at the front.”

The students laughed, and Tani shook his head at Dante for the mischief. Dante found he liked Tani’s censuring look.

“I’m sure you’ll discover the answer soon,” Tom said with a quick smile. “Allow me to introduce our patron, Mr. Tani Ryuzo. His family has supported and lived in this fortress since its commission in the fifteenth century.”

Tom clapped his hands, prompting the students to do the same.

Tani grinned at Tom’s short introduction, and took a step forward.

“Call me, Ryuzo,” Tani said, and then turned to Dante, Justina and Thomas. “And, I will take responsibility for the addition of modern walls at the front.”

Dante grinned, and Tani nodded, turning his attention to the students.

“Everyone keeps inviting you to The Elderwood Conservancy, so I’ll explain who we are,” Tani said. “We are an organization dedicated to creating a safe space for endangered wild animals and plants. We also run an environment research center where we work to discover new ways to protect and conserve our environment.”

“Are you saying the forests around the fortress belong to the conservancy?” One of the students asked.

“Yes, they are protected forests,” Tani said. “If you do go deeper, you’re likely to run into wild animals and discover rare plants which cannot be harvested.”

“Do the wild animals reach the fortress?”

“They can but they don’t,” Tani said. “But, we have mounted a perimeter fence about two hundred meters around the fortress to protect the mortals living here.”

Tom coughed, and Tani glanced at Dante who was hiding a grin at his use of the word mortals.

“I meant to say, we don’t want the wild animals finding our staff in their offices,” Tani said, gaining chuckles from the students. “We do get an occasional monkey stealing bananas from an unsuspecting staff member in the flower gardens, but the fortress grounds are secure.”

 “How do I work here?” A dark haired young man sitting at the front asked, looking quite serious and eager.

“Does it look like a fun place to work?” Tani asked.

“Yes, I love conservation science,” he said.

Tani grinned.

“Then, we would have to ask Tom and Hera,” Tani said. “They are the true heroes of our organization. They work at the helm of the conservancy, coordinating the massive effort it takes to navigate various government laws, keep researchers working, and keep our conservancy safe and secure. Talk to them on how to join,” Tani said. “Now, about the fortress….and the addition of modern walls…”

“You’re not going to let that go, are you?” Dante asked.

“No,” Tani said, making the students laugh again. “The building is steeped in ottoman architecture. The smaller tower at the entrance was used to control who entered the fortress. The rest of the building is what makes it a fortress with its four towers. It is square with three flours on each wing and a courtyard in the middle. Let’s not sit in here. If you’ll come with me, we’ll start with the front tower of the fortress and work our way in.”

Dante smiled as Tani led the way out of the waiting room.

Hera’s phone buzzed and she moved to the side to answer the call.

Thomas and Justina approached Tom, so it fell to Dante to herd their students after Tani. They left the waiting room and turned left.

Tani led them into a hidden stairwell right after the waiting room that led up to the smaller round front tower.

“As mentioned earlier, the fortress was commissioned in the Fifteenth Century. At the time, Ottoman Empire was enduring a great expansion, which meant war. A great shift of power began, and as is expected of war, the need for sanctuary grew. The fortress was commissioned for this purpose,” Tani said, as they climbed the stairs. “The wall on your right is part of the original build, constructed with natural stone and mortar. It was the busiest part of the fortress because it was the first point of contact. Suppliers left their wares here, messengers spoke to the fortress soldiers, and anyone who wanted sanctuary made their request in this tower.”

Dante ran his hands over the cold stone, and slowed down when for a full minute, he thought he saw the stairs turn to wood instead of the marble they were now. The walls covered with intricate wood beams, and an elegant balustrade running along on the side with glass. He stopped and blinked.

He looked up in time to see his students following Tani up the tower. His gaze lingered on the glass walls showing off the front of the building. He hurried up the steps, past his lingering students until he was behind Tani.

“Why was the tower rebuilt?” Dante asked, needing to know.

“In the seventeenth century, a great fire broke out in this tower,” Tani said. “The occupants of the fortress had a disagreement with a neighboring Sultan. The tower was built using wood between floors, on the stairs and the roofing. The fire left it severely damaged, the structure almost collapsed. We’re lucky the fire did not spread to the rest of the fortress.”

The stairs brought them to an open landing on the third floor. The glass wall built on their left showed off a stunning view of the fountain and the front of the fortress.

“When did the tower gain the glass view?” Justina asked, having reached them.

Tani’s attention was on a glass door at an open space to their right. He smiled when the door opened, and a tall man wearing a security uniform waved at him.

“This front tower stayed damaged for a time. We—it was rebuilt in the early nineteenth century as a reception area for visitors. As architecture modernized, and the fortress’s work changed, we redesigned this part of the tower to serve the needs of the conservancy. The fortress has always served as a sanctuary,” Tani said, leading them to the open glass doors and Dante was surprised to discover a very modern security room.

The room was packed with security officers monitoring screens filled with forests, and swamps.

“Wow,” Thomas said, as eager to discover as his students. “What is this?”

“As I said before, we’re responsible for the forests around us. These last few decades, it has become important to monitor the conservancy’s lands for poachers and raiders in the forests looking for precious trees and herbs. The men and women you see at work watch out for unusual movements like human encroachment into forests, poachers hunting our herd of precious Asian elephants,” Tani said. “If you want to work here, expect action-filled days when we chase poachers off the conservancy.”

“Do you ever allow public tours in the forests?” one of the students asked.

“No,” Tani said. “We only allow need-based tours for research scientists. The team of wildlife veterinarians we have on staff run the tours. They take care of any animals that absolutely need support. They also help us learn how to monitor, maintain and increase the numbers of the endangered animals.”

“How do you get a job here again?” Justina asked.

“Ask Hera or Tom,” the students told her in answer.

“Fred is going to show you a little movie the security staff prepared to show you the amazing creatures we have on our conservancy,” Tani said, nodding to the tall man who wore the security uniform.

Fred urged the students to follow him to a small sitting area with a screen mounted on the wall. Tani stayed back to allow the students to move closer. Some sat on the four chairs before the screen, the remaining stood behind their friends, with Thomas and Justina joining them.

Dante took the chance to finally stand next to Tani.

The moment he leaned on the wall next to Tani, Dante cursed under his breath at the mad urge to lean in closer to Tani and take in a deep breath. Tani smelled so good: apple and citrus teased his senses. He started to cave in to the urge, but he didn’t get a chance. Instead, he found himself staring into Tani’s amber eyes, still distracting even hidden behind reading glasses.

Tani watched him for a moment, and then smiled.

“What?”

“Why did this tower really burn down?” Dante asked, as Fred dimmed the lights near the screen and started his video.

Tani folded his arms against his chest and shifted on the wall to face Dante.

“Why do you want to know?” Tani asked in a low whisper, his amber eyes visible even in the dim light.

“I had a moment when we were coming up,” Dante said, matching Tani’s low whisper. “It felt like I was once here in this tower. The stairs were made of wood, so was the roof…”

Dante remembered the stories from his grandmother’s journal.

“I think the fortress was used to protect women who did not want to live as slaves at the time. They made dyes and wove carpets here in exchange for a place to live. I…”

“You were Dane. You helped bring those women here,” Tani said, his voice filled with nostalgia.

“Hm,” Dante nodded, and then added. “Dane is not me though, he just looked like me.”

Tani chuckled and nodded.

“I know. Dane was different. He was a soldier born of a Christian woman and stolen from her at birth. He grew up into a masked janissary under a powerful sultan. We met while I was saving women lost in the forest. He helped me fight off deadly mercenaries, and we fell in love,” Tani said. “He later fell in love with a woman in the castle where he worked. She discovered his visits to our fortress. She sent a troop to burn the place, and stop Dane from helping the women. This tower suffered the worst of the fire they set. We sent everyone away to our other sanctuaries and emptied the fortress for a period.”

“He should have chosen to stay and help you,” Dante said, angry at Dane’s love for a vengeful woman.

“You’re angry,” Tani said, studying him. “Don’t be. Dane helped the women because we were together, not because he thought I was doing the right thing. When the woman in the castle found out about the fortress, he ended our relationship in the only way he could. He returned to who he was and delayed the troops so that the women were able to escape. I—”

“Your heart was broken,” Dante cut in, his anger rising at Dane’s betrayal of Tani. “He broke it when he married the woman who burned down this tower. You watched the wedding in the square, and then left after bidding him goodbye.”

Tani exhaled and shrugged.

“It wasn’t the first time,” Tani said, his gaze shifting to the video on the large screen on the wall. “I wasn’t helpless as you know. The fortress endured. It was a cycle I had to get through.”

“Tani,” Dante started oddly upset about the last part of Tani’s comment. As though he was resigned to all of Dante’s predecessors hurting him now.

“Stop thinking about sad things. Watch the video,” Tani said. “I’m really quite proud of Hera and Tom’s work with the Asian elephants. They’ve managed to increase their numbers. I’m going to need to expand their territory somehow, maybe you can help.”

Dante studied Tani’s face in the dim light and wondered where Tani hid his hurt. Where he took the pain of centuries of betrayal. He wished—

“Don’t look at me like that,” Tani said.

“Like what?” Dante asked.

“Like you owe me,” Tani hissed at him. “It is the last thing I want from you, Dante Arturo.”

“Then what do you want?” Dante asked.

Tani shrugged and moved away from him.

Dante breathed out and returned his attention to the video his students were watching. The screen was filled with a Bengal tiger climbing a large tree. The tiger was magnificent, but all Dante could think of was the scent of apples and citrus filling his nose, and the picture of Tani watching Dane get married as written in the journal.

When the video ended, the students clapped, and asked Fred a few questions before they had to move on to the next part of the tour.

Tani was cordial with the students. He answered questions with patience as he took them to the fourth floor of the tower where they discovered the reason why all the glass. A glass dome covered the top, creating an observatory complete with a very professional telescope.

They each got a turn at the telescope, and then had to move on to the next part of the tour.

Tani walked them through magnificent hallways with high arches built with brick, and exotic wood, the walls adorned with colored stone and tiles. They all marveled at a drawing room turned library, whose walls were decorated with gold calligraphy.

Dante watched Tani through the tour, barely asking his questions, his thoughts preoccupied with the past and the present. He wondered what Dane had seen walking these halls with Tani. He wondered what that idiot had thought giving up on Tani so easily for a woman who would dare burn this place down. Thinking about it made Dante angry.

“You must be hungry,” Tani said, pausing at a wide grand staircase that would lead them back to the ground floor. “We have gone through three wings of the fortress. Due to privacy reasons, we cannot enter the fourth wing. It is a residential area, and is where our staff lives. We are left with the courtyard…”

Tani frowned, looking over Dante’s students to the back.

“Alas, we cannot enter the courtyard for legal reasons,” Tani said, pointing to Hera and Tom who were holding their hands up and shaking their heads. “Or so I’m told. There is a renovation crew working on the archway leading to the front hall. Our tour will now head to the cafeteria. Hera and Tom will guide the way and you can get a warm meal.”

“Aren’t you coming along?” One of the girls asked. “You’re not leaving us, are you?”

Tani met Dante’s gaze and then grinned at the girl.

“I’m not leaving yet. I’ll join you in the cafeteria in a few minutes,” Tani said.

Hera and Tom took over, guiding the students away.

Tani frowned when Dante remained standing at the landing just watching him.

“Why are you still looking so sad?” Tani asked, his hands at his sides. “Is it because of what I said about Dane earlier?”

“I can’t shake it off,” Dante said. “Any of it. I thought I could, but hearing you talk about it…I think this burden is too heavy. What do you do with the pain? None of them could burn it away. They were human, pure.”

Tani held out his right hand to Dante. He sighed when Dante did not make a move to take his hand. So, he closed the distance between them. Tani removed the reading glasses he wore, so that Dante could see his amber eyes.

“How much do you know of our past?” Tani asked.

“We’ve loved each other seven times that I know of, and two that are not quite clear to me,” Dante said, remembering the stories in the diary written by his grandmother, plus the dreams he had experienced. “Each time, I have disappointed you and you’ve walked away with a broken heart. How can you look at me as you are right now?”

“How do I look at you?”

“With interest,” Dante said, frowning.

“You are interesting, Dante,” Tani said. “How did you come to know of our past?”

“A journal written by my grandmother,” Dante said. “She worried I would disappoint you too. My mother gave it to me when you left the vineyard. I read it and wanted to see you. I wanted to…”

“To what?” Tani asked, cocking his head to the side.

“I don’t know,” Dante said, shaking his head. “Now that you’re standing in front of me, I don’t know what I should do.”

Tani studied him for a moment, and then held out his right hand again.

“Are you going to take my hand, or aren’t you?”

Dante’s gaze shifted to Tani’s right palm. His gaze fixating on the thin bracelets shaped like Elderwood leaves. The leaves a mirage, hiding the true shape of the gold cuffs Tani wore because of him.

“Tani,” Dante said, his voice a whisper, as he looked into amber eyes. “I’m afraid that if I hold your hand, I won’t want to let go. Do you think you can accept me? I—I want to try being with you. I’m not like the past me.”

Tani chuckled and shook his head.

“You were always different, never the same. Also, I’m the one offering my hand, Dante. Will you take it or not?” Tani asked.

Dante placed his left hand over Tani’s palm, and gasped when Tani clasped his fingers tight.

“Close your eyes,” Tani said.

It was the only warning he got, then they were in a burst of gold light. The landing faded away and then they were standing in a large round room. The domed ceiling filled with paintings of a floating citadel surrounded by waterfalls. The floating citadel was so exotic, Dante thought it a fantasy, including the man painted in a corner sitting on tall throne like chair. He looked like Tani, but wasn’t, the hair was wrong, it was dark and long.

“This is the fourth tower in the fortress. This room takes up the third and fourth floor. It is not accessible by anyone,” Tani said, looking at Dante. “You have to be Ekho to enter here. Not even Hera and Tom know about it because there is no door.”

Dante nodded in understanding, looking around the room. The windows were high and tall. They allowed more than enough light into the perfect round room. The light showed off painted portraits mounted in intervals on the natural stonewalls. The furniture looked antique, the shelves filled with books, and leather bound journals. There was a desk with two chairs set next to each other. A long comfortable couch arranged by what he assumed used to be a fireplace.

“There used to be a bed in the middle,” Tani said. “I got rid of it in a fit of anger after a bad night.”

“You have a temper,” Dante said.

“You do too,” Tani said, with a shrug. “This is—was my room until the last century. I—I—, um, since you know what we have been to each other, I want to share my memories of you, not what others have told you.”

Dante nodded in agreement.

Tani rewarded him with a small smile then clasped his hand tight and led him to a painting to their right. Dante sucked in air when he took a close look at the hanging portrait.

It was Durante. The first one of him. He was dressed in the white robes he wore the day he married, and broke Tani’s heart. The one who started Tani’s hell.

“I still remember the day I met you clear as day,” Tani said, his voice low. “Your scent drew me to you. The pack of wolves chased you, you didn’t shout because you were afraid your family would hear and come after you. So, you ran…and stumbled through the barriers I made right into my protected forest. I had no choice but to save you.”

“Barriers?”

“Yes,” Tani said, reaching out to run his palm over the frame of the portrait. The dust on the frame disappeared, and Tani dropped his hand away. “You ran right through, I suppose you were meant to.”

Dante studied the portrait. A fine gold mist surrounded Durante in the portrait. He had thought it dust at first, but now that Tani had cleared it away, the gold mist remained.

“What is this?” Dante asked, touching the gold mist aura, tightly wrapped around Durante.

“It is how I see you even now,” Tani said. “I took after my mother’s people more than my father imagined. Ekho’s believe in having one true beloved. When we meet them, we share part of ourselves with our beloved. A sacred bond that cannot be severed. When I first met you, I knew, you’re my beloved. I tried to ignore it for a time after you left the forest. You were human and I am Ekho. We were from different worlds, it was better to wait for another time, another meeting. It is what our people do. But then, you returned holding food and concern for me. I—”

“You tried to scare him,” Dante said, remembering Tani letting go of his glamour for Durante in his dream. “You showed him your eyes, and your claws thinking it would make him run.”

“He called me a fox,” Tani grinned. “I let him think so, because it was easiest. I didn’t know how to explain my kind. My heart would not let him be alone, so I loved him as the fox he thought I was.”

“He ended up breaking your heart,” Dante said, shaking his head, remembering the night Durante wedded and Tani wore his gold cuffs.

“He needed immortality,” Tani said, with a small shrug. “A mortal’s life is short; a blink of an eye and it’s over. So, mortals form bonds through family. Their children meant to succeed where their ancestors did not, meant to push the family to the next era, the next century. His decisions were rooted to the ways of a mortal. Without him, you would not exist. He made the right decision. Because I love him, I understood him.”

“I don’t,” Dante said, shaking his head. “If he loved you too, he should have been loyal to you.”

“Don’t judge him so harshly,” Tani said, turning to meet Dante’s gaze. “Durante’s bloodline has lived one thousand years, moving from century to century. It is the best magic he could have forged.”

“Still—”

“You have two children,” Tani said, his words coming out sharp. “Your bloodline will see the next generation, and the generation after and so on. Who are you to judge him?”

“I did not marry Viola,” Dante said, needing Tani to understand his failure with Viola. “She is not my beloved, Tani. I—”

“You what?”

“I was careless when I was younger. I stayed with Viola and let her believe in a future together when I felt nothing for her. We made Zach and April, but I could never offer her more than financial support. We separated, for her sake and the children. I am not tied to Viola and I regret the pain our relationship brought to her.”

“Don’t regret the children,” Tani said, shaking his head. “Don’t do that when they both love you so much.”

“I don’t regret Zach and April,” Dante said. “I am however, a bad parent to them.”

Tani stared at him for a moment, and then turned to the portraits on the walls. He moved to the second one and shrugged.

“I’ve come to realize that parents are also people who make mistakes. Their children must learn how to live with the mistakes they make,” Tani said, smiling at the second man he loved. “He was Dante like you. Simple man who only wanted a simple life. He didn’t know what I was, nor think me a fox. We were happy for a time.”

“Until his wife chased you out of the settlement,” Dante said.

“Violet has remained a steady force in your life with an astounding variation of her name,” Tani said letting out a soft chuckle. “I hated her for a while, in time my hate turned to tolerance. I suppose without her, you would not be here.”

“Tani.”

Tani moved to the next painting, placing his palm over the frame, his power wiping away the dust.

“This was Duante,” Tani said, studying the painting of a man dressed in white robes. “He was a scribe. Quite dedicated to his work at a magistrate’s office. We were together for a very short time before he married and promptly chased me away. He made me so angry, I left his town and traveled the world, determined to forget him.”

Dante held his tongue as Tani went down the line of four more versions of him, until he stopped at the portrait of a masked janissary, a red strip over his mask. Tani lingered on this one, his gaze complicated.

“We have the same portrait at Artri House,” Dante said. “He is holding the mask and his eyes are full of sorrow. Why is he different for you?”

“His Violet burned my tower,” Tani mused. “He loved me enough to hide the existence of this fortress from his Sultan. I just didn’t understand his ties to his family were tighter than the ones before. He almost made me believe he would stay with me, until Violet burned the fortress. It is lucky he cared enough for my causes to help the women who found sanctuary here. After him, I almost gave up.”

“One of Dane’s daughters found my great-grandfather,” Dante said.

“Yes,” Tani said. “Someone pushed her to find him for his bloodline. I knew nothing of it. The family was consistent with the name Durante for two more generations, which is probably why they named you Dante.”

“My grandmother knew the original story,” Dante said. “The patriarch of the family told her.”

“I figured as much,” Tani said, stopping at the last portrait.

In it, Durante was dressed in a dated suit, probably nineteen twenty. He stood tall and held a cane.

“I ran away to East Africa after surviving him,” Tani confessed. “Even though he married Violet early, he kept us longest. I was a secret he enjoyed having. We stayed together until he turned thirty. Then Violet wanted to move to the Americas, so they left. I would have followed, but he insisted on having a clean slate when they landed in New York. A branch of his family stayed here, and the other moved to New York.”

Tani sighed, and let go of Dante’s hand.

“So,” Tani said, indicating the nine portraits on the wall. “This is the size of the baggage I carry. I have tried my best to let it go, but…there are moments when it leaves me feeling broken. The cuffs on my wrist probably have a lot to do with that.”

Dante stood in the round room, his gaze moving from portrait to portrait. The faces on each one similar to his, but not quite. Their priorities certainly differed from his.

“Tani,” Dante said, facing the extraordinary man who had loved his soul for centuries. “Let’s agree on three facts.

“Okay,” Tani said. “What facts are these?”

“First, I am not them,” Dante said, pointing to the portraits. “Agreed?”

Tani folded his arms against his chest, and studied him for a moment.

“Agreed,” Tani said after a while. “You were never the same, ever.”

“Okay, this is good,” Dante said, taking a step toward Tani. “Two, I am truly interested in you. And when I say interested, I want to kiss you and make love with you. What about you?”

Tani smiled wide, studying him for another minute before he dropped his hands to his sides and nodded.

“I’ve always wanted you, Dante,” Tani said. “Our physical attraction has never been the problem.”

“That’s good to know,” Dante said, relieved, he took a step toward Tani.

“I’ve heard about us from my grandmother’s journal, then a warning from a grimoire in our home. All of them ask me not to disappoint you. As a result, I ran here to find you,” Dante said.

“I thought you wanted a tour for your students?” Tani asked.

“No, I was hoping to find you because I don’t have your phone number or know where you live. I have to tell you, it breaks my heart when I listen to you talk about us. It sounds like you’ve given up on me,” Dante said, taking another step forward, stopping only because Tani raised his right hand as though to stop him.

“You’ve judged my decision on all the others,” Dante said. “I’m not them.”

“No, you’re not,” Tani agreed. “Your warlock education has given you more information than the rest. I’m grateful that I don’t have to explain what an Ekho is to you.”

“My Grandmaster is a solid jerk who pushed me too hard and turned me into an overachiever. I even know there is a Septum in the Ekho Realm, and what it has done to you with those cuffs.”

“Sounds like a man who understands how to groom a fire warlock,” Tani said. “You have one thing right too. I have given up on proving my choice. I was not going to meet you this lifetime. , This time, I was going to ignore you existed and return to the Ekho Realm forever.”

Dante nodded, taking in the sting of Tani’s words. He stepped back.

“Why did you approach me?” Dante asked. “If you gave up on me, you should have let the kara ot ravage our vineyard.”

“I should have,” Tani said, his answer stinging more than it should. “But I can’t. It’s an Ekho’s job to make sure that blight does not spread in the mortal realm.”

“So, you came out of obligation?” Dante asked, oddly hurt by the thought.

“Yes,” Tani said. “No matter what’s happened between us, I can’t see you in danger.”

Dante took comfort in that statement and took a step forward.

“Then, Tani, are you willing to give me a chance?” Dante asked. “My number three is: How do I show you that I choose you this time?”

“You—”

Dante waved to the portraits around him.

“I understand from your perspective that the evidence is clearly not on my side,” Dante said, scowling at the men on the wall with his face. “I’ve never felt so attacked just as I’m thinking of hitting on a guy I like for a date. This is a lot of pressure. So, give me a chance, Tani.”

Tani stared at him for a full minute, and then chuckled.

“I just laid out our less than stellar past,” Tani said.

“I still want my chance,” Dante said, pointing to all the portraits. “Each of them got their chance. They fucked up. I want mine.”

“We might not have enough time,” Tani started, then bit his bottom lip as though to stop himself from talking.

“I don’t care,” Dante said, taking another step toward Tani. It brought him close enough to take in Tani’s scent again. “I want my chance with you. My time with you, Tani. Can you give me that?”

Amber eyes met Dante’s determined gaze.

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A storm ravaged the island late Tuesday night, rain falling into the early hours of Wednesday.

A whispered ‘help’ woke Tani from a deep sleep. He sat up on his bed and listened to the raging rain. The trees in the forest around them broke most of it…

The plea for help came again, and he got out of bed.

Closing his eyes, he listened, and once it came again, he followed it, teleporting to the overflowing river in the middle of the conservancy. The waters had swelled and spilled over to the bank. Not caring that the rain was soaking him; he stood on a flat rock, searching until he saw the little red fox standing on the edge of the flooding river. It was pacing in distress, trying to reach a bobbing boulder caught between two large branches. The river water doing its best to take the boulder downstream.

Tani froze when he saw a second fox caught under the shifting boulder. The river water was racing down too fast. He didn’t stop to think. He simply teleported to the two large branches, reached down, and caught the drowning fox by its neck just as the boulder got loose of the branches and went racing downstream.

Cradling the soaking fox, he returned to the flat rock, and the little fox that had called for help ran after him.

“You poor things, your cave must have flooded,” Tani said, placing the drowned fox he held on the flat rock. The little fox leaned closer, peering at its friend. “Don’t worry. He’s just swallowed a lot of water.”

Tani pressed two fingers to the still fox’s stomach and pushed. Water came out of its mouth and it coughed. Tani rubbed its back, turning the tired fox to its side as it coughed out more water. When it was breathing easier, Tani smiled and pressed his palms on both sides to warm it up. The rain was still falling, so he looked around the thick forest. They needed shelter.

Taking the two foxes into his arms, he walked deeper into the forest until he found a hollowed-out tree. He lined the inside of the hollow with leaves and urged the little foxes into the space.

“You two, don’t wander close to the river until I can get it to calm down,” Tani said when they were settled. The little fox who had desperately called for help licked his hand, and he smiled at the affection. “Stay here until the rain stops.”

He spent a few minutes making sure the hollowed-out tree was safe and dry. When he was done, he returned to the burgeoning river.

Tani checked to see if there were any other animals caught in the fast sweep of water. He tried to calm the waters with his power, but it hurt to use too much. He was still raw from the vineyard so he stopped. Letting out a sigh, he decided he would need to talk to Uncle Amu in the morning. Returning home, Tani found himself standing in the middle of his bedroom, soaked to the bone.

Staring at his muddy feet, all he could think about was what Dante was doing at the same exact moment.

At six in the morning, Tani sat at the kitchen island table, reading a daily report from the conservancy on a tablet they kept in the kitchen.

There were damaged boundary fences, and broken cameras in the forest and the flooding river was making it difficult for the animals to cross it. It pained him that his power still felt too raw to use. If he were to take on the tending of the conservancy, it would take him all day.

Eren entered the kitchen and stopped when she saw him. She was in a long simple frock, her hair falling down her back. She was on bare feet, clearly not dressed for the day.

Eren started to turn away in a clear escape.

“Eren,” Tani said, remembering that she kept making his Elderwood bushes bloom. He could channel her excess power to the river.

“Little lordling,” Eren said, turning to face him, and looking around the sunny kitchen. “Lord Amu?”

“He’s not back yet,” Tani said.

“Hera and Tom?” Eren asked.

“They are at the fortress working,” Tani said, placing his tablet down, now studying Eren. She was clearly unwilling to be in the same room with him. Had to be his comment about disowning his father.

“And Cale?” Eren asked, going down the list of all the people she met last night.

Tani grinned as he realized Eren was hoping she would not have to deal with him alone.

“Cale we can find,” Tani said. “All we have to do is call for him.”

“You mean you call for him,” Erin said, bunching the skirts of her dress. “He won’t respond to me. I’ve tried.”

Tani blinked. He had always thought Cale responded to every call made to him.

“Cale?” Tani said and smiled when Cale appeared a few minutes later in a charcoal grey suit. His hair was brushed to perfection, he was busy adjusting his cuffs.

“You called, Little Lordling,” Cale said.

“Eren was asking about you,” Tani said, pushing the tablet toward Cale who stood a few feet away. He got up from his chair and went to the coffee maker in the corner. He didn’t feel like tea this morning. It was lucky someone in the house had felt the same at a point. There was coffee already made.

“Do you think you can help me with a bit of work?” Tani asked. “The river is flooding and it is causing trouble.”

“I will only make it get worse,” Cale said, picking up the tablet and reading the list made by Tom’s team.

“I don’t need you to fix it, take Eren,” Tani said, finding a mug, he poured himself a half cup and sipped the bitter liquid. “There were foxes in trouble last night. I tried to soothe the river last night, but I could not.”

He lifted his right wrist to show his cuffs.

“I overused at the vineyard,” Tani said, smiling at a panic-stricken Eren. “It happens after a big use. Eren, do you mind?”

“No,” Eren said, shaking her head. “I mean, yes, I will help.”

Tani smiled at her.

“Thank you.”

“Stop making her feel guilty this early in the morning,” Cale said, placing the tablet on the table. He moved to the coffee maker, checked the state of the coffee, and sighed. “Stop drinking stale coffee.”

Cale took the mug Tani held and the coffee pot to pour out the coffee and rinse at the sink. He was adding fresh water to the coffee pot when his cell phone buzzed.

Tani frowned, wondering where he had left his own. He had not seen it since the day he was at the Arturo vineyard.

“Hi Hera,” Cale said when he answered the call. “He’s right here. I’ll put you on speaker.”

Cale placed his phone on the island table and returned to making coffee.

“Babu,” Hera said. “Where did you take your phone?”

Tani chuckled and returned to his chair.

“I don’t know,” Tani said.

“Honestly,” Hera said, exasperation clear. “I’m going to find a cord to clip on the phone and have you wear it like a necklace. Uncle Amu won’t make it to the tour. We need you.”

“No.” Tani started to protest, gaining Cale’s undivided attention.

“Who is going to do it then?” Hera asked.

“You or Tom,” Tani said.

Hera sighed and would have started complaining but Cale stopped her.

“Just a sec, Hera,” Cale muted the call and turned to Tani.

“You promised to make an effort on this,” Cale said, glaring at Tani. “Running away is not helping you or him. Time keeps moving along.”

“Why do you care so much?”

“I’m not going to answer that,” Cale said, glancing at a fascinated Eren. “All I know is that you should do the tour today. If you don’t, Eren won’t help with the river, right Eren?”

Eren started to protest inclusion, but Cale glared at her and she sighed.

“Right?” she said, though it sounded more like a question.

Tani scoffed, looking at her for a moment, and then he turned to Cale.

“You’re enjoying this too much,” Tani said and reached for Cale’s phone. He unmuted the call. “Alright, Hera, what time should I be there?”

“Before ten o’clock, you can use Tom’s office. We’ll be waiting for you,” Hera said.

“See you,” Tani ended the call and studied Cale who was now making coffee. “You’re very invested in me and Dante.”

“I’m just tired of watching the colossal disasters that happen between you,” Cale said. “I miss my domain and a peaceful existence.”

“You can imagine how absurd that sounds from the Ekho god of calamity,” Tani pointed out.

“You’re full of good fortune, but you never make it work for you,” Cale said, pouring Tani a fresh cup of coffee when it was ready. He brought the mug to Tani, his right brow raised. “Who is more absurd?”

Tani drank his coffee in silence because he had no answer for Cale. He needed to deal with his indecisiveness. Right before ten o’clock, he teleported into Tom’s office after a hurried shower and a change of clothes.

Hera was visibly relieved to see him. She hurried to his side to adjust his shirt, while Tom watched them from behind his large desk.

“I am so glad you agreed to give this tour,” Hera said, arranging the mandarin collar on Tani’s white shirt. “Otherwise, Tom would have to, and he bores everyone to sleep.”

Tom chuckled and Tani winked at him.

Tani had left the top two buttons of the shirt open. Hera finished with the collar and brushed off lint from his shoulder. Tani tugged at the long sleeves of his shirt. He had used a bit of magic to turn the gold cuffs on his wrist into thin bracelets carved to look like a chain of Elderwood leaves.

Tani smoothed his left hand over the short part of his hair on the left side.

Hera made use of the comb she held to manage the long fringe of hair falling to the right side. She brushed his hair down his right side, straightening out red-brown curls into their cut, making sure his hair hid his right ear lobe. She used a finger to slide a few strands away from his forehead.

Tani grinned at the intent look on her face as she brushed his hair.

She was the one who had taken him to the salon. Hera and Deniz chose his hairstyle, turning it into a right undercut with his long hair brushed to one side to hide the gold Elderwood leaves on his right earlobe.

Hera stepped away from him when she was satisfied with her work. She placed the comb in a small bag on Tom’s desk, and then took him in.

They were anticipating the arrival of Dante’s students in a few minutes. Tom and Hera were handling the visit arrangements: clearing with the various departments, as well as the cafeteria.

Tani had been last to arrive at Tom’s office.

“How do I look?” Tani asked Hera.

“Like the patron of The Elderwood Conservancy,” Hera said with a satisfied nod. She handed Tani gold-rimmed reading glasses that would mute the otherness of his eyes. Tani wore them without protest. “Am I right, Tom?”

“Right,” Tom said, getting up from his chair behind the desk. “The alarm at the gate pinged my phone three minutes ago. They are here.”

Tani breathed in and moved to the windows showing off the front of the building.

His heart sped up when a few minutes later he saw a white staff bus driving up to the fortress’ front entrance. Despite the many hours Tani spent telling himself he should not get excited over Dante, his heart betrayed him when the man so much as appeared.

Just knowing Dante was on the bus was enough to get his heart speeding.

Tani let out a quiet sigh and slid his hands into his tailored black trousers. This was the start. He had no way to stop it, and he was afraid this time he was going to hurt too many people.

“Babu,” Tom said, coming to stand next to him. “Uncle Amu is sure you’ll not be as available after today. Should we be worried?”

Tani stared at the white bus, which had slowed down, navigating around the fountain at the front and coming to a stop at the front doors.

“The conservancy will continue,” Tani said. “You’re here. There is Uncle Amu, and Cale is around. Everything should run without a problem, the same way it has when I was away.”

“Okay,” Tom said with a soft sigh.

Tani looked behind him and was glad to see Hera on the phone.

“I will ask you to make an appointment with the conservancy’s law firm,” Tani said, giving Tom a small smile. “I need to clean up a few things.”

Tom studied him for a moment and then frowned.

“I hope you know that I’m as attached to you as Hera and Deniz,” Tom said. “I know you disappear on us, but it is okay because we all know you’re around. Easy to meet. Easy to call. I’m asking you now. Can you not go somewhere we can’t reach you?”

Tani turned to face Tom, unable to give him an answer. The look on Tom’s face reminded him of the first time he ran into Tom in this very fortress. It was a mix of challenge and determination.

When Tom was twelve, he had been very angry at the world. His family lived on the outskirts of a city on the mainland. They hid their abilities because they could not share them in a rapidly changing modern world. Tom rebelled against his parents’ ideas. He resented having to hide his true self.

He wanted to show his friends his gift of making the earth shift, making flowers bloom on notice, and whatever else he thought up to amuse himself. When they did not understand him, he ran along the beach on the mainland terrorizing anyone who dared pick on him for being a freak.

One evening, Amu got a message from one of his contacts to check out a strange boy at the beach. Amu arrived just as Tom was busy throwing balls of sand at three boys. Amu ended up with a solid ball of sand in his mouth and became one of Tom’s victims. Tom was eternally shocked when he too received a mouthful of sand in his face in retaliation. Amu always gave back as good as he got, it was the way of the fox clan.

Soon after, Amu brought Tom’s whole family to the fortress and gave them the task of taking care of The Elderwood Conservancy. Young Tom could play to his heart’s content in the forests surrounding the fortress. He met more people like him and made great friends who understood him.

Tani was living at their station in East Africa then, but he would stop by to manage issues that cropped up with the fortress. On one such visit, he ran into twelve-year-old Tom and almost ate dirt from the garden at the front of the fortress, before there was a fountain.

Tani grinned at the memory.

Tom followed him for a whole week to discover how Tani had evaded his ball of dirt. He could not remember how Tom got him to teach him how to shift dirt in midair. The kid was a ball of persistence. As time moved on, he became Tom’s teacher, helping him with his abilities.

Then Tom grew up. Their roles changed. Tani started relying on Tom to take care of the fortress, more and more. In a blink, here they were. Tom was all grown up.

“Do you remember throwing balls of soil at people when you were twelve?” Tani asked, grinning when Tom scowled at him.

“Why are you bringing up my dark days?” Tom asked, frowning at him.

Tani chuckled.

“You were such an angry kid,” Tani mused. “Looking at you now, who would believe it?”

“You,” Tom said with a grin. “Uncle Amu ate a lot of sand.”

“He did,” Tani agreed.

Tom looked handsome as always. His thick dark hair was in a neat cut and combed back. His brown eyes were kind and his smile was ready. He dressed in proper suits when he was at work. Today he was in a grey suit with a white shirt and a burgundy tie.

“I might not be able to give you the promise you want,” Tani said, his gaze shifting to Hera.

Hera was still busy writing down a note, as she listened to the person on the other end of the call. She looked classy today, dressed in a navy blue sheath dress and black heels. Her braids were in a tight ponytail, the length of them falling down her back.

Tani continued.

“I will, however, make sure you’re all—”

“Do not say ‘taken care of’,” Tom said, narrowing his gaze.

Tani smiled and met Tom’s gaze.

“It is the only thing I can say to you,” Tani said. “I have unfinished business…”

“Then finish it, and still return to us,” Tom said, ending the conversation. “I’ll call the lawyers, but only because Uncle Amu would want me to. I expect to see you at my lastborn’s tenth birthday party, Tani Ryuzo. I should warn you, my wife will give me five kids.”

Tani scoffed.

“You don’t even have a girlfriend.”

“Well, look at all that time we have together,” Tom grinned.

“They are signed in,” Hera said, ending her call. “Rachel has led them to the waiting room. Ready, Babu?”

“Yep,” Tani said, and pulled his hands out of his pockets, fighting off nerves.

“Here,” Tom said, holding out a black phone. “In case you leave the fortress and we need to call you.”

“Ok.”

Tani took the phone and slipped it into his trouser pocket, smiling at the determined look on Tom.

Tani rubbed his hands together, suddenly looking forward to the tour.

“We should start with the tower at the entrance,” Tani said. “I think they’ll get a kick out of the observatory, won’t they?”

“Cale was painting up there a month ago,” Hera said, picking up a folder from Tom’s desk. She led the way out of Tom’s office, with Tom bringing up the rear. “Something about helping the restoration crew.”

“Cale sure has a lot of time,” Tani said, shaking his head as he followed Hera. “He had better not have installed gargoyles on the roofs.”

Tom chuckled behind him, as he closed the office door. They headed to the waiting room at the reception together.

****

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Two days later, Dante paced his office at the manor, as he talked to Thomas and Justina on his cell phone. His laptop stood open on his desk, an email from Tom King open on the screen.

Hi Dante,

I’m writing to let you know you got special access permission to visit our fortress. You’re welcome to bring a small group. Ten students at the most. Please remember, The Elderwood Conservancy uses the fortress as a place of business and research. We will work at accommodating your visit, but understand there are sections of the fortress you might not be able to access.

If you agree to these terms, Tuesday or Wednesday is best if you want a guided tour from our patron. 10 am to 1 pm. We will arrange lunch for you and your students in our cafeteria. Forward me a list of allergies and dietary needs.

’Looking forward to your visit,

Tom.

“I’ve confirmed us for tomorrow, Wednesday,” Dante said, reading the days listed in the email to confirm with Justina and Thomas. “Set off early so you reach the island by nine o’clock. Call me when you arrive. I will have our vineyard staff bus driver give you guys a lift to Elderwood.”

“I’m so excited this came through,” Justina said on the other end. “How did you manage it?”

Dante thought about Tani standing in his kitchen and smiled. It would be difficult to explain he had helped an Ekho with pain and that was how he was getting a chance to tour the fortress. He could also say he was a warlock desperately in need of making things right with a rejected Ekho. Justina and Thomas would both think him in need of a good psychiatrist.

“It’s a secret,” he answered Justina. “Don’t forget to forward the list of students and any allergies for use at lunch. Our list should have at the most ten students.”

“Thankfully only eight have signed up for the tour. I’ll forward the list once I’ve confirmed dietary needs,” Justina promised. “Is there a fee?”

“No,” Dante said. “Elderwood has granted us special access. I’ll sort it out on my end.”

“Thank you, Dante,” Thomas said. “I’ll make sure to bring my camera for photos.”

“Then, I’ll see you guys in the morning,” Dante said and ended the call.

Alone, he walked around his desk to sit in his chair. He stared at Tom’s email for a minute, and then his gaze shifted to the leather journal his mother gave him. Reaching for it, he opened it to the lineage map showing the families leading up to him. One of Durante’s ancestors married into the Arturo warlock family. Making him.

The warning in the grimoire was apt. His past self was responsible for the gold cuffs on Tani’s wrists. It was not easy knowledge. Remembering the pain Tani endured when they were returned made him sick to the stomach. He wished there was an easy fix, but he did not even know how he could start repairing such long-term damage. He couldn’t even think about it.

Dante closed the journal and leaned back with a sigh. He needed to see Tani.

He could only hope Tani was willing to see him too.

***

On Wednesday morning, the day of the tour to Elderwood, Dante woke up early. He called the bus driver to confirm the time they would set off for the docks. After, he showered and dressed for the day, choosing a white cotton shirt, which he folded the sleeves to his elbows and a pair of navy blue slacks. He lingered at the mirror trimming his full beard.

For a moment, he wondered if he should shave it off, then shook his head with a quick grin. He hoped Tani liked it. Dante brushed his chin-length hair back, opting not to hold it today. He wanted to look his best when he met Tani.

Satisfied with his looks in the mirror, he left his bathroom. In his closet, he slipped his feet into dark side-zip leather boots, grabbed his wallet and phone from the bedside table, and left his room.

At seven o’clock, he was in the kitchen brewing tea when the backdoor opened and his grandmaster walked in.

Dante remembered that Nora had called him and Dante’s father to come to Artri House.

“Morning, Dante,” Landi Arturo said, dropping the duffel bag he carried by the door. He removed his jacket and placed it on the counter next to the door. He took three steps into the kitchen.

The backdoor closed, and Dante made sure it locked. The floor turned liquid silver under Landi. Liquid silver flooded around Landi’s black canvas shoes and then solidified into thick sharp spikes. They grew tall, a thick forest of them, thick, each wrapping around Landi, holding him in place. When they reached his thighs, one of them rose higher than the rest, its end as sharp as a dagger; it came to a stop at Landi’s throat.

Dante focused on brewing morning tea with the double teapot his mother liked for daily use. The water boiled in the bottom teapot. He added three large teaspoons of tea leaves to the top teapot. Picking up the bottom teapot, he added hot water to the tea leaves. He made sure the water was enough to make six glasses of brewed tea. Covering the top teapot, he placed it aside. He picked up the bottom teapot and added water. He returned it to the cooker and placed the top teapot back on top.

Only then did he give his grandmaster his attention.

Landi stood very still. He did not struggle. He only narrowed his gaze at Dante.

“Are we having a bad morning, Dante?” Landi asked.

“Are we?” Dante asked, moving to the cupboard where his mother kept the teacups.

He got three tulip-shaped tea glasses. He arranged them on saucers on the kitchen counter, before he leaned on it, waiting for the tea to brew.

“You are threatening to rip me up with liquid steel this early in the morning,” Landi said. “Artri House’s arsenal is growing thanks to you. How did you think this up?”

“Seeing you makes me hot with rage,” Dante said, narrowing his gaze at his grandmaster.

“How did I displease you?”

Landi tried to wiggle out of the spell, but the steel bands only tightened around him. He frowned when the sharp blade rose higher, almost touching his skin.

“Your power has grown,” Landi commented. “I’m worried you’re threatening to draw your grandmaster’s blood.”

Dante shrugged and returned his attention to the brewing tea on the gas range. He liked his tea dark, but his mother liked hers light. He was glad when he heard her coming down the hallway, her slippers dragging on the wood floors.

Nora entered the kitchen, still in her comfortable white pajamas, and stopped.

“Landi,” Nora said in greeting, running her fingers through her hair. She made no comment on the hardening steel rods wrapped around Landi. “It’s early in the morning for your arrival.”

“My flight landed earlier than we thought,” Landi said, his voice strained.

Dante got a cube of sugar and added it to the tea glass his mother would use. He placed a teaspoon on the saucer and turned off the fire on the double teapot. He poured dark brewed tea into his own glass, filling it up.

Dante then poured half of the same brewed tea into his mother’s with the sugar cube. He added hot water to fill her teacup, lightening the color.

Dante smiled when she came to take the tea glass with a grateful sigh. He leaned down to her height and grinned when she brushed a kiss on his left cheek. She smoothed her palm over his hair and sipped her tea.

Placing the double teapot back on the cooker, Dante turned to face Landi after a sip of his own tea.

“Why are you holding your grandmaster prisoner?” Nora asked, stirring her tea in lazy motion.

Dante took a second sip of his dark brewed tea, then a third. When he felt fortified enough, he placed the tea glass on the counter and moved closer to his grandmaster.

“Break the spell on my mother,” Dante said, looking into Landi’s dark brown gaze. “Now.”

“Dante—”

“I had to watch her struggle, afraid she would burn up if she spoke a word out of turn,” Dante hissed. “Break your archaic binding spell, now.”

“Is that why you’re holding me with liquid steel?” Landi asked. “Don’t you think this is deranged—?”

“You have no right to discuss deranged spells with me,” Dante said, pointing to Nora. “You’ve spelled my mother. She’s a member of this family. She is my mother and you’ve dared to put a spell on her. You’re lucky I didn’t pull you under this manor and bury you in liquid steel.”

Landi sighed when Dante’s glare turned threatening. He looked at Nora.

“Don’t turn to me,” Nora said, moving to sit at the island table. She let out a small yawn and sipped her tea. “You’re the one who trained him.”

“He’s from your fire blood,” Landi said, accusation in his tone.

“He’s only my blood when he has you at a disadvantage,” Nora said, shaking her head. “Other days, he’s Arturo warlock blood.”

Dante folded his arms against his chest.

“I have somewhere to be in an hour and a half,” Dante said. “You will break the spell on Mom before I leave this house.”

“Dante—”

“I will remind you. I am now the master of Artri House. You have stepped in here with your guard down. No one can save you, not even my father,” Dante said.

“You would not harm—”

“I thought so too until I watched Mom struggling to avoid burning from the inside out,” Dante said. “You broke trust first.”

“Nora, are you going to help here?” Landi asked.

“I’m the one spelled,” Nora said.

Landi sighed, and nodded, meeting Dante’s gaze.

“Fine, I’ll break it.”

“Now?” Dante asked.

“Yes, now,” Landi said.

“Mom, move closer,” Dante said, willing the steel rod to slide away from Landi’s neck, releasing Landi’s arms, and stopping at his knees.

“You’re mistreating an old man,” Nora said when she was standing next to Dante.

“He mistreated you first,” Dante said, meeting Landi’s gaze. He smirked. “No one mistreats my mother, Grandmaster Landi, not when I’m here.”

Nora chuckled next to him, and Landi let out a sigh.

“You’ve brought up a bully,” Landi said, placing his palms on Nora’s neck with gentle care, he closed his eyes and started a chant.

“Sözlerini serbest bırakıyorum, serbest bırakıyorum,” Landi spoke, breaking the spell on Nora. ‘I release your words, I release them.’

Landi repeated his chant until Nora let out a soft sigh, and Landi’s hands dropped away from her shoulders.

“It is done,” Landi said, turning to Dante.

“May it never happen again,” Dante warned, and released Landi from his liquid silver. Restoring the floor to its usual tiles. “Would you like some brewed tea? I made it dark this morning.”

Landi let out a tired sigh and shook his head.

“You just threatened me with a sharp steel rod,” Landi said. “Now you offer me tea?”

“Don’t want it? You can always heat it up on your own,” Dante said, taking up his tea glass. He sat at the island table next to his mother and focused on drinking tea. “Let me not hear you returned the spell on Mom because I left. Artri House will let me know.”

Landi frowned, studying Dante, his gaze critical.

Dante returned the study.

Landi was six feet tall. His dark hair was long turned gray and always messy on his head. He loved sweaters and had them in all colors. Nora made it a game to find a cashmere sweater color Landi did not own. Today, he was in a dark green one, dark slacks, and his favorite black converse shoes.

“Dante, despite your deadly threat, the manor feels happy. Are you in a good mood?” Landi asked.

Dante sipped his tea and reached for his phone because it buzzed in his pocket. He checked his messages and was glad to see one from Justina. Their students had arrived on time and they were now on the way to take the ferry.

It was good they were on the way.

He calculated time and sent the bus driver an alert to let him know they would leave Artri House in an hour.

“Dante received good news,” Nora was saying when he tuned back to the conversation.

Nora squeezed his left shoulder and got up to up to head to the fridge.

She got a container with a block of fresh white cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce. She placed the cheese container on the island table before Dante and handed Dante a knife and a chopping board to slice the cheese and tomatoes into palatable sizes.

Nora returned to the kitchen counter to get bread from its box, a jar with honey, and the grape jam she canned herself.

“Dante gets to take the students of his world history class at the Koc University for a special access tour at The Elderwood Conservancy,” Nora boasted. She got a second board and knife. She brought it to the island table and started slicing bread into bite-sized rectangular pieces. “There is someone he hopes to see at the conservancy.”

Landi took the opportunity to walk around the table to where Dante sat slicing fresh white cheese pieces. He placed his hand on Dante’s right wrist and pressed his fingers to Dante’s pulse.

“Something’s changed. You’re one cold idiot, but the punishment you just meted out on me screams of empathy for your mother. When did you start feeling empathy?” Landi asked, looking into Dante’s eyes. “There must have been a very big shift.”

“I’m—”

Dante frowned, his gaze dropping to where Landi held his right wrist.

“You can’t read me.”

“True,” Landi said, nodding. “But, I can tell the ice around your heart has melted or fractured. It was always there from when you were a boy. Your mother shares her empathy with you. It helped keep the house warm. Now, I can tell you’re the one fuelling the warmth in this manor, even as you threatened me. You seem…hopeful. What’s changed?”

“Nothing,” Dante said, thinking about the conduit spell he performed on Tani.

He had felt something shift in him that day. He could not define what, only that he desperately needed to see Tani again, for their shared past.

“Your mother mentioned Ryuzo was in this house,” Landi said, letting go of Dante’s wrist. “Tell me what happened, don’t leave out anything.”

Dante sipped his brewed tea and continued to slice white cheese into neat pieces, arranging them on the platter his mother brought him.

Nora narrated the events leading up to Tani entering the manor. She talked about the olive grove suffering nutrient loss, and Tani healing the soil, ridding it of kara ot.

“He was unconscious after,” Nora said, arranging a platter filled with sliced bread pieces, a bowl with black and green olives, sliced cucumbers, chopped sweet peppers, shredded lettuce, and cut peeled tomatoes.

“Landi, grab the plates from the shelf over the sink. I’ll brew more tea. Anyway, Cale, the Ekho god of calamity, brought the little lordling to Artri House. The manor would not let Cale in, so he could only stay in the front yard. He left soon after. Dante carried Tani inside and spent a few hours with him in the guest room performing a conduit spell.”

“You connected with an Ekho,” Landi said, returning to the island table with three plates, spoons, and forks. He sat opposite Dante, staring at him. “And you didn’t feel overwhelmed, or lose any part of your power?”

“No.” Dante shook his head. “I—I just wanted him to stay here. It felt important.”

Now that he had read the diary from his great-grandmother, he understood why.

“Hm,” Landi nodded. “Nora said Ryuzo teleported out at the end.”

“Yes,” Nora agreed. “Mr. Ryuzo asked me about any Ekhos who have visited the vineyard of late. I could not say the name without triggering the spell you cast on me.”

“A spell that should never have been cast,” Dante said, glaring at Landi.

“I broke it already,” Landi said, accepting the glass of brewed tea from Nora. He thanked her with a nod and turned to Dante.

“So, Mr. Ryuzo said he owed you a favor,” Landi noted, sipping his tea.

“I don’t want a favor from him,” Dante said. “I believe I might owe him more.”

Landi nodded and studied the platters on the table for a moment, thinking.

Nora got a frying pan and placed it on the cooker. She started the fire and got six eggs from the fridge. She got busy frying two each for them.

Dante took a slice of bread and arranged a slice of cheese, olives, and tomato. He took a bite and nodded as the combination of tastes burst in his mouth. Breakfast was always great with the family. A moment passed before Landi finally looked at Dante.

“Dante,” Landi said. “I hoped you would escape the warning in the grimoire. Your father did, and while I don’t know this Ekho Ryuzo—”

“I do,” Dante said, holding his grandmaster’s gaze. “I’ve met him. Seen him help us. What he did is worth more than Mom paid the conservancy. I don’t need the family to decide for me what I should do about Tani. I’ll make my own judgments and choices about him.”

Landi took in a deep breath and smirked.

“I figured I would hear such a statement from you. Fine, do what you think is right, but protect our Artri House through this encounter,” Landi said. “We still need to survive in the aftermath.”

“I’ll try my best,” Dante said. “Which reminds me, Mom told me about Aero. Do you think he would want our vineyard ruined?”

Landi’s gaze shifted to Nora who was busy plating the first plate of eggs and starting another. She ignored Landi’s piercing look and concentrated on frying eggs. Landi sighed.

“It still shocks me how the women of the manor embrace capitalism,” Landi said.

“Everyone has to survive somehow, it’s a true tragedy when white magik does not make money,” Nora said.

Landi shook his head and looked at Dante.

“Your father and I worked quite hard to identify Aero. We cornered him at an auction in Tokyo where he was trying to sell off one of the spelled pens your grandmother made for him,” Landi said, looking at Dante. “Aero is an Ekho from the dragon clan. He only agreed to tell us who he was after Christophe spelled a refilling goblet for him.”

Nora stopped cooking the last batch of eggs to look at Landi in surprise.

“He does not come close to the manor because he is afraid of the family’s patriarch,” Landi said.

Landi met Nora’s gaze then.

“Please tell me you didn’t think we would watch the wives of this manor deal with an Ekho and learn nothing about him?” Landi asked.

“Why did you lot act like you don’t know?” Nora asked.

“Christophe insisted he wanted a peaceful home. So did I,” Landi said with a shrug. “We all knew why you and Dante’s grandmother left to visit the beach beyond the grove. Let’s call it a badly kept secret.”

“How kind of you all,” Nora scoffed, burning the last batch of eggs. She moved the frying pan and shifted the teapot to the heat. She then plated the overdone eggs and brought them to Landi.

Dante hid a smile when Landi started to complain but stopped when she glared at him.

“Thanks for the food, Nora,” Landi said, picking up his fork.

Nora brought Dante his eggs and lingered over the brewing tea.

“Aero might know who would bring us the black weed,” Dante said. “We should talk to him.”

“I told you I will handle it, Dante.” Nora stated.

“Okay,” Landi said. “When you can’t, we’ll step in.”

“Fair enough,” Nora said with a nod.

Dante hid a smile, knowing his mother would make sure she got the information they needed from Aero, just to prove Landi wrong.

“When is Dad arriving?” Dante asked as they settled in for breakfast.

“Tomorrow,” Nora said, bringing Landi a glass of tea. She sat next to Dante again and reached for a plate to make a white cheese sandwich between two bread pieces. She took a bite and smiled at Dante. “It will be nice having the family home.”

“Yes. It’s good to have us all around, just in case,” Landi said, nodding.

Dante drank his tea and relaxed as breakfast progressed.

Nora gave Landi updates about the vineyard. They sat talking about plans for the wine factory until Dante’s phone buzzed with a message from the driver. He realized it was nine o’clock.

“I have to go,” Dante said, getting up from the table.

“Do you think you will meet Ryuzo today?” Nora asked.

Dante picked up his plate and the tulip-shaped tea glass with its saucer. He took them to the sink counter. He washed his hands and wiped the excess water with a napkin.

A tight feeling was growing in his chest, the anticipation and anxiety of going to the Elderwood Conservancy was catching up with him. He prayed and hoped Tani would be the one to give the tour. How many Ekhos could there be in an organization anyway? He doubted Cale had anything to do with Elderwood. Their kind of organization needed an abundance of goodwill, and Cale was full of the opposite.

Dante refused to entertain the idea that Tom King would be the one to give them a tour…

‘Fates,’ Dante thought. ‘Let it not be Tom.’

“Dante?” Landi called.

Dante bunched the used napkin into a ball and threw it into the trashcan under the sink.

He turned to his family and smiled.

“I’ll call you later,” Dante said, walking around the island table.

He picked up his phone from the table, kissed Nora’s right cheek, and turned to leave.

Landi spoke up when he got to the back door.

“Dante, you’re not responsible for righting past wrongs. You’re you,” Landi said. “You’re not your past reincarnations. Whatever might have happened, you’re only responsible for what you choose now.”

Dante paused to look at Landi, held his gaze for a moment, and then nodded his agreement. He smiled and unlocked the door, stepping out into the bright morning.

After spending hours reading his great-grandmother’s journal, all he knew was that he belonged with Tani. Tani had tried to show it to his past self. Those idiots must have been dimwitted. Now, it was up to him to prove Tani’s love true. He wanted a chance. He just hoped Tani would give it to him.

****

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“Lord Amu,” Eren said. “I would like to ask for your help. I want to visit the fox clan lands.”

“No.” Amu shook his head and crossed his arms against his chest.

“Are you not going to give me a chance to explain my request?” Eren asked.

“No.” Amu frowned. “The Septum is not the only entity with rules in the Ekho Realm. The Fox Clan is closed to the Immortal Clan. It is treason to allow one of you into our lands.”

“Treason?” Eren gaped. “Don’t you think it is extremely hostile of the fox goddess Anit? We do not refuse the members of your clan to visit our lands.”

“Have you seen one of ours in your lands these last thousand years?” Amu asked, narrowing his gaze at her.

Eren sat back in thought. After a moment, she shook her head, and Cale bit back a chuckle. He would have reminded her that foxes had a strange sense of loyalty. If they believed in a cause, no one could turn them away.

“Why doesn’t the fox clan enter the immortal lands?” Tom asked. “I thought the Ekho Realm was peaceful?”

“It is,” Amu said. “Mostly. We have our prejudices. The fox clan can hold long grudges. The deepest one is tied to the fact that the fox goddess’s son is held hostage in the mortal realm serving a thousand-year sentence for loving a mortal.”

“Babu doesn’t speak to his mother,” Tom said, helping Hera take plates to the sink.

“Just because they are estranged, doesn’t mean he is not a Fox Lord. He is her son. He is young and deserves to be in our ranks living his own life as he chooses. No one should punish him for his choices at his current age. Our fox clan wonders what will happen to him when he is as old as Sunu or Anit.”

“Loving a mortal is not why he is in the mortal realm,” Eren said. “Choosing to bind his soul to a fleeting life is the reason why. What if all Ekhos start doing the same? Do you understand the repercussions? We would have more Ekhos choosing to live here in the mortal realm. Changing fates of mortal lives—”

“Tani has followed the rules the Septum laid out,” Cale said. “He has made no effort to find a way to extend his beloved’s life beyond his natural cycle. He keeps the secrets of the Ekho Realm and bonded mates. You cannot accuse him of a crime he has not committed.”

“He might be innocent of my words, but others would not be so conscious of the rules,” Eren pointed out. “Thankfully, rumors of Tani’s punishment have controlled the Ekho population in the mortal realm better than any threats we ever gave. Even the fox clan has reduced its misdeeds. No one has bonded their soul to a human, except for Tani Ryuzo.”

“I understand your speech, but the fox clan will not forget the trial easily. Why do you want to enter our lands?” Amu asked.

“I cannot find the path the Kara ot used at the vineyard. There are concerns that there is a surge of black weed in the fox clan lands. The Kara ot may have used an unsuspecting fox with permissions from the inter-clan court to cross the Palladium Gates,” Eren said.

She glanced at Cale.

“The black weed is controlled in all the lands I can enter. I have no knowledge or the state of infestation in the fox clan lands. You must help me talk to the fox goddess Anit,” Eren said, her voice filled with urgency. “It will be helpful to know if the fox clan has an outbreak. Or if she has a clue as to who might have brought the black weed to the mortal realm.”

Cale nodded along to Eren’s words.

Eren’s entry into the fox clan would give him the perfect chance to snoop around the Inter Clan Court. Find out the identity of the culprit pretending to be from his Dark Fort. It would get the Sentinel off his back.

“The fox clan is relatively quiet,” Amu said. “I was there a few days ago. Anit did not mention any issues with black weed.”

“She might not mention it to you because you’re never at court,” Cale pointed out.

Amu narrowed his gaze at him.

“What would you know of my sister’s thoughts?” Amu asked.

“I know nothing of what Anit is thinking,” Cale said, reaching for his wine glass. He took a sip and sat back in his chair. “I’m only noting that she might not have mentioned a problem when you were visiting her.”

Amu sighed and shook his head.

“I’m surprised the god of calamity would want to help Eren,” Amu said. “After all she has contributed to Tani’s never-ending pain.”

Eren sighed.

“Lord Amu,” she started.

“I will not take you into the fox clan lands without my sister’s permission,” Amu said. “There are no secrets between us. We are not the immortal clan, Eren. Anit knows what I do and I know what she does for the sake of Tani. I’m not taking you into the fox clan lands.”

“Fine, I don’t have to step into the fox clan lands,” Eren said, lifting her hands in surrender. “Help me find a way to talk to fox goddess Anit then. Court to court. She’s in charge of the fox clan. I’m worried about the corruption of black weed spreading from the Ekho Realm to the mortal realm. Surely, we can meet on discreet terms to discuss an issue affecting our people.”

Amu studied her for a full minute before he shook his head and looked at Cale.

“Is this what you went to discuss with the Septum?” Amu asked. “To get me to convince Anit to talk to her?”

“Amu, you and I, have been at this for years. You will know not to take what I say next lightly,” Cale said.

Amu nodded and extended his right hand in invitation.

“There is something off,” Cale said, staring into his wine glass. “The black weed at the Arturo Vineyard was too large. The culprit who brought it to the vineyard knew Tani would need to get his cuffs removed to cleanse it. The corruption was one part of his or her goal. The second goal was the anticipation of what happens to Tani after I return his cuffs on him. Tani should have been down for months, almost a year after I returned the cuffs on him.”

Amu sat up.

“True,” Amu said. “The pain is usually too much. It takes him too long to recover. Which makes me wonder, how is he up?”

“His beloved is stronger than we thought,” Cale said. “Something about burning Tani’s pain away. Artri House has its secrets. Dante’s resourcefulness changes the field. We now have a chance to uncover a hidden game. Anit is crucial to Eren’s answers.”

‘And mine,’ Cale thought.

“She heads the Inter Court Clan,” Amu said.

“Yes.” Cale nodded in agreement. “Besides, Kara ot is not an easy matter. All Ekho agree it should never be allowed to grow unchecked in the Mortal Realm.”

“I’ll make a formal request to see Anit through the inter-clan court,” Amu said. “I have an appeal made by a minor fox that needs attention. I was going to ask her to meet me here to discuss it.”

Eren sucked in air, waiting.

“I’m not promising she will want to talk to you, Eren,” Amu continued. “However, I’ll make your case.”

“She comes here?” Eren asked, surprised.

“Yes,” Hera said, leaning over Cale for the platter holding the kebabs.

The platter was now empty. All the skewers were eaten.

Cale got up and took the platter for her. She smiled and patted his shoulder in thanks. Cale took the platter to the sink and washed it.

“She walks around the fortress,” Hera said to Eren, as she collected the blue placemats from the dining table. “Does her best to look mortal, but there is no hiding she is other. Regal, too beautiful thanks to the red hair, and her green eyes with slits like a fox. They call her the ghost of the fortress. She’s become a beloved myth.”

Cale returned to the table to get his wine glass. He drank the last of it, leaning on the edge of the table as he watched Hera finish wiping the table.

“She scares all the ladies on the third floor when she wanders into their bathrooms,” Tom said. “Uncle Amu, talk to her, please. Tell her to stop perpetuating the ghost of the fortress myth.”

Amu chuckled and winked at Eren.

“It’s work to keep a balance in our home,” Amu said. “Tom, you can blame the ghost of the fortress for the blooming elder bushes.”

“Great idea,” Tom said, with a sigh.

“I’ll visit Anit,” Amu said, pushing his chair back, he rose with a negligent roll of his shoulders. “It might take a few days. I’ll get back to you with her decision.”

“Thank you,” Eren said, giving him a formal nod.

“You’re welcome to stay,” Amu said. “Hera, show her where she can rest.”

“I will,” Hera said, taking the placemats to the kitchen counter.

“What about the tour Dante requested?” Tom asked.

Amu paused and looked up at the ceiling.

“Tani built it, he can be a great guide too,” Amu said, after a moment. “I could never interfere with their meeting. No matter what I did, they always got to spend their time together. Call Dante and grant him permission.”

Cale smiled in triumph and took his wine glass to the sink.

“Cale,” Amu said.

“Yes,” Cale said when he turned and found Amu watching him.

“Whatever you’re hiding from me, I hope it won’t hurt him,” Amu said. “Elderwood is open to you, only if you protect him.”

“I know,” Cale said.

Amu nodded and left the kitchen.

Cale placed his glass on the rack. When he turned to wipe his hands on the kitchen cloth, he found Hera standing next to him. She watched him with expectation.

“What is this vibe?” Hera asked. “You, Uncle Amu…Babu. Why is he looking so lost in thought? Is something going to happen to him?”

“No,” Cale said.

“Liar,” Hera said, looking into his dark eyes, unflinching. “Don’t answer so quickly when you’re lying, Cale. Tell me why you’re all in a state of finality.”

“It’s hard to explain,” Cale said, shrugging his shoulders. He rolled the sleeves of his shirt down and cuffed them. “Besides, it’s not my story to tell, dear Hera. Babu will tell you when he’s ready.”

Hera sighed and leaned on the kitchen sink counter. “Is it bad?”

Cale looked to Eren who was drinking water and sighed.

“It depends on perspective,” Cale said, then leaned in and brushed a kiss on Hera’s right cheek. “Don’t worry. Tani will always make sure you, Tom, and Deniz are taken care of.”

“Who will take care of Babu?” Hera asked.

“I’m hoping Dante will take up the job,” Cale said with a charming grin.

*****

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Tani served dinner at seven-thirty. The dining table in the kitchen was rectangular and could accommodate eight seats. On a usual night, they used six chairs but tonight the table felt packed with an additional chair. Amu sat at the head of the table, to his immediate right was Tom, then Cale, and Eren.

Tani sat to Amu’s immediate left, Deniz next to him, and then Hera.

Tani passed his uncle the platter with the kebabs and shifted to help Hera serve Deniz. He placed three meatballs for Deniz and watched Hera add the fresh tomato sauce, and a scoop of vegetable stew to Deniz’s plate.

“Aunt Eren, are you really like Babu and Uncle Cale?” Deniz asked, stabbing a meatball with her fork. Her bright eyes were intent on Eren across the table.

Tani arranged the napkin tucked into the neckline of her pink dress. Running his hand over soft thick braids with colorful tips. He sat back in his chair and looked at Eren, waiting.

“Who is Babu?” Eren asked Cale in a not-so-quiet whisper.

Eren stared at Deniz with wide eyes.

“Me,” Tani said, answering for Cale. He smiled at Deniz’s enthusiasm when she bit into her meatball. “Answer Deniz’s question, please.”

Eren nodded.

“I’m most like your Babu,” Erin said. “I don’t think your Uncle Cale—”

“Uncle Cale is awesome. He pushes me really high on the swing in the garden,” Deniz said with a wide smile. “I don’t get scared when he’s with me. I go really high.”

“You two have vowed to give me a heart attack,” Hera said, with a shudder. “Uncle Cale, stop making my daughter a daredevil.”

Cale chuckled and Eren gave him a wary glance.

“How can a mortal child dare to call you uncle?” Eren asked Cale, the shock in her voice clear. “What’s wrong with these mortals?”

“Deniz is not afraid of me,” Cale said to Eren.

“It’s very odd,” Eren said, shaking her head. “Lord Tani, how is it your ward and her daughter do not understand what Cale is?”

“We understand who Cale is just fine,” Hera said, narrowing her gaze at Eren. “He’s been good to us, to Babu. Why would we be afraid of him?”

“Your voice indicates I have somehow offended you,” Eren said.

“It’s not fun being talked about while I’m sitting right here,” Hera said. “I can answer any questions you have about Deniz and me.”

Eren looked to Tani, her gaze requesting help.

Tani shrugged and picked up his glass of wine. He took a lazy sip and nodded at Hera.

Eren turned to Cale, who concentrated on the food on his plate. Eren took in a deep breath and faced Hera.

“I apologize for being rude,” Eren said. “This is your home and I’m a guest.”

“You’re forgiven,” Hera said, reaching for the bowl with the lettuce salad. She served a healthy portion and focused on eating.

Tom chuckled next to Cale, and Hera winked at him.

“This house is very informal,” Eren said.

“We’re family. It should be informal,” Amu said, speaking for the first time. “What brings you to the mortal realm, Eren?”

“The Septum asked me to fortify the land Lord Tani cleansed today.”

“Stop calling me a Lord. I don’t live in the citadel,” Tani said.

“How can I address Lord Sunu’s son by his name?” Eren asked.

“I stopped being his son the moment you lot put these cuffs on me,” Tani said, showing her his right wrist. “Uncle Amu is my father.”

Eren gaped.

“Don’t look so shocked, Eren,” Tani said. “The Septum should have expected it the moment I wore these cuffs. If you didn’t, you’re all a bunch of idiots.”

“Tani,” Amu said, drawing Tani’s gaze. “Eren is a guest at our table. Don’t be impolite.”

Tani held Amu’s gaze for a moment, wanting to rebel against Amu’s censure. Amu’s gaze was kind when he looked at him, so he could only sigh and then turn to Eren.

“Please call me Tani,” he said, keeping his tone cordial.

Eren sighed.

“Lord Amu,” Eren said. “Your dining table is quite the experience.”

Amu chuckled and continued eating his food.

“Babu already cleaned the kara ot,” Tom said. “Why do you need to check the vineyard?”

“To understand the origin of the black weed,” Eren said. “I wanted to follow the path the black weed used to get to the vineyard.”

“So, did you find out?” Hera asked.

“No,” Eren said, glancing at Tani. “Lo—Tani’s work was thorough. He burned away the black weed and restored the soil. The vineyard will flourish for years; the soil is richer than it was. The olive grove is already looking very vibrant.”

“It would,” Cale said with a little chuckle. He winked when Tani looked at him. “The Arturo Vineyard is very important to someone.”

“Oh,” Eren said waiting for an explanation but getting none from Cale. “The mystery of who brought the black weed still needs to be solved. Such a large infestation in the mortal realm is cause for concern. I’m here to request a favor from Lord Amu.”

“Eren,” Amu said. “We are at the dinner table, having a family dinner. Any favors you want to ask me can wait until later. Please try the kebabs. Tani made them tonight. The meat is very well done.”

Tani nodded and scooped meatballs from the bowl before him. He added some onto his plate and met Deniz’s curious gaze.

“Babu, are you taking my meatballs?” Deniz asked.

“Don’t you want to share with me?” Tani asked, stabbing one with his fork, he brought it to his mouth and took a bite. “Mm, delicious. What about you?”

Deniz took the last bite of the meatball on her fork, and she nodded as she chewed.

“Mm, delicious,” she declared making Tani chuckle. “Babu, you make the best meatballs. I’ll share them only with you. I want to eat meatballs every day. Will you make them?”

“Of course,” Tani said.

“Does Mama get a vote on this plan?” Hera asked.

“No,” Tani and Deniz both said, making everyone laugh at the table.

Hera sighed and took a lettuce leaf, wrapped it around a meatball, and held it out to Deniz. Tani did the same with his meatball and made a show of eating the lettuce wrap. Deniz took hers with less enthusiasm but she ate the lettuce.

“Did the vineyard pay its dues?” Amu asked Tom. “After all, their soil is now restored.”

“I got a payment from Nora Arturo this afternoon,” Tom said. “Dante has also put in a request. He asks for permission to bring a class to tour the fortress.”

“We haven’t had such a request in a while,” Amu said, amused. “Should we let him?”

Tani frowned into his wine glass.

“When did he ask you for the tour?” Tani asked Tom.

“Late this afternoon,” Tom said. “He wanted to get your phone number, but I would not give it. So, he made a request to visit the Elderwood Conservancy fortress. He says there is a class at the Koc University he would like to bring for a tour.”

Tani bit back a smile and sipped his wine.

Did Nora reveal her secrets to Dante?

Tani wondered if the secrets had to do with Kinon. He had promised himself not to think of Dante until tomorrow. He sighed. It was impossible not to think about him.

“Should we allow him the tour?” Tom asked.

“Yes. I think it’s time I see what Dante is like this cycle,” Amu said. “I like talking about the fortress. Molding young minds can be quite entertaining.”

“Uncle Amu,” Tani chided.

“I promise to be gentle with them,” Amu said.

Tani met Tom’s gaze and grinned when Tom shuddered. Tom would have to accompany Uncle Amu. In case, Uncle Amu decides to show off his nine tails to the mortals. The last time he tried it, the government insisted on an audit of their research labs.

“I still have a matter to discuss,” Eren said, drawing Tani’s attention. Her expression was enough to tell him whatever request she wanted from Amu was not easy.

Deniz yawned and Tani returned his attention to her. She had eaten her meatballs and half the vegetables on her plate. She was now rubbing her eyes with her fists. Sleep was calling her.

Tani took his napkin and placed it on the table.

“Deniz, how about I read you a story tonight?” Tani asked, turning to the little girl Hera loved with all her heart.

Deniz turned light brown eyes on him and he smiled at the tomato sauce on the corner of her lips. Tani reached for his napkin and wiped the brown sauce from her golden brown skin. She nodded in approval and sent her thick braids dancing around her head. The colorful ribbons on the tips of the braids made him smile. He had helped tie them on.

Tani touched a red rubber band and wondered if he would get a chance to tie Deniz’s hair in the future. Would Deniz still like making thick braids and tying them with colorful rubber bands when she grew older?

In a strange twist of fate, he owed Dante for helping find this family. He would never have met Deniz if he weren’t tied to Dante, Tani thought.

Tani remembered the feel of Dante’s palms on his face, and he let go of Deniz’s hair. Dante’s smile filled his thoughts. The way he had looked as he wiped away the tears on Tani’s cheeks. Tani wished he had been courageous enough to kiss Dante at that moment, but it felt too soon. They might have met a long time ago, but today was their first time this cycle. Tani sighed and wiped a hand down his face.

“Are we going to finish reading The Lightning Thief?” Deniz asked, pulling him out of the melancholia settling over him.

“We’ll try,” Tani said, and then he glanced at Hera. She wrinkled her nose at him and he adjusted his promise. “We can get through one chapter. Mama wants you asleep soonest.”

“Two chapters,” Deniz negotiated.

“One and a quarter,” Hera said in answer, helping Deniz get off her chair. “Take your plate to the sink, baby.”

“Okay,” Deniz said, taking her plate and her fork. “One and a third.”

Tani grinned and got up too.

“One and a half,” Hera said. “That’s my final offer, kiddo.”

“Two chapters,” Deniz said and raced off to the kitchen sink.

Tani laughed.

“She wins for being audacious.”

“You’re training a terror,” Hera said, shaking her head.

Tani started to reach for his plate.

“Leave it,” Hera said. “You cooked. We’ll clean up. You get Deniz to bed.”

Tani nodded and held out his hand to Deniz when she returned to his side.

“Tell everyone goodnight,” Tani said.

“Goodnight everyone,” Deniz said.

“Goodnight, Deniz,” Cale, Amu, and Tom chorused.

“A very goodnight, Young Deniz,” Eren said last, amusement clear in her voice.

“I’ll stop by your room to check on you,” Hera said.

“Okay, Mama,” Deniz said and led Tani out of the kitchen.

Tani followed Deniz keeping to her pace. She was excited about continuing with Percy Jackson’s adventures.

Tani wanted to avoid dealing with Eren. The members of the Septum always had an agenda with their requests. He wanted to delay knowing why Eren was in his house as long as possible. If Amu could deal with it first, then all the better.

“Bathroom first?” Tani asked when they got upstairs.

“Brush our teeth,” Deniz agreed, showing him her pearly whites. “I don’t want to have cavities.”

“Good girl,” Tani said, opening the door to the suite Hera and Deniz used.

Deniz ran to the bathroom.

Tani closed the door when he heard Eren start talking downstairs.

****

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Tani was grateful when his feet sunk into the soft texture of the Turkish carpet in the living room of his house. Hera dropped into the closest armchair. Resting her head back, her eyes closed as she fought back the effects of his abrupt teleport.

“Why did we run from there?” she asked after a moment.

“Call Tom and let him know not to go to Artri House,” Tani said.

Hera reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She dialed Tom and caught him in the parking lot outside the fortress.

“You’d better park your car. We’re in Babu’s house,” Hera said. “Yes, Babu is awake and functioning. Something unusual happened at the vineyard. He’ll have to tell you.”

She ended the call and sat up, placing the book she held on the coffee table. She let out a heavy sigh.

“We, si, I’m in shock,” Hera said, studying Tani. “Artri House is not ordinary. The people living there are not like other Ekho-blessed. Dante is too powerful. The firepower is held deep inside him, I couldn’t sense his fire. The only other person who makes me feel the same blankness is you. The clothes you have on are not usual, Babu. Where did you get them?”

Tani looked at the clothes he wore.

The red tunic was made of the finest fabric in the Ekho Realm. The threads were woven to withstand the ravages of a flame. It was a sincere gift from Kinon. The god of fire who kept Artri House locked away from Cale.

It made Tani wonder how he had managed to get out of Artri House. The house had allowed his teleport for Dante or for Nora, he didn’t know.

“I found them on the bed upstairs after my shower,” Tani said, unwilling to reveal that Kinon, the god of fire, a man he thought his enemy had gifted him the fine clothes.

“Are the Arturos good?” Hera asked. “Is Artri House a mystery we have to solve?”

“Are you nervous?” Tani asked, smiling at Hera.

“Maybe,” Hera said, staring at the little book on the coffee table. “I liked Nora. She was kind. She’s very observant and knew I had a daughter just by looking at the charm on my bracelet. I—”

“You admire her,” Tani said.

“She’s a strong woman,” Hera said. “Dante Arturo doesn’t look easy to bring up.”

Tani chuckled and shook his head.

Hera narrowed her gaze on him. She looked at him as though she could see his secret.

Tani wondered if she could see the joy filling him inside at the flicker of warmth left by the small part of Dante’s soul lingering inside him. The scent of jasmine still filled his nose. The knowledge that Dante would come looking for him to ask for his reward made him want to laugh.

Tani bit his bottom lip to stop his smile and turned away from Hera.

“Who is Dante to you?” she asked.

“Someone who needed a vineyard cleansed,” Tani said, clearing his throat. He started out of the living room, but Hera stopped him, placing her hand on his right arm.

“Babu,” Hera said, her tone soft, vulnerable.

Tani looked at her then.

“I overheard Cale, and Uncle Amu, discussing a trial and a mortal who hurts you. That the trial will end and you will…,” she trailed off. “He’s not the one, is he? You won’t disappear, will you? I’m afraid if you leave, Deniz and I might not get to see you again.”

“Why won’t you see me?” Tani asked, gently pinching her cheek. “I’m here with you, Deniz, Tom, and Uncle Amu. Where am I going?”

“To the Ekho Realm,” Hera said, her eyes filling with the sheen of tears.

Seeing her tears hurt.

She represented the part of the mortal world he wanted to keep. Tani wanted to see Hera find true love of her own. He wanted to see Deniz get through school, graduate, find her passion, and pursue it. He wanted to help Hera plan her daughter’s wedding in the future. See Tom get married, and hold his children. There was so much.

Where was he going to find the strength to leave them all if he failed with Dante?

Swallowing down the lump of tears lodged in his throat, Tani smiled at Hera.

“Silly child,” he said now. “Why would I leave you and Deniz? Stop worrying and go freshen up, get some rest. It’s been a long morning for all of us. Let’s have dinner tonight as a family. What do you think?”

“Will you cook?” Hera asked, giving him a smile that did not quite reach her eyes.

“Of course,” Tani said. “I’ll even get Cale to help and make him bring us wine. We’ll make Deniz’s favorite.”

“Meatballs again?” Hera sighed. “You and Cale are too much. You spoil Deniz.”

“She’s too cute not to spoil,” Tani said, leaning in to kiss her soft cheek. “Stop worrying, Hera. All is well. I’m going upstairs to change out of these clothes. They feel foreign to me.”

“Okay,” Hera nodded and let go of Tani’s right arm.

Tani left the living room and headed upstairs to his private room. His heart felt heavy. The unshed tears in Hera’s eyes weighed on him. The most he could do about her fear was gift her terrific memories. He had no way of knowing what would happen after Dante’s thirty-sixth birthday.

If he failed to save Dante and failed to win Dante’s love…a love he had no right to have now with Viola in the picture.

Would he have enough power to find a way to stay in the mortal realm for the family he had made here? Would he be lucid enough to fight the Septum?

Letting out a soft sigh, Tani decided to push these worries aside. He was comfortable in a t-shirt and jeans or sweats, so he would change and take a quick nap. Afterward, he would head downstairs and cook for his family.

He would dwell on Dante and the secrets of Artri House another day.

****

That evening, Tani was busy skewering marinated beef pieces for kebabs when Cale strolled in carrying a bottle of red wine.

“We’re cooking,” Cale said, stopping at the kitchen entrance to take in the scents. “Meatballs for young Deniz, kebabs for everyone else, and side dishes. You’re busy, little lordling.”

“You’ve been gone,” Tani said, adding pieces of beef to the skewer he held. He spared Cale a glance, noting the new gray suit. “Did you stop by the tailor?”

“Your idiot beloved singed my new suit,” Cale said, placing the bottle on the kitchen table.

Cale removed his suit jacket and arranged it neatly on the back of a chair. He then folded the sleeves of his white shirt to his elbows and went to wash his hands at the sink. He wiped his hands on a hand cloth at the sink and unhooked a black apron from a hook on the wall.

Tani hid a smile at the caption on the front.

It read, ‘I make a mean deviled egg’. The apron was Hera’s gift to Cale.

“Is the singed suit the reason why you left me with Dante?” Tani asked, watching Cale pick up the bowl filled with clean tomatoes and peeled onions. “I was unconscious, Cale. You should have brought me here.”

“Dante said you promised to stay at Artri. He looked desperate to keep you,” Cale said, finding a knife. He started slicing and dicing, popping a slice of tomato into his mouth in between. “You know I don’t mess around with warlocks of fire. Their firepower is pure. I teleported you outside his bewitched manor, and he took over. I am surprised to see you walking and making family dinner.”

“Me too,” Tani said, pausing to study the gold cuffs he had not bothered hiding. He was home with his family. They all knew he wore the cuffs. No need to hide them. “Dante took the pain from me, and burned it away using a conduit spell.”

“Whoa,” Cale let out a whistle. “Artri House has a powerful gene pool to manage a spell that can heal you.”

Tani thought about Kinon and Artri House’s whispers. He started to mention Kinon being the Septum member who gifted Dante with fire. Something inside him stopped his words. He found himself biting his bottom lip and keeping the secret.

‘Please don’t tell yet,’ Artri whispered in his head.

Tani stood still, staring at the skewer he held.

How could he still hear the manor? Why was the manor begging to keep a secret from Cale?

“Tani?”

He looked up to find Cale watching him.

“What?” Tani asked.

“You’ve been staring at the skewer for a minute and a half. Is something wrong with the beef?” Cale asked.

“No,” Tani said, shaking his head.

Tani adjusted the cubes of meat on the skewer and lined it up with the six skewers he had already made. He pushed away thoughts of Artri House and concentrated on what he was cooking.

“Were you in the Ekho Realm?” Tani asked.

“Yes, they wanted to know why I took the cuffs off,” Cale said, finishing with the tomatoes and onions. He gathered a bunch of lettuce and went to rinse them at the sink. “Your father asked about you. He invited you to stay at the Citadel when your trial ends.”

Tani dropped the skewer he had picked up and braced his hands on the kitchen counter. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and let it out. He took in air again, and let it out slowly. There was no way to escape the wave of anger building inside him when he thought about his parents.

His anger bordered on unquenchable rage. There were times he worried it would consume him.

His parents were not creatures he understood.

How did they end up together? Why did they choose to have him? He wanted to know why they bothered to bring him into a world where they could not live together as a family? Why did his mother hate him? Why did Sunu, his father, refuse to accept Tani’s beloved?

Yes, he lived with a deep anger directed at his parents.

It ate at him, at his soul. The weight in his chest threatened to choke him, and for a minute, he thought he might cry out. Then, the anger lifted off, disappearing, replaced with warmth.

‘Breathe.’ A soft murmur filled his head.

Tani took in air; relief filled him, replacing the flood of anger. He felt calm again.

What was that?

Was it Artri House again? How? Why was it able to neutralize his emotions?

“Drink this,” Cale said, pushing a glass of wine into his right hand. “I’m sorry I brought your father up. He asked about you. Said he wished he could do more for you. I needed to let you know.”

Tani sipped his wine and nodded, preoccupied with the restorative warmth filling him. It felt too similar to the connection with Dante earlier in the day.

“It’s not easy for Sunu,” Cale said.

“I—,” Tani stared into his glass.

It wasn’t easy for him either. What was he supposed to say about a father he barely knew?

“Cale,” Tani said, placing his wine glass on the work table. “It’s been a long day. Can we shelve my father’s message for another day?”

“Okay,” Cale said. “Full disclosure, I brought someone to visit.”

“Who have you brought now?” Tani asked, glaring at Cale.

“Someone who needs a place to sleep,” Cale said. “My apartment has only one bedroom. You know I spend all my time here with you. It would be horrible to take a guest there. Are you willing to host?”

“The fortress is open to guests,” Tani said.

“She’s not fortress fodder,” Cale said.

“Cale.”

“Little Lordling, only your good fortune can keep her comfortable in this mortal realm,” Cale said. “If she stays with mortals she will scar them for life. I should warn you. I left her standing outside.”

“Outside my front door?” Tani asked.

“Yes.”

“You’re an idiot,” Tani said, shaking his head. “Who did you bring?’

“Eren, goddess of the earth.”

“Damn it,” Tani sighed. How many members of the Septum was he going to meet in a day? “Go get her before she makes all my elder bushes bloom for no reason.”

“Um.”

Cale pointed to the picture window at the kitchen sink showing off the garden outside the house. The elder bushes near the house were filled with white flowers. Unusual for this time of year, every mortal in the fortress would notice the sudden splash of white flowers.

“Damn it, she’s ruining my ecosystem. I would tell you to clean it up, but you’ll suck the life out of the Elderwood,” Tani said, watching a large elder bush fill with flowers. “Go get her before she turns the flowers into berries. She can stay, but you get to babysit her. This can’t happen again. Poor Tom will have to come up with an explanation about the weather.”

“Your temper has improved. You haven’t run to the door to kick her out. I really want to know what they did to you at Artri House,” Cale said.

“Let’s say it’s been a long day and I’m exhausted,” Tani said, picking up a skewer. “I don’t have time to chase around a member of the Septum. If she stays here, she lives by the house rules. She eats what we’re having and respects Tom, Hera, and Deniz. I’m not accommodating her because she’s from the Septum.”

“I’ll be sure to lay out the rules,” Cale said, heading to the front door to invite Eren, the Ekho goddess of earth, into Tani’s house.

<<Previous | Table of Contents | Next>>

Dante hurried downstairs, taking the hidden staircase to the basement. He found Nora and Hera bent over a healing book. Nora was explaining the contents of the book to Hera, who nodded to show her understanding.

Dante stopped by the entrance, watching Hera. She wore jeans and a flowery blouse. Her black braids in a tight ponytail on top of her head. Her feet were in work boots, ready to walk the land. She looked like she was in her late twenties, twenty-five maybe. The frown lingering on her forehead was enough to let him know she was still worried about Tani. Her empathy levels were higher than his, Dante thought.

“The basic ingredients in these spells are herbs,” Nora explained. “Easily found in a kitchen garden. The rest is the magik found in your elemental gifts. Your affinity is water, so you would need to find the pages which discuss how to use your element.”

“I’m surprised you have information on water users,” Hera said, tracing her index finger on the open page.

“We are of fire, but some of our extended relatives belonged to the water, earth, and wind. It’s not uncommon to fill our library of books with information about other elements.”

“You say the same things babu does,” Hera said. “I’m always looking for a way to help him. I need to learn how to quiet my abilities when he is facing an overload.”

“This is a skill we teach our young children early,” Nora said, moving away from the large desk they were using.

Nora disappeared into the maze of tall bookshelves laden with books to the east of the room. She returned a moment later with a small book Dante recognized. He had needed to memorize its contents at the age of ten.

Nora noticed him leaning on a pillar and smiled.

“You’re here,” Nora said. “Is he alright?”

“He’s awake,” Dante said, drawing Hera’s full attention.

Her dark brown eyes were wide with surprise. She straightened up from where she was leaning over the desk.

“How?” she asked.

“I found a way to help him deal with the pain,” Dante said.

“Good,” Nora said and moved to Hera’s side by the desk. “This little book teaches how to control our elemental affinities. How to reduce their leakage; hold them in check, and release them at will. All children born in our house master these techniques by age ten.”

“Oh,” Hera said, taking the small book from Nora. “My house lets us learn at our own pace as needed.”

“We are of fire,” Nora said, squeezing Hera’s right arm. “It’s not easy to explain a burned down house or even burnt skin on a stranger. We must control our fire from when we are very young. Otherwise, we’re bound to have disastrous outcomes.”

“Makes sense,” Hera said, hugging the small book.

“Keep this copy,” Nora said. “For you and your daughter.”

“How did you—?” Hera started.

Nora reached out to touch the charm bracelet on Hera’s wrist. It had a charm with the name Deniz on it.

“Oh,” Hera said, a smile lighting up her face. “You’re observant.”

“I mothered Dante,” Nora said, nodding in his direction. “Observation remains a required skill. Otherwise, he might have burned down this vineyard by age three if left unchecked.”

Hera chuckled and looked at Dante.

“Babu?” Hera asked, looking behind Dante, her gaze was expectant.

“Tani asked for a few moments alone,” Dante said. “He also asked me to make you milk tea and not our Turkish blend. He said you would show me.”

Hera’s smile was instant and wide. She hugged the book in her hands tighter and relaxed. The tension in her shoulders eased.

Dante realized Tani had sent a message to Hera. A message to help her not worry anymore.

“I’d love some milk tea,” Hera said, with a happy nod.

“Great. Let’s go to the kitchen then,” Nora said. “Dante what would our guest want to eat? I’ll make it.”

“Hera will know,” Dante said, waiting for her to reach him before he led the way to the stairs.

When they got to the kitchen, Dante found the milk in the fridge. He found a small pot, while Nora and Hera bonded over tea blends.

“It is almost lunch. Allow me to cook for you, Tom, and Mr. Ryuzo. What does Mr. Ryuzo like to eat?” Nora asked.

“Babu?” Hera asked.

Dante narrowed his gaze on his mother, but she avoided looking at him as she nodded in answer to Hera.

“Oh, he has a terrible sweet tooth,” Hera said. “He loves sweet things. I make him coffee cookies often. Otherwise, for real food, he will eat stuffed baked potatoes every day if you let him.”

“How lucky,” Nora said, hurrying to the kitchen counter where the gas range was set up with a hood above it. She opened the oven doors and reached for oven mitts. She pulled out a tray with baked potatoes wrapped in foil. “I made a good guess for lunch today.”

Hera grinned, but Dante’s gaze turned suspicious as he looked at his mother. She knew more about Tani Ryuzo than she was letting on.

“Hera, you’d better help Dante make your tea,” Nora said. “Otherwise, you will wait years for it.”

Dante scowled at her, making Hera chuckle.

Hera walked around the island table to where he stood near the fridge and took the pot from him. She measured milk with the mug, poured it into the pot, then handed him the milk bottle to return to the fridge.

“How long have you lived with Tani?” Dante asked, refusing to call a man he wanted to kiss Babu.

Tani had to be the hottest grandpa he ever met.

“All my life,” Hera said, taking the pot of milk and the empty mug to the gas range. She detoured to the sink and added water to her mug. She added that to the milk and turned on the fire.

Dante found a bag of their best tea leaves and a sieve. He moved to Hera’s side.

Nora was busy checking the baked potatoes to make sure they were cooked.

“How long is all your life?” Dante asked Hera, arranging the packet of tea leaves next to her mug.

“It’s rude to ask a lady her age,” Nora said.

“I don’t mind telling but I won’t,” Hera said, winking at Dante. “We don’t know each other well enough, Dante. I can say Babu has been a part of my life since I could open my eyes. He helped feed me my first taste of mashed pumpkin and carrot.”

“You promptly helped me wear it on my face,” Tani said, making them all turn to the kitchen entrance.

Tani stood looking healthy again in a red long-sleeved tunic shirt with gold embroidery on the open collar and dark jeans. His red-brown hair damp from a recent shower. There was no trace of pain on his face.

Dante’s gaze dropped to Tani’s feet. The man was killing him, walking around the manor with no shoes. It felt…so intimate. Like Tani belonged here. He wished Tani would spend more time in the manor looking this comfortable.

“Dante?” Nora’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“Hm…,” Dante dragged his gaze away from Tani’s bare feet to find his mother glaring at him. “What?”

“Hera asked you to hand her the sieve you’re holding,” Tani said.

Dante turned to Hera who watched him with amusement, unlike Nora who shook her head. He smiled and handed over the sieve to Hera.

Tani sauntered to the island table and pulled out a chair. He sat and rested his elbows on the table. Dante wondered what Tani would do if he went over and sat next to him.

“How are you feeling?” Nora asked Tani.

“Much better,” Tani said, giving her a small smile. “The best outcome of our encounter is that the vineyard is cleansed.”

“Cleansed of what?” Nora asked, facing Tani, her eyes wide.

“Black weed,” Dante said.

When Nora kept staring at Tani, he sat back in his chair and returned her gaze.

“The Kara ot we found in the olive grove is a deadly weed found in the Ekho Realm. The olive grove was suffering from a serious infection. The weed grows underground, sucking up nutrients from the soil and all living beings close to its location.”

“How did the olive trees survive?” Nora asked, abandoning the baked potatoes, she moved to stand before Tani.

“The olive grove is old, seasoned. The roots are able to reach further away for nutrients. We can say the olive trees survived because of their age,” Tani said.

“What happens now?” Nora asked. “Will Kara ot return?”

“It will not return unless someone brings it. The vineyard is cleansed and the soil nutrients restored,” Tani said.

“You burned away the black weed and all its traces from our land,” Dante said.

“Yes,” Tani said, his gaze dropping to his wrists. “It’s the only way to remove the black weed. Our Ekho abilities burn the weed away. It is the duty of those like us in our realm to keep the black weed under control. Left unattended it burrows deeper, and finds a new place to root if we don’t get it all.”

“How did a weed from the Ekho Realm get into our vineyard?” Nora asked with a sigh.

Tani looked up then.

“Have you had a visit from one of us?” Tani asked, narrowing his gaze.

“No,” Dante said.

“Yes,” Nora said.

Tani’s right brow lifted in surprise.

Dante turned to his mother in surprise.

How did she know an Ekho who could visit Artri House? Artri House whispered all its secrets to him. So, how could she keep a visit from an Ekho from him?

Unless they did not meet in the manor, or near it.

Dante reached out to touch his mother’s shoulder but she moved away from him.

Nora returned to her baking sheet lined with baked potatoes. She tested the foil around one potato before she went to wash her hands at the sink.

Hera finished with the milk tea. She took the empty pot to the sink and added water for it to soak.

Hera then carried the two mugs of milk tea she had made around the island table. She placed one mug before Tani.

Tani thanked her with a wide smile. A smile that lit his face up, making Dante’s heart squeeze tight at the sight of it. He wished he could get a similar smile turned to him too.

It was frustrating to know that Tani reserved his smiles for Hera.

Hera slid into the chair next to Tani and sipped from her mug. Tani followed suit, sipping his milk tea, his gaze returning to Nora. He waited for an answer to his question.

Dante gave the pair at the island table one last glance before he turned his attention to his mother.

“Mom?” Dante asked, leaning on the island table, curious when Nora kept her back to him. “What’s going on? Is there something I should know?”

“There are things I cannot say. I called your father, and the grandmaster, as soon as Mr. Ryuzo entered this manor,” Nora said, her tone heavy, as though she carried a weight she could not easily let down. “The truths I know have to come from you grandmaster, Dante.”

“Yes, but answering Tani’s question should be easy,” Dante said. “He did help our vineyard.  Our olive grove is saved. Telling him who might have brought a deadly weed from the Ekho Realm is the least we can do.”

“I wish I could say the name,” Nora said, turning to look at Dante, her eyes red. “I cannot. I’m sworn to secrecy.”

“Secrecy?” Dante started to protest. “What are you talking about, Mom?”

“I—I—,” Nora broke off, and swallowed hard, her eyes filled with worry.

She started to step toward Dante but stopped. She looked at Tani with a deep frown.

“I understand,” Tani said, placing his mug on the table, his gaze on Nora, even as Dante turned to him. “Hera, do you have things you need to collect here?”

“Only a book and your clothes from the laundry,” Hera said.

“Forget the clothes,” Tani said. “Take your book.”

Hera complied without asking more questions. She got up, took her mug and Tani’s to the sink, and then retrieved the spell book Nora gave her from the counter. She returned to Tani’s side.

“Wait—” Dante said, realizing Tani’s intention.

“Your family has heavy secrets,” Tani said. “From your mother’s expression and the visible pain it is causing her when she tries to tell you, I imagine these secrets cannot be said in my presence. I am an outsider.”

“No,” Dante shook his head, hating the visible sting in Tani’s eyes.

This was not going how he had wanted. He had hoped for a quiet lunch with Tani and Hera, to get to know them better.

Nora swallowed hard and shook her head, her gaze apologetic when she looked at Tani.

It was absurd. What unmentionable secrets could his family have?

Tani had admitted to being an Ekho. It was the largest secret anyone could keep, so what right did they have to keep secrets from him?

“Mom, tell Tani he can stay,” Dante said, turning to Nora. “You—”

“Hera and I will return to Elderwood now. I thank you, Dante, for burning my pain today,” Tani cut in. “I owe you a gift in return. You may request anything of me, but keep it reasonable. As you know, I’m not at full power. I will grant your request. You can call Tom King when you want to find me.”

“But—”

Tani held out his right hand to Hera, holding Dante’s gaze, a small knowing smile playing on his lips.

Dante started to go around the island table, determined to stop Tani.

“It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Arturo,” Hera said, and took Tani’s hand.

Tani and Hera shimmered in a cloud of gold and then they were gone.

It was the first record of an Ekho leaving from within Artri House. The manor’s records did not have information on another who had managed. They all left through the front door. The records had the few who had stepped into Artri House teleporting from the front step.

Nora let out a relieved sigh and leaned back on the counter, breathing hard. She pointed to the potted plants along the wide kitchen window. Their leaves were vibrant green, the white flowers on the oregano peaking out next to the rosemary.

“Your Ryuzo is blessed with good fortune. He made the flowers on my herbs bloom before their time,” Nora said, amused. “He’s a charmer.”

“Mom!” Dante glared at her. “You made him leave before I could get a word in.”

“I’m sorry. He’s not an easy one to keep. You’re going to need to work harder than healing his pain, Dante,” Nora said, shaking her head. “Artri House has not stood this long because of good fortune. The more I think about it, the more it feels like misfortune.”

“Does this have to do with the warning in the family grimoire?” Dante asked.

“Yes. Your grandmother told me the truth about Artri House before she died. She worried another generation would pass by without a resolution for Ryuzo. The moment your grandmaster discovered I knew about the warning, and why it exists, he locked the secrets away with his fire,” Nora said with a sigh.

“How could he?” Dante asked. “You are of fire. It should not harm you.”

“He’s more powerful,” Nora said, shaking her head. “The only thing I ever agreed about with Viola was the callous nature of the men in this house. Your hearts are coated with ice, despite your firepower.”

Dante frowned at her.

“If I tried to tell the secrets of Artri House to outsiders I would burn to a crisp, Dante. Thinking about it now, your grandmaster has a very cruel streak. I’ve always been a believer in righting wrongs at the earliest possible time. However, I’m not an Arturo by blood. I cannot make decisions for your father and his great-grandfather, or for you, Dante. This is why we have to wait for your father, and Grandmaster Landi to get here.”

“What is this you can’t say before Tani? These secrets will ruin me,” Dante said, pulling out a chair at the island table, his gaze on the chair Tani had used. “Who knows when I will get to meet Tani Ryuzo again?”

“We’ll leave that to fate,” Nora said, with a shrug. She turned her attention to the baked potatoes on the baking sheet and sighed. “It’s too bad I did not get a chance to make him my stuffed baked potato. I think he would have loved them.”

Stuffed baked potatoes aside, he would have loved Tani to sit at this table longer.

Something about Tani shook his heart and filled him with…longing. The heart his mother called callous squeezed tight, as though robbed of something precious. He pressed his right hand to his chest mourning a loss.

Dante frowned.

****

<< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >>

Tears, Tani scoffed. He could not even wipe them away because Dante held his elbows, locked in a conduit spell. Shaking his head, he cursed under his breath and met Dante’s curious gaze.

“What else hurts?” Dante asked, still taking Tani’s pain.

The heavier wave of discomfort eased. Tani was finding it easier to wrestle his considerable power into staying locked within the prison the binding spell created using the gold cuffs on his wrists. Force his very life force to stay within the prison the Septum insisted he deserved for loving this man.

“I’m feeling better,” Tani said when Dante kept studying him with concern. “The pain is bearable now.”

“You’re crying.”

“I’m clearly not crying,” Tani said, despite his clumped lashes and the wet tear tracks running down his cheeks.

Dante studied his face for a moment and then smiled.

“Are you very happy I helped with the pain that it’s brought you to tears?” Dante asked when the pain he was taking in trickled into nothing.

Tani chuckled.

“You take yourself very seriously, Dante.”

“I should. No one else will if I don’t.”

Tani chuckled again and shook his head.

“Why do you wear these gold cuffs?” Dante asked. “Why can’t we find a way to remove them? This Cale is not your friend if he returns them on you knowing the damage they cause.”

Tani bit his bottom lip, his gaze dropping to the gold cuffs he had kept on for nine hundred years plus. There was a time the cuffs drove him mad. It was right after his sentencing. He could not be with Dante at the time, so he retreated to the forest where his Uncle Amu kept up their first home.

The first one hundred years were hell.

Uncle Amu once found him holding an axe wondering how he could cut the cuffs off to escape the crippling prison the Septum forced on him. Afraid Tani might genuinely lose his mind, Amu and Cale restrained him in a locked room in the forest for a decade. It took that long for him to accept his prison, accept his life force would remain locked away until Dante chose him.

Dante was the only one who could save him from the cuffs.

It was funny to hear him ask why Tani would wear them. If Tani rejected these cuffs, he would be dragged back to the Ekho Realm forever. He would never meet Dante again. The thought made him sick to the stomach.

What was a little pain?

“I told you when we met in the olive grove,” Tani said. “Why I have to wear these can’t be explained on our first meeting. We need to get to know each other more.”

“Does it mean you won’t disappear on me?” Dante asked, and Tani looked up to find Dante studying him. “I threatened to burn Cale’s suit to keep you with us earlier. If he comes back again, I’m afraid you’ll leave with him.”

“You threatened Cale’s suit?” Tani asked, grinning. “I know you’re of fire, but Cale values his bespoke suits. He is capable of holding a very deep grudge.”

Dante chuckled.

“Is he the god of calamities?” Dante asked.

Tani nodded.

“Why are you hanging out with such a sinister character?” Dante asked.

“He’s not so sinister,” Tani said. “Just because he presides over dark desires does not mean he is disagreeable.”

“Only an Ekho would think that way,” Dante said, squeezing Tani’s elbows. “We lowly humans are terrified of the god of calamities and his dark, dark eyes.”

“I suppose he is an acquired taste,” Tani said. “I’ve known Cale a long time. He’s been a companion when I didn’t know I needed one. You’ll find comfort in the unlikeliest of places.”

Dante frowned.

“Are you two—?” Dante asked, and then stopped, the lines between his brows deepening.

Tani hid a smile and returned his attention to the thin lines tying his arms to Dante.

“You should stop now,” Tani said. “I am no longer in pain. I can manage any that arises from a flare-up. The worst is over.”

“Are you sure?” Dante asked. “We can keep the connection on for a little longer.”

Tani met Dante’s brown eyes. How he wished they could keep touching like this, locked together. The memory of Dante’s family filled him. The images of two children, and Viola, their mother, living in the US slashed through him.

He let go of Dante’s arms and started to move back.

“Wait,” Dante said, frowning again. “Let me disconnect us, otherwise you’ll only hurt when you try to compensate for the loss of my power healing you.”

“Has anyone told you that you’re too overconfident in your abilities?” Tani asked.

“Everyone,” Dante said, winking at him.

“How do you walk around with that big head on your shoulders?”

“I’ve always had it, so it’s no trouble,” Dante said.

Tani huffed and watched as Dante slowly withdrew the power he extended to him, the conduits fading from Tani’s arms, unwrapping from around his elbows. They returned to Dante and Tani was free.

His first instinct was to shift back. He reminded his heart that he wasn’t here to get close to Dante but to save him from whatever killed him at thirty-six.

Tani gasped when Dante grabbed his right arm and stopped his getaway.

Dante leaned in too close, their faces an inch apart.

“Don’t teleport out of this house,” Dante said, smiling, his brown eyes filled with amusement and…something else.

“Why?” Tani asked, he’d been about to return to Elderwood.

He needed a bit of time away from Dante. A moment to gain back his balance after Dante handed him a small part of himself despite the chasm between them.

“Artri House is warded against Cale, and all Ekho coming ins and outs,” Dante said. “An ancestor of mine was obsessed with finding a way to either keep one of you in here or one of you out. We could never figure it out.”

Tani tried it anyway, closing his eyes, reaching for his dampened powers, hoping to travel a familiar path back home to the fortress. Instead of the warm energy of home responding and pulling him home, a black wall of nothing greeted his attempts.

He sighed and opened his eyes to find Dante studying him.

“You promised to stay and tell me more about why you’re here, Tani Ryuzo. Your ward is downstairs with my mother hoping you feel better soon. She cried when you were in pain. In any case, my mother has healing spells she can learn for other situations.”

“What are you trying to say?” Tani asked.

“You should stay here at Artri House,” Dante said, still holding Tani’s right arm. “I have questions—”

Tani scoffed.

“Because you have questions, you somehow feel you have the right to get answers right away,” Tani said.

“You did promise to stay in the olive grove,” Dante said, his grip tightening on Tani’s arm.

“I did,” Tani said with a slow nod. “But it was before I knew what it would take to cleanse your vineyard. This…,”

Tani used his free hand to point to them, sitting on a bed, half-naked hours after meeting for the first time. Dante having used a very intimate spell to save him.

“It’s-it’s more than I expected to give on our first meeting.”

“Okay,” Dante said, though he did not make a move to shift away or let go of Tani’s arm.

Their knees stayed pressed together. Tani took a deep breath and the scent of jasmine filled him up. It was torture. He broke their gaze and stared instead at Dante’s bare chest.

He didn’t remember when Dante had removed his t-shirt.

Tani curled his fingers into tight fists to stop himself from pressing his palms on Dante’s chest. To feel his warm skin, discover the sound of his heartbeat…

Tani closed his eyes, his nails digging into his palms.

“What do you need of me so that you can stay?” Dante asked in a low cajoling voice. “I’ll give it to you. Anything but you leaving.”

He pressed his palms on Tani’s face, using his thumbs to wipe away the lingering tears on Tani’s skin. Dante was not playing fair. Every part of him trembled at Dante’s touch, his caress. How long had it been since he had been touched like this?

Too long, Tani’s heart skipped with joy and he let out a shaky breath.

“Dante Arturo.”

“I like how you say my name. It sounds like an important discovery. Like your voice is making love to me.”

Tani shook his head, opening his eyes to meet serious brown eyes.

“You’re a shameless flirt,” Tani accused, making Dante smile.

“Please stay,” Dante said again, this time he begged.

Tani sighed and pulled Dante’s hands away.

“I need space. Leave me alone and go find Hera. Make her milk tea, not the Turkish-brewed blend, but her way. I need time to get my head together. Okay?”

“Okay,” Dante said. “Anything else?”

Tani closed his eyes testing out the black wall of nothing he was facing when he tried to leave

‘Can’t leave yet. He wants you to stay.’

It took him a minute to realize it was the manor itself forcing him to stay within its walls.

“Your house makes the rules according to what you want,” Tani said. “It’s choosing not to let me leave. Let it know Cale is important to me.”

Tani opened his eyes in time to see Dante give him a fierce scowl. The second one was in reference to Cale.

“Why is the god of calamity important to you?” Dante asked, his expression turning cold, hard.

“We don’t know each other well yet for me to give you an answer,” Tani said.

“I dream about you,” Dante said, surprising Tani.

Ha, this is a new one, Tani thought. Why would Dante dream of him?

“They are old dreams, older than should be possible. Three lifetimes now, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth century. I don’t know if the dreams are real.”

“Is this how you knew I was Ryuzo?” Tani asked, surprised by this development.

“Yes,” Dante said. “In them, we—we were…we are…”

Tani studied Dante for a moment, and then because he was not ready to find out what kind of dreams Dante was having, he smiled and clasped Dante’s hands.

“Go take care of Hera for me. She worries when she thinks I’m in trouble. Give me some time, and let Cale in.”

Dante sighed and let go of Tani’s hands. He got off the bed and stretched his arms over his head.

Tani tried and failed not to stare at the effortless movement of muscles as Dante stretched. He wished he could run his hands over Dante’s back, feel him respond to his touch; trace his fingers on the perfect line down his spine. Press a kiss on the nape of Dante’s neck.

Tani looked away when Dante caught him staring.

Dante bent down and picked up his t-shirt with a slow grin.

“What would you like to eat?” Dante asked, wearing his t-shirt. “I’m a decent cook. You must be hungry after all the energy you’ve expended today.”

“Hera will know,” Tani said.

“You defer to her a lot,” Dante said with a small frown. “She’s important to you.”

When Tani only nodded, Dante’s frown disappeared.

“Then, I’ll check on her and make sure she knows you’re doing better.”

“Thank you,” Tani said, and pointed to the door. “Please close the door when you go out.”

“So bossy,” Dante said, pausing to study Tani. “All you’ve done is told me what to do.”

“You said all I had to do was say what I wanted. Will you do it or not?” Tani asked.

“I’m going,” Dante said. “I like your bossiness. Might want you to do it more. Except in my bedroom. I’ll want to take over then. I promise you won’t regret it.”

Tani scowled at Dante.

Dante grinned and winked at him as he left the guest room. He made sure to close the door with a distinct click.

Tani let out a soft breath, the scent of Jasmine dissipating from the room, letting Tani know how far Dante was. He waited three minutes until Dante was going down the stairs to let out the cough he had been holding in his chest.

Scrambling off the bed, Tani hurried to the open door near the entrance into the room and was grateful to find a fully equipped washroom. He leaned over the sink and coughed out a mouthful of blood.

“Uncle Amu,” Tani said, willing the manor to let his uncle into the room.

When Amu did not appear, Tani sighed and closed his eyes, focusing on the dark wall cutting him off from Amu and Cale.

“Dante can’t help me. I need help stabilizing the power balance inside me. It has to be an Ekho doing it.”

‘I’ll bring one to the manor.’

One moment Tani was rinsing out his mouth in the sink, washing away blood, the next Kinon, the god of fire, stood behind him.

“You—,” Tani started, surprise on his face.

“Artri called,” Kinon said, with a quick grin. “Sneaky lordling. I see you’ve discovered one of my secrets.”

Tani wanted to ask more but the energy inside him punched at his veins. He coughed again, his mouth filling with blood. The blood he coughed up was a result of internal damage caused by his revolting powers. He needed an Ekho to help him regulate the meager energy inside him, remind his system it no longer needed to compensate for the massive amount of power now locked away.

Cale usually helped, or Uncle Amu. But now—

Kinon gave Tani a critical glance, then placed his hands on Tani’s shoulders and made him turn to the mirror. Tani spat out the blood into the sink, turning on the water to wash it away.

“What are you doing here?” Tani asked, shocked to meet one of the Septum in Dante’s house.

“The manor called me,” Kinon said, sliding his palms over Tani’s shoulders to his back. “Stop talking and take in a deep breath.”

A thousand questions on his tongue, Tani pushed them aside and complied with Kinon’s request.

Kinon’s palms warmed on his back, the heat seeping deep under his skin, rolling through Tani restoring balance, and healing damaged pathways. The walls on the cage holding Tani’s power solidified and sealed.

The pressure weighing on Tani’s shoulders eased and he took in an easier breath.

“Cale returns the cuffs with too much force,” Kinon said, dropping his hands away from Tani’s back. “Call for me the next time you need to remove them.”

“Will you answer?” Tani asked, shocked Kinon would offer.

“Why would I refuse, little lordling?” Kinon asked.

Tani frowned, looking at Kinon through the mirror.

“You—”

“Before you accuse me of being callous, remember I live in my domain most of the time. Pushing you to choose your people is what I should do as a member of the Septum,” Kinon said. “As a fellow Ekho, an individual with my own beliefs, I retain a healthy sympathy for the less fortunate.”

Tani scoffed.

“In which reality do I qualify as less fortunate?”

“This one,” Kinon said, moving to lean on the sink counter on Tani’s left side.

Unlike Cale who had assimilated into the human culture, Kinon dressed in the Ekho Realm traditions. That or Artri House had called on him from his domain.

Now that was an interesting connection to explore, Tani frowned. His gaze lingered on the red sleeveless long loose shirt Kinon wore, the edges of the open collar embroidered with thin gold lines. He wore dark trousers that disappeared into red boots with gold studs. The cuff clasped around his left bicep was carved with ekho realm symbols. It was similar to the cuffs on Tani’s wrists, though Tani doubted it served the same purpose.

Tani looked into Kinon’s crimson eyes and his frown deepened when he read pity.

“You’re meant for a greater purpose,” Kinon said, shaking his head. “I would like to see you help your father guard the Septum’s balance. Live the life you deserve in the Citadel. Your blood unites two powerful clans in our Ekho Realm.”

“I am living a life I have chosen,” Tani said, looking away from Kinon. Hating the pity in Kinon’s eyes because it meant the Septum saw him as a failure, a deviant. “I do not need nor want your pity, god of fire.”

“Mortal life is fleeting, child,” Kinon said. “One blink of an eye in the face of the thousands of millennia we live. Your obsession with this one will fill you with pain for a moment after he’s gone. The pain will fade and you will forget. I look forward to talking to you then.”

“Why is Artri House calling you?” Tani asked.

Kinon chuckled.

“Such a deadly question, you deflect a topic with skill, little lordling. I am not ready to give you those answers.”

Tani’s gaze narrowed at him.

“You’re the reason Dante is so powerful,” Tani said. “You’ve interfered with a lineage.”

“My interference is not for you to judge,” Kinon said. “All you need to know is that Artri House is under my care. Cale is not welcome in my domain. If you want to see him, step outside in the courtyard or call him to Elderwood. You’ll need clothes after you clean up. I’ve left some on the bed for you. Take care of yourself, Tani. None of us enjoy hearing you are in pain.”

Kinon left as fast as he appeared.

Tani cursed under his breath and turned on the sink. He took in several deep breaths, fighting for control. His anger rose at Kinon’s comments about his higher purpose. What right did the Septum have to judge his small purpose?

It was his life, his millennias of loneliness if Dante left him again. Not theirs.

Tani cupped his hands under the water and splashed his face, cooling his temper. His thoughts lingered on Kinon and the members of the Septum. They all thought him insane. As though one could direct their heart in love.

Closing his eyes, his mind’s eye filled with Dante. How he’d looked sitting on the bed with him, helping him with the pain. The sound of his voice as he begged Tani to stay. The presence of the small part of Dante filled a small part of the emptiness inside him.

Insane or not, his choice was worth having Kinon call him a fool, Tani decided. He would rather be a fool than never have known Dante.

Taking in a calming breath, Tani glanced at the spacious glass stall on his left and decided he needed a shower. Warm water cascading over him always washed away his doubts and stress.

****

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At the Arturo Vineyard, in the majestic manor, the Arturo family called Artri House, Tani rested on a large bed with comfortable blue sheets. He was dressed down in comfortable sweatpants borrowed from Dante’s closet. His t-shirt and jeans were already in the washing machine in the laundry room.

No sheet covered him and his red-brown hair was damp with sweat. His body shook with unending spasms, his jaw clenched tight as though to keep his mouth shut, allowing no sound to escape his lips. The muscles on his arms were taut, as he clenched his fingers in tight fists. Holding himself tight, in place as best as he could.

Dante could only assume the spasms Tani endured were pain-filled. They were alone in the room. Hera was downstairs making a list of items for Tom to bring back from their home. A home Dante realized they all shared somewhere in the Elderwood Conservancy. Nora was in the basement in search of a healing spell that would help an Ekho.

Dante was sure she would call the family grandmaster in and his father. He shuddered at the thought.

Reaching for the white washcloth in the bowl resting on the bedside table, he squeezed out warm water. Dante used the washcloth to wipe the sweat off Tani’s brow. He wiped off sweat beads on Tani’s flawless hairline, passing the cloth over Tani’s hair. Changing direction, he brought the cloth to wipe at Tani’s neck, along his ears where he noticed five Elderwood leaves made of gold, decorating Tani’s right earlobe like earrings. He leaned closer to inspect them, expecting to find pins on the other side, but they did not have pins. The leaves were part of Tani’s skin.

Dante had not noticed them before. Perhaps because of Tani’s hair falling over his ear, or the glamour he dropped earlier in the olive grove.

A hard spasm racked through Tani again. Dante dropped the washcloth on the pillow. He placed his hands on Tani’s forearms holding him in place, pouring healing energy into Tani’s body as much of it as he could. He wanted to ease Tani’s pain any way he could.

To Dante’s shock, Tani’s eyes opened slightly, eyes shining like gold.

Tani let out a soft moan and then bit his lip hard as the spasms increased in force.

“Let go of him,” Hera said behind him.

Dante could not bring himself to let go of Tani when he kept trembling as though his body wanted to explode into pieces. He could only hold on and hope to keep Tani together.

“You are adding to the pain,” Hera said, placing a gentle hand on Dante’s shoulder. “Stop giving him your healing energy and you will see I’m telling the truth.”

Dante hissed, horrified by the thought of adding to Tani’s pain. He drew back his power and the spasms slowed. Tani’s eyes closed, he breathed easier and seemed to return to a point of rest.

Dante let go of Tani and stood, shaking his head he moved away from the bed.

“Why?” Dante asked, watching Hera take his place next to Tani.

She took the white towel he had been using and rinsed it in the bowl of warm water. She then wiped down Tani’s bare chest. Her movements were efficient, as though she did it for a living. It was clear to him that this was not the first time she had cared for Tani. She was careful not to touch Tani in her ministrations.

Hera wiped down Tani’s right arm, pausing when she reached the gold cuff around Tani’s wrist.

“You must have seen the terrible power Babu released today,” Hera said, as she wiped Tani’s fist, wincing as she worked to open Tani’s fingers so she could wipe dirt off his hand. “When Cale takes off the cuffs, it floods out of him like pressurized water breaking the walls of a large dam. It is terrifying, suffocating power, isn’t it?”

Dante crossed his arms against his chest, his gaze on Tani’s face. He leaned on the wall closest to the bed, unable to look away, taking in the beads of sweat that had appeared on Tani’s brow again.

“I couldn’t breathe when he first let it out,” Dante agreed with Hera’s assessment of Tani’s power.

“That’s right, it’s suffocating,” Hera said with a nod.

She returned the washcloth to the bowl and sat next to Tani without touching him. Her gaze fixed on the gold cuffs. Tani clenched his hands into fists again as a tremor swept through his body. A tear rolled down her cheek and Dante understood Hera’s worry.

She reached up to wipe off the tear on her right cheek.

“The cuffs are restraining that awful power. It fights back, wanting release after so long in captivity. Babu’s body suffers until he can control the effects the cuffs place upon him. At times he will bleed, but today he seems to be doing his best to hold it together.”

As if on cue, Tani’s eyes opened again, glowing gold for a few minutes before he closed his eyes and his torso arched off the bed in a hard spasm. Tani’s jaw was locked tight, but a strangled cry escaped his clenched teeth.

The sound of the harsh cry had Hera getting up in a panic. Her eyes filled with horror as she made to reach out for Tani, but then she could not touch him. Her hands hovered over him for a moment, frantic. Then she turned a panicked gaze to Dante.

He was surprised when lunged for him, grabbing his right arm and pulling him to the bed.

“I cannot control my elemental gifts,” Hera said, shaking her head, tears now streaming down her cheeks. “If I touch him, my power seeps into him. I bring him more pain. I notice you can control yours. You pulled it back and held him. So, hold him down, Dante. Please hold Babu down.”

Dante nodded and knelt on the bed.

A rippling blaze flooded his senses the moment he pressed his palm on Tani’s flat stomach. Tani’s skin was hot to the touch, damp with sweat. He fought his first instinct, which was to caress, slide his fingers over smooth skin, and memorize the contours of Tani’s muscles as they arched into his touch.

Hera watched him with tear-filled eyes.

Pushing back his urges, Dante pressed Tani’s abdomen down to the bed. He straddled Tani’s body and placed his right hand on Tani’s left shoulder, holding him in place as Tani continued trembling in violent spasms.

Tani’s eyes fixed on him. For the first time, he unclenched his fingers from the tight fists and bunched the sheets tightly. Dante noticed the change, holding Tani’s gaze as the gold intensified. Heat seeped into his left palm. Dante dragged his gaze away from Tani’s face to where his palm rested on sweat-coated skin. His hand was covered in a gold mist that seemed to pulse at the point of contact. Pulling on the heat from Tani’s body.

An idea filled his head. One he had tested during his training days with the grandmaster but had never had an opportunity to try in a real setting. No powerful beings had crossed his path until now. The heat rolling off Tani made him hot, his cock hardened and he bit his lip hard to stop a soft moan.

They needed to be alone.

Dante glanced at Hera. He needed to get her out of the room.

“My mother is finding a healing spell in the basement of this house,” Dante said. “Take the stairs down, when you reach the front hall, head to the kitchen. You will find an open door going into the basement before you reach the kitchen. Tell my mother to hurry.”

“There was no door there,” Hera said, shaking her head.

“Trust me, you will find a door,” Dante said, keeping his voice as gentle as he could. “Go, I’ll watch over your Babu.”

Hera wiped away her tears, hesitating as her gaze remained on Tani’s gritted teeth.

“Why do you call him Babu?” Dante asked, curious.

“It means grandfather in my language,” Hera said, a fond smile coming through the worry. “I’m his ward. He has taken care of me all my life. I hate to see him in so much pain.”

“Alright. Hera, the only way to ease his pain is if you head downstairs. Mom won’t know to hurry unless you tell her.” Dante promised him. “Go. I’ll watch over him.”

“Okay,” Hera said, then sprinted out of the room.

Dante let go of Tani and slammed the door closed with his will, making sure the lock turned. Pulling off his own shirt, he threw it on the carpeted floor and gripped Tani’s arms. He pulled Tani up, making him sit, helping the unconscious ekho cross his legs. He slid his right hand to the back of Tani’s head, holding him in place.

“Tani,” Dante murmured, sweeping damp red hair away from Tani’s face when locks of it fell over Tani’s eyes.

Tani’s closed eyes made his heartache. The ice around Dante’s heart broke another inch and the urge to restore Tani’s health filled him up. Tani trembled again, hands shaking with the effort to hold himself together.

Dante cursed under his breath.

“I don’t know what is pulling me closer to you,” Dante said, his gaze dropped to Tani’s lips.

Tani bit his bottom lip hard working to keep from crying out.

Dante brushed a thumb over Tani’s ravaged lip, hoping to ease the bite, but Tani only whimpered and bit harder. Dante let out a sigh of defeat.

“If what Hera says about your cuffs is true, my mother’s spells will not help. They will only infuse more healing energy into you, which will make you hurt more. You’re left with my methods,” Dante said, crossing his legs so that his knees pressed to Tani’s knees. “I will help you.”

Dante’s hand slipped away from Tani’s neck, and he started to fall back on the bed. Dante gripped Tani’s bare arms, his fingers tightening around Tani’s elbows. He pulled Tani into a sitting position so that they now faced each other.

A violent tremble rolled through Tani. Dante gripped his arms, holding him in place as Tani’s head tilted back, his eyes sparking gold. For a moment, Dante stared at the elegant arc of Tani’s neck, the perfect line of his chin, his ravaged lips open in a whisper of a murmur, up to the elegant curve of his nose, to half-closed eyes. He wanted to press a kiss on Tani’s forehead, his lips, but this was not the time.

It surprised him that he wanted time for the kisses later.

Dante smiled and tightened his hold on Tani’s arms. He murmured the spell to bind his energy with Tani’s, and thin conduit lines formed on Dante’s arms moving to his wrists and then to his fingers tips. He let out a soft moan when the lines wrapped around Tani’s elbows, moving along Tani’s arms to the gold cuffs on Tani’s wrists.

Tani opened his eyes then, meeting Dante’s gaze. His eyes changed from gold to amber, like a sparking light.

“W-what a-are y-y-you doing?” Tani asked, his voice a trembling mess. “I—I’m—n—ngh, not i-in control…burn you to a crisp.”

“I’m not afraid of you, Tani Ryuzo. I’m born of fire,” Dante said with confidence.

“Don’t want to hurt you, Dante. D-don’t—,” Tani started to protest only to stop when he trembled in earnest, losing focus.

“Acını paylaş. Yakacağım,” Dante said, speaking the spell, and bringing it to life.

Dante let out a harsh gasp as fine pain flooded him from Tani. Pooling inside him like a sharp knife scraping over his skin. He held the pain, using the fire in his very blood to burn the pain. Making sure to isolate his powers, not allowing them to follow the conduits to find Tani. Instead, he siphoned Tani’s pain, dragging it to the pillar of the flame inside him, doing his best to burn it. More waves of pain filled him, faster than he expected.

Tani gripped Dante’s elbows then, fighting to control the wave of pain going into Dante.

“Y-you’re a-an i-idiot,” Tani said at some point, then shifted and pressed his forehead to Dante’s, merging himself in Dante’s spell.

Dante closed his eyes, taking steadying breaths as they worked to find a balance.

---

Tani wished he could stop Dante, but the spell to burn off his pain felt good. It eased the burden on his body allowing him to build back control over his own power as the cuffs on his wrists demanded. The binding walls holding his power were no longer overflowing to the brim, threatening to break his veins and arteries and leave him bleeding.

Dante gripped his elbows tighter, and let out a sigh as a balance started. Dante pulled in a beat of pain, burned it off, and pulled another wave.

The spasms racking Tani eased, reducing to manageable trembles.

Tani breathed easier, and then shock filled him as he realized a part of Dante’s fire was seeping into him through the conduits on their arms. A part of Dante…a very small part of Dante’s fire soul. Its white-hot aura burned bright as it escaped the tightly bound conduits on Tani’s arms. Sliding up Tani’s left arm of its own free will, filling Tani with delight as it raced to his chest.

Tani gaped as it sunk into his heart, filling his heart with warmth. It was a small drop in an ocean that had stayed still for nine hundred years. It was a small part of Dante’s soul, but it was the first Tani ever received.

When he opened his eyes to look into Dante’s brown eyes, he could not help but cry. Tears slid down his cheeks unrestrained.

Dante panicked.

“Did I burn you?” Dante asked, still clutching Tani’s elbows.

The pain had reduced, and the spasms were gone, as Tani managed to control his power. The only thing out of control was Dante’s strange choice to bind a small part of himself to Tani.

“Big idiot,” Tani said, fighting down a sob, he looked away from Dante, his tears still falling.

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Acını paylaş. Yakacağım – Meaning, Share your pain. I will burn it.