10. Skye
SKYE
I entered my family’s castello in Trieste and was immediately surrounded.
“Ah, she’s home,” Cesar, Papa’s right-hand man, greeted me with a big smile on his face. “No boys swept you off your feet yet?”
I opened my mouth to answer when my papa cut in, signing and speaking at the same time, “Don’t be ridiculous, Cesar. Skye likes Italian men, not those brutal Americans.”
My mama sidled up next to him, squeezed his arm, then signed, “ You do realize your wife is an American .”
Papa’s expression softened. “But you are the American, Nix.”
“ And what am I ?” I signed, smiling. My papa was the only one who called my mom Nix, an abbreviation for Phoenix. He claimed it fit her better since she’d embraced his darkness, and Nix meant night in Greek.
“You’re mia figlia and mio mondo. ” He pulled me into a hug, never letting go of Mama. “I missed you, princess.”
“Welcome home, kiddo.” Cesar patted my head and a wave of affection washed over me.
He’d been a part of our family for as long as I could remember and I looked forward to seeing him each time I touched down in Italy.
“I fear the day you bring a boy with you. I must procure some more weapons for your papa.”
“What is it with you? That’s the third time today you’ve mentioned Skye having a boyfriend,” Papa retorted wryly. “Are you trying to send me to an early grave?”
Cesar shrugged. “It’s bound to happen, you know.”
“She’s only twenty,” he protested.
“I was talking about your grave, but whatever,” Cesar retorted wryly, rolling his eyes before he continued.
“Besides, need I remind you that your wife was eighteen when you got married? Remember how her Cupid’s arrow pierced your heart.
” Huh? But before I could ask, Cesar added, “Ah, my bad. That was her gun.”
I shook my head. “ I’m too jet-lagged to ask. ”
Mama’s face flushed crimson as she signed, “ It’s better we don’t talk about it .”
She hooked her arm around my waist, her fingers intertwined with Papa’s, and we walked into the family room—my favorite space in the house. A grand piano sat by the large bay window, where Mama and I had spent many afternoons playing duets while gazing out toward the sea.
The moment we entered, Aunt Reina and Uncle Amon appeared with their flock of children. The youngest, Kai and Lia, who just turned twelve, shifted their eyes around the room, probably contemplating how to sneak out. Those two loved to collect seashells.
Spotting me, they abandoned their plans and ran over, their faces transforming as grins split their cheeks.
They tilted their faces up, speaking too fast for me to read their lips, and I chuckled at their enthusiasm as I hugged them.
I signed with my free hand. “ Slow down .”
Kai straightened, then signed while speaking slowly, “We missed you so goddamn much.”
“Kai!” Aunt Reina scolded him as she strutted over in her pink heels. “Language.” She pecked my cheek. “They couldn’t wait for you to get here.”
Kai muttered something, but his father pinned him with a stare. “Listen to your mother.”
Despite being twins, Kai and Lia couldn’t be more different. Lia was a basket of sunshine with her blonde curls and blue eyes. Kai, on the other hand, was a replica of his father and arrived on earth grumpy.
He looked at me and I winked. “ It’s easier if we listen to our parents .”
He signed back. “Because they get off our cases?”
“ Exactly .”
Reon, the oldest of Uncle Amon and Aunt Reina’s children, clapped a hand over my shoulder. “What’s up, cousin?”
I stifled a chuckle. “ Not much. How’s England ?”
“Cold and rainy as fuck,” he grumbled, drawing an exasperated look from his mom. “What? It’s true. I bet Alaska gets more sun than England.”
“Your father and uncle also went to school there,” Aunt Reina reminded him. “So you can handle it. Plus, you’re much closer this way.”
My mama patted her godson on the cheek. “ Finish your degree, then you can do whatever you want .” Mama shot Aunt Reina a warning look. “Whatever he wants, ” she repeated.
Reon pushed his hands into his pockets like the big shot he thought he was—a fifteen-year-old genius attending college—and made his way to his father, probably to tell him his plans of moving out or something like that.
“The kid is way too independent,” Aunt Reina complained, her eyes on her eldest. “And way too smart.”
“ In four years, he’ll forget why he ever wanted to move out, ” Mama pacified her.
“I certainly hope so,” Uncle Amon grumbled as he appeared, signing at the same time. “The boy is so much like Dante it’s scary.”
My papa chuckled. “Ah, so super handsome and whip-smart. Sorry, brother, must be hard for you mere mortals.”
“Let’s climb into the boxing ring and you’ll see how ‘super’ you really are,” Uncle Amon threatened teasingly, then winked at me. “Skye can be the judge.”
“You forget that my principessa favors her papa.” He bent his head and pressed a kiss on my forehead. “Call timeout in the first round,” he signed without moving his lips.
Uncle Amon shoved his hand against Papa’s shoulder. “I understood that.”
Sonomi, who was incredibly shy, stood slightly back from her papa, her wide eyes on me, and I closed the distance. “ How are you ?”
Her timid gaze darted around the room while she blushed profusely and melted into my hug. “I missed you. Are you staying for a while?”
Sonomi was the quietest, usually lost in her thoughts, and often needed to be coaxed out of her shell. She reminded me a lot of myself when I was that age.
“ Just a few weeks ,” I signed, then slumped onto the loveseat and patted the empty space next to me. When she took it, I continued. “ But Christmas holidays are coming up. I’ll be home for at least three weeks .”
Papa took his usual spot on the sofa, Mama finding herself next to him.
The rest of the adults got comfortable while the twins and Reon opened the balcony doors and made their way outside despite the cold.
“Gosh, this feels like the good old days,” Aunt Reina sighed dreamily. “Before Skye and Reon left us.”
“Well, my Skye didn’t leave leave,” Papa amended. “She can’t wait to come back home. Our family is complete with my little apprentice by my side.”
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t fight the smile pulling at my lips.
Cesar, seated in his usual spot on the single sofa chair, tutted. “Ease up on the guilt, Dante.”
“What?” Papa argued. “She’s only twenty. She belongs at home with us.”
Cesar folded his ankle to rest on his knee. “As long as you realize your princess has grown up.”
Aunt Reina met his gaze with a sad smile. “They’re all growing up too fast.”
“ Let us be oblivious for a bit longer ,” Mama signed.
Guilt slithered through my veins, filling my chest, but I shook it off. He was right—I was looking forward to returning home eventually. And anyway, Nikola had shut me down—not once but twice—so really, there was nothing keeping me in the States.
“There are no boys in your life, right, Skye?” Aunt Reina asked, like she’d read my mind.
“ None, ” I lied.
Much later that night, when everyone was fast asleep, I sat crisscrossed on Mama’s bed, watching her going through her bedtime routine in front of her vanity. Somewhere over the years, it’d become the time of the day just for us.
I always found it very comforting watching her as she applied bedtime lotion on her face and neck, then brushed her hair. It reminded me of stories of medieval princesses who insisted on one hundred brushstrokes every night.
Once she was done, she turned around and met my eyes.
“ Tell me, ” she signed.
I smiled awkwardly. “ What? ”
“ There’s something you’re dying to tell me. ” It didn’t surprise me that she picked up on it. She knew me well. “ Out with it or I’ll imagine the worst. ”
I rolled my eyes.
“ It’s nothing bad. ” At least, I hoped it wasn’t, but frankly, I wasn’t sure that my mama was ready to hear about my feelings for Nikola. So I settled for a half-truth. “ I lied earlier. ”
She raised a brow. “ About? ”
“ When I said there aren’t any boys in my life. ”
She chuckled.
“ We know. You’d be a saint if there were absolutely no boys in your life. ” I felt heat creep up my cheeks. “ Want to tell me about him? ”
“ Well, I like him a lot. Love him… ” Seeing her dubious look, I quickly added, “ Maybe. ”
“ Sometimes the line between love, infatuation, and lust is very blurry, ” she signed slowly. “ It’s important to take it slow. ”
“ Did you and Papa take it slow? ”
It was Mama’s turn to blush.
“ No, not really, but it ended up costing us. If we took time to get to know each other… ” A shadow passed her face.
“ We wouldn’t have spent years apart, and maybe I wouldn’t have lost you for those first five years of your life.
The guilt of not being there for you from the beginning is a heavy one. ”
“ It wasn’t your fault, ” I signed, sliding off the bed. “ It worked out, didn’t it? The Nikolaevs found me and then you came for me. ”
I sat next to her and hugged her tightly, a wisp of a memory like a dark smoke dancing around us. There was no way in hell I would ever voice those long-buried memories and add to Mama’s burden.
After a few moments, I shifted slightly and asked, “ How do I know if it’s true love? ”
She smiled sadly. “ There’s no right or wrong way to know. When you know, you know. ”
I nodded, deep down knowing already. The love I felt for Nikola didn’t happen overnight, it was years in the making. From the boy who tugged on my hair to the man who was always there for me. From the first accidental kiss to the last passionate one.
“ But there’s one thing I can tell you, Skye, ” Mama signed.
“ Don’t ever let anyone tell you how to feel or doubt what deep down in your soul you know to be true.
I let someone do that to me, and it cost me dearly.
Your papa too. Fight for the one you love.
The road might be paved with obstacles, but if it’s true love, you’ll both overcome it.
You’ll be stronger for it. Only you or the man you love can decide whether you should or shouldn’t be together. ”
I tilted my head, watching my mom’s somber expression. She was talking from her own experience, and I couldn’t help but wonder what she and Papa had gone through.
“ What happened with you and Papa in the beginning? ” I asked, although it was something she always avoided talking about.
“ It’s too much to go into tonight. ” Mama waved her hand nonchalantly. “ Life in the mob is hard, and there are enemies everywhere. Threats are often lurking at every corner, so it’s a life of constantly looking over your shoulder. That was the case twenty years ago, and it’s true today.”
“ But Papa protects us and we have friends and family that would always stand beside us, ” I reminded her, my fingers trembling as I signed.
“Dante’s and my families were part of the mob, but every person in it had an agenda. We ended up paying for it, and I don’t wish that for you. Because it’s always the innocent and young ones who end up paying the price. So whoever that boy is, I hope it’s someone outside our criminal world. ”
My heart sank, but at the same time, determination rose within me.
Nikola was mine and I was his. Life without him wasn’t living, just existing. And I would never settle for that.