Chapter 39
After a day of working on the grimoire research and getting absolutely nowhere, Marcella had told Cosimo she needed some alone time to decompress.
He hadn't argued with her, only kissed her hand, pointed to the stairs leading further up the tower, and told her that was where he would be if she needed him.
Why couldn't she see what they were missing? Every time she stared at the wall of research in the library, something scratched at her brain, her intuition telling her the answer was right there. It was in front of her nose, and she was blinded to it.
Marcella had a long bath and went through her whole skin routine.
It usually helped her think and sort out whatever she was working on, piece by piece.
She thought about trying to go to sleep, but she was too restless.
It was almost midnight, and she was pacing about her rooms, muttering to herself.
"Maybe tea would help? They are bound to have tea," she said, wrapping a robe around her nightgown. She grabbed her small pink bag that contained her travel manicure kit and headed out of the room.
She hesitated, looking at Cosimo's stairs, but decided not to wake him. She was obsessing, and there was nothing that she wanted to rant about that he hadn't been listening to all day.
The house was silent as Marcella made her way to the kitchen. It gave her the time to stop and look at the paintings for as long as she liked. The ones in her room weren't fakes, that much she knew for sure.
Cosimo told her that the house had been in the family for so long that it probably sorted through its version of archives and pulled decorations from the Greatdrakes during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries because it knew that she would like them.
Marcella loved how the house felt too. The magic of it was a marvel, but it was warm and lived in, and she could feel the history of it.
It was like when she walked into an old city, she could feel the personality of it, the history of its people all embedded into the architecture.
This was the city of Greatdrakes, and it all but pulsed with generations of love, loss, and family.
The longing for her parents struck her like a punch in the chest, a desperate ache for the security she had only felt with them unfurling inside her.
They had been far from perfect, but they had loved her unconditionally.
When they passed, that love was torn away, leaving her destabilized and searching for it ever since.
It was one of the reasons she had looked so hard for Caterina's grimoire.
She wanted to touch the pages and feel like the hand of her ancestor was reaching out to her.
Caught up in her melancholy thoughts, Marcella searched the kitchen until she found a selection of herbal teas in small jars.
They had labels like 'For the Sads' and 'For the Sneezes' and 'For the Zzz's.
' She decided to mix the sads and the zzz's together, hoping it wouldn't taste too bad.
She recognized the smell of chamomile and mint in them, but her nose failed her on the rest.
The kitchen door swung open, and a disheveled Apollo came in, wearing unicorn pajama pants and a faded blue T-shirt.
"Hey. What are you doing awake?" he asked, rubbing his cheek.
"Driving myself crazy. Would you like some tea? I'm mixing a few together," Marcella replied and switched the kettle on.
"Which ones?" Apollo checked the labels and smiled. "These should be fine."
"Should I ask what's in them? Or is ignorance bliss?"
Apollo went to the fridge and started rummaging through it. "I used a few herbs and flowers that are only found in Faerie for some of them, but they are harmless. The really fun and poisonous ones are in the lab. Bas would lose it if I messed with his kitchen."
"I noticed it is his domain," Marcella replied. She made her tea, sat down at the counter, and took out her nail polish wipes.
"It's a Mom thing. He used to cook with her and then became the mother hen after she died. Thank the gods one of us did, or we would have all starved years ago."
"I see. That makes sense. It helps him feel close to her. I understand that," Marcella replied. "I occasionally go shopping at my mother's favorite boutiques for the same reason."
Apollo pulled out a plate of covered pizza slices, eating one cold before putting the rest in the microwave. "Are you stress manicuring?"
Marcella smiled. "Something like that. It helps me think, and after all the adventures climbing through forests and digging in graves, they were looking battered."
"Will you do mine?" he asked, uncharacteristically shy.
"I'd love to. I only have red, black, or pink polish with me, unless you have some others," Marcella replied.
She was smart enough to have noticed that Apollo had a particular fondness for nails, and she saw this as an opportunity to bond with him that she didn't want to miss.
She liked all of Cosimo's kids, and despite what he had said, she wanted to ensure they weren't bothered by her presence.
"Can I get pink and black?" Apollo asked.
"Sure you can. Eat with one hand and soak the other in warm water for me."
Apollo got a bowl of warm water and his pizza from the microwave before he slid onto a stool at the end of the counter beside her.
"So why can't you sleep?" Marcella asked.
Apollo pulled a sad face. "Lachie isn't here. He returned to the Ironwood Manor for some nighttime training with his aunt, Kenna. He'll be back in the morning, but I always sleep shit when he's gone."
They chatted about inconsequential things, Apollo making her laugh easily. It wasn't until she was filing his nails that he grew somber.
"Mom and I used to do nails together," he admitted, making her look up. "Don't worry. I'm not trying to get you to replace her or anything. That's not... I wasn't going there..."
"It's okay, Apollo. I'm not offended," Marcella tried to soothe him.
He let out a sad sigh. "I miss nail time, that's all. Mom did my nails the day she died," he said softly, and the whole terrible story of her death rolled out of him.
"I can't imagine how horrible that would have been to be trapped in the car with her," she replied, stopping the manicure to squeeze his hand gently.
"I do know what it's like to lose a loving mother, though.
There is no feeling quite adequate to describe it, and no matter how much time passes, it's always there. "
Apollo nodded, not meeting her eye. "Yeah. I thought about asking you to summon her, but she deserves her rest, and it's poor taste to ask Dad's new lady love to summon his old wife."
Marcella's stomach flipped at the thought of attempting it. "If she were still around, I would know already. If you do need me to try because you have things to say to her, I would."
"No. It's not fair to either you or her.
It's me being selfish," Apollo said, and then his sad expression turned to a smile.
"You're a good person for offering despite the Dad thing.
He was fucked after Mom's death for so long that none of us thought he would be able to move on.
It makes all of us happy that you and him are together. "
"It's very new," she said carefully. "I promise I will do everything in my power not to hurt him."
"I know that. If I didn't, we would be having a different kind of conversation," Apollo replied, his eyes going brilliant gold.
Marcella could never forget they were dragons as well as men and weren't afraid to fight for their family.
"I don't doubt it. I would be a lot more protective than you if our positions were reversed," Marcella said, going back to his nails.
"Dad is happier than I have seen in a really long time.
You're not like Mom either, if that question ever crossed your mind in a moment of anxiety.
He's not trying to replace her with you or anything.
He's not the same person he was back then.
You are perfect for him just as you are, and you won't ever have to worry about matching up to some perfect dead wife," Apollo chatted on, somehow reaching into the darkest worries she had and ripping them out.
Marcella hadn't dared look too deeply at them because she knew how irrational they were.
"Good to know, because I am done being anyone but myself," she said and smiled at him. "Thank you for saying that, though. I admit the worry has been there. I have never dated anyone with a family before."
"You two are totally doing more than dating." Apollo blew on his freshly painted nails.
"Is that so? And what are we doing then?" Marcella replied.
Before Apollo could answer, Cosimo himself came in, bedraggled and sleepy-eyed.
Marcella's heart skipped a beat. Santa Maria, he looked so good.
"Are you two having a pajama party and didn't invite me?" he asked. "You better not have been telling Marcella all of my secrets."
"Wouldn't you love to know," Apollo teased with a big grin and blew on his nails again. "I was just heading back to bed so you can be Marcella's new insomnia buddy. Thank you for my nails. I love them."
"Anytime," Marcella replied, blushing as Apollo kissed her on the cheek goodnight. He shot a wink at Cosimo before slipping out the door again. "He's adorable."
"He is, and it's why he gets away with being a devious little shit," Cosimo replied, wiping her cheek where Apollo had kissed her. He had a strange look on his face that only vanished after he kissed her in the same spot.
"Dragon territorial thing?" Marcella guessed.
Cosimo nodded, looking agitated. "Dragon territorial thing. You okay? Why didn't you come upstairs if you couldn't sleep?"
"It was late, and I didn't want to wake you if you were already out," Marcella admitted.
"No chance of that." Cosimo held out a hand to her. "Will you come and be my insomnia buddy? I might even be persuaded to share the whiskey I stole from Kian's cellar."
Marcella laughed softly and took his hand. "I would love to."