Chapter 16
sixteen
CIELO
Today is Gia’s birthday. Dante explained what will happen and did his best to tell me why this is an important day.
I do not know why humans celebrate getting closer to death, but then again, they have strange rituals that fascinate me.
The tooth fairy is one that Brody told me about.
His sister’s daughter was waiting for a small winged creature to come collect her tooth after it fell from her mouth.
I do not know why humans lose teeth or why this creature wants them, but I did put a coin under my pillow to find out if the thing would visit me.
It did not.
Either way, the birthday celebration is underway. I am at Gia and Amara’s, helping decorate. I do not like balloons; they hover ominously like the orbs of Hyeth right before a lightning storm.
I fear that these balloons might be a bad sign. However, no one else seems to think this. Amara keeps hitting them playfully and laughing.
“If you pop those damn things,” Gia murmurs, “I’m going to murder you. They were expensive. Do you know how much helium costs these days? There’s a freaking shortage.”
Amara hits it again, and Dante rolls his eyes.
He’s holding colorful ribbons in his hands and keeps giving them to me to place all over the apartment. On the railings, the lamps, the chairs. I do not know why these are necessary, but the balloons and ribbons do make the space more alive with color. It makes me feel joy.
That is, until a loud pop resounds around the room, startling me. I jump up, my tail lashing out to curl around Dante. I lift him off his feet and bring him toward me, right against my chest. My claws are out, my fangs protruding from my mouth.
“Oh god, Amara. Look what you did,” Gia says, waving her hand toward me. She does not look happy. “You scared poor Cielo.”
Amara’s bottom lip pops out, and she sighs. “Sorry. I won’t touch the balloons again. I promise.”
Dante pats my shoulder, but I do not let him go.
Not yet. My hands move around him, and I bring him in for a kiss.
His lips part, and our tongues sweep against each other before we step away.
I set him down then, careful not to jostle him too much.
He has been in pain, more so than normal.
He has run out of zitha, and while he told me Everest will bring me some tonight, it has been far too long since he’s had relief.
I do not like to see him hurting. But my Dante does not complain. He just forces a smile onto his face and pushes through. Much like the warriors on Erethar.
He is strong and mighty, even if he is small.
He rubs his chest and sighs, and I step toward him, dragging up his shirt.
“I’m fine. I just got jostled when the balloon popped,” he says, peering up at me. My ears crease downward, and he shakes his head. “It’s fine. Don’t be sad. It was just alarming and all Amara’s fault.”
Amara murmurs another apology, looking very sad that she caused the balloon to erupt.
My hand snakes around him and cups his hip softly. He leans into me, and I let out a soft purr at the contact, but he pulls away, pointing to more of the ribbons.
“Gotta hang the rest of it before Mom, Dad, and Nonna get here with the food and cake.”
“Oh, cake. Have you ever had that before, Cielo?” Gia asks me. I have not, so I just shake my head, and she pats me on my tail and bobs her head. “You will love it. I promise.”
I am not sure of this, but I smile at her and continue the task Dante has given me. When the ribbons are everywhere Dante wants them, he glances down at his phone.
“Mom and Dad are two minutes away.” He glances at me. “I haven’t told them about you. So…I think they’ll be cool, but just know they may be a little shocked at you being here.”
“Shooooked?”
“Yes. Shocked. Not that they’re bigots or anything. I’m sure they’ll warm up right away. Unless…”
He shouts over to Amara and Gia. “Did you tell Mom and Dad about Cielo?”
“No,” Gia says with a roll of her eyes. “It wasn’t our place.”
“Never stopped you before,” he says, but then laughs. “Thanks.”
I peer down at him as he pulls his bottom lip between his teeth. I would very much like to kiss him in this moment. I do love how he tastes. But before I can lean down, he shakes his head.
“I do want to kiss you, always, but like, not in front of my parents.”
I lean back slightly, my ears fluttering. He is ashamed.
I do not want to be the cause of this.
“No, no, not like that. I’m not ashamed of you. I just don’t want my parents to die of a heart attack.”
My eyes narrow. I did not say my feelings out loud. How was he able to understand me? Am I that easy to read? But before I can ask, the door opens, and Luca appears. When he returned home from his travels, he looked tired. He is much better now and seems well rested.
He grins up at me, pressing his hands against his chest and lifting them, asking, ‘What’s up?’
I did not understand this phrase when he asked me the first time. I told him the sky was up, but he just laughed and told me it is a human greeting. I now know how to respond.
‘Decorating,’ I reply. ‘Many colors, balloons.’
He peers at the orbs and nods. ‘Bright.’
‘Yes. It is impressive.’
He lets out a laugh and then leans forward, pulling me into a hug. He has never done this before, and I worry that perhaps Dante will not like it, but when I glance over and see him smiling at me, I return the grin.
“Frennnnds.” I sign it too, since I know Luca cannot hear me, nor can he read the way my lips move.
Dante nods and winks at me. I like this flirtation. It makes something inside of me warm and makes my hearts flutter like my ears.
‘So how can I help?’ Luca asks when he gets the attention of Gia and Amara. They bring him in for long hugs, asking him about the expo, which he avoids communicating about. He has no intention of telling what caused him so much sadness on his travels.
I do not blame him. Sometimes speaking things that upset you only make it worse.
Dante has been worried about his brother, but I know sometimes it is better to keep it inside.
The door opens again, and a loud voice booms through the space. “We made it! The party can get started!” They are signing and speaking at the same time, their signs large and swaying.
I see Dante and Luca’s mother and father step into the house, large smiles on their faces. As I examine them, I can see where Dante and Luca get their looks. I shall examine them more to find out exactly what parts of them they get from their sires.
But for now, I shrink back, my hands folded behind my back, my nerves making my claws poke from my fingers. I do not want to frighten Dante’s parents. They are important to him. I do not want them to dislike me.
“Ah, amori miei—ah mamma mia!” Dante’s mother says when she catches sight of me in the corner. “Why is there a Vyastil in your apartment?”
She is speaking to Amara and Gia, but it is Dante who steps up.
“This is Cielo. He’s my friend. He’s staying with me for a bit.”
I feel we are more than that, but this is not the time. Instead, I just incline my head, making sure not to move too much to startle them.
They blink at me before his father shakes his head and steps forward, his hand outstretched.
“Hello, Cielo. Nice to meet you.” His voice is strong, and I stare down at his hand, unsure what he would like me to do with that. I unwind my tail from around my waist and lay it in his palm.
He stares down at it and lets out a booming laugh, squeezing it gently.
“Ah, sì. This’ll do. I’m Paolo, and this is my lovely wife, Maria.”
I nod again and attempt to say their names. “Meeereeea. Peeeepoooo. Frennnnds.”
Maria snorts, and I feel my cheeks heating. I did not say something right. I glance over at Dante, but he is too busy laughing softly, signing something to Luca. I see his fingers and realize that he is signing letter for letter what I called his parents.
Luca glances at me, his eyes twinkling.
I did not mean to make them laugh, but it seems they find joy in my mistakes. At least they are not mocking me.
At least I hope not.
“I love him. Peepoo is my new favorite name for my annoying husband,” Maria says, beaming at Dante, whose shoulders sag slightly in relief. Oh. They do not hate me, then. They love me.
Something blooms inside my chest, and I stand up a little straighter.
“Alright, well, the food is in the car. Luca,” she gets her son’s attention by waving at him. “Come help us carry it up. Actually, Dante, you go with him…”
I shake my head, stepping forward. Dante has been in too much pain. I will go for him.
“Meeee,” I say, placing a finger on my chest. “Go.”
Maria gapes up at me and then grins. “Of course, I bet you can carry all of it at the same time. Yes, you go with Luca.”
Dante nods at me, and I feel light on my feet as my claws clack on the floor, following Luca outside. He leads me to a bright red van and pulls at the handle. The door slides open, and I see the large amounts of food stacked in shining containers.
‘You carry all this? I carry cake?’
I nod and hold out my arms as he sets each warm container in my arms. They grow higher and higher until they are tucked under my chin. Then Luca closes the door, a white box in his hands as he leads me back to Gia and Amara’s place.
When I walk inside, Maria and Paolo exclaim over how strong I am.
They have no idea how strong Vyastil are, but I once again say nothing as Luca helps me unload the containers from my arms, setting them one by one on the counter. It smells much like the food Amara and Gia enjoy eating.
Luca looks at me, sniffing the air, and signs something across his forehead. I do not know what this means.
So he fingerspells it for me. Italian.
I still do not understand, so he points to himself and everyone else in the room. ‘We Italian. This is our food.’