"I'm thinking about how hard it must have been for you not to know how to control such a large part of your magic for your entire life," he replied.
Marcella handed him his glass. "It was too much of a nuisance left unchecked. I never knew when a ghost would pop up and try to talk to me. When the charm magic bloomed during puberty, it caused too many problems with strange menfollowing me around. We had to do something, and muffling it has helped."
"It was still a locked-up part of you. I know what that's like," Cosimo said and drank some of his wine. "My dragon side is problematic, but we are working through it. You can do the same with your magic."
"You are very keen on trying to teach me," Marcella commented, a small smile dancing over her gorgeous lips.
"I want you to be happy with who you are and not have to hide or be afraid of any part of yourself," he said truthfully. "I might also want a good excuse to keep you interested in me once I find you those grimoires."
"I'm sure it's Bridget who is going to find the grimoires," Marcella replied.
Cosimo smiled fondly, thinking of Bridget's chaotic pinboards and journals. "She loves a research project, and you have given her the half we were missing."
"Valentine has also offered to teach me about necromancy, if I don't want you to do it."
Cosimo's eyes widened. "Really? That's a surprise. Valentine doesn't really like anyone that's not in the family."
"After he offered, Yelena told me there's no way I can escape now, and if Valentine couldn't give me answers, Arawan would. She was quite adamant that he is the Welsh god of the dead. You want to tell me what that is all about?" Marcella asked, sitting on the couch closest to his armchair. "Seriously, Cosimo, what evenisyour family?"
"Complicated?" he ventured. He needed to tell her the truth about the extended relatives in more detail than he had already. She needed to know everything if she was ever going to accept what they could have together. It might be the thing that frightened her off altogether. He had to risk it either way.
He gestured to the wine bottle. "You might need a bit more of that."
"I'm listening." Marcella topped up her glass again, and Cosimo laid out everything for her as succinctly as he could. Not just the history of the Greatdrakes family, but the true story behind the return of the fae, the Ironwood family, and fae royalty inter-marrying, the issues with Norse gods, the mythic uncles, and all the enemies they had defeated or had possibly on the horizon.
Marcella didn't interrupt. She only sipped her wine and looked more thoughtful.
"And that's it. The whole bizarre truth. We are always going to have someone trying to cause a fight with us or have a magical mess to clean up because no one else can. This trip to Italy has been quite peaceful, all things considered," Cosimo said and drained his wine. He fidgeted and ran his hands through his hair.
"I would understand if you thought that getting involved with me personally was a bad idea. You said it was before knowing everything, and you were right. Gods, some days it's too much even for me."
He hated saying it, hated the idea of her walking away from them once she had her grimoires. His dragon keened softly but didn't rage against trying to give her an out.
"It's most definitely a bad idea. Dangerous to my health, in fact," Marcella said, putting down her empty glass.
Cosimo flinched, her words a blow. "You are right. Being with me and my family means you will have a target on your back simply by association. I'm selfish for wanting you, and I still can't stop."
Marcella stood up, and he waited for her to say good night and leave him to wallow in his misery. Instead, she came to stand in front of him. Cosimo didn't move, didn't breathe.
Gods, she was so beautiful. She was still in the jeans she had been wearing at the graveyard, the knees dirty. Her braid was unravelling, and she was unkept around the edges compared to her usual pristine appearance. It was so damn sexy, he wanted to weep.
Everything about her was designed to make Cosimo lose his ability to think straight. It was worse now that she wasn't hiding all that glorious magic pulsing around her.
Marcella leaned down to run her fingers through his hair and tip his head back. Her dark eyes were so big, he felt like they would swallow him whole.
"Thank you for telling me the risks involved with your sprawling family," she said softly. "But I'm not going to be scared off so easily,bello. The time for that passed as soon as I let you kiss me."
"I'm not trying to scare you off. Only be honest before things go any further," Cosimo replied, swallowing hard because for him, he was already past the point of no return.
"It is very gallant of you, but unnecessary." Marcella's thumbs brushed over his cheeks, and her full lips twitched. "I would be crazy to walk away from a man who would cut fingers off people for me. Those don't come along every day."
"I'm not just a man," Cosimo pointed out.
"I know that too." Marcella lowered her face to his and whispered, "I can't wait to meet your dragon."
Summoned instantly, Cosimo's dragon rolled to the surface, all his senses heightened, and he knew his eyes would have changed color. "It likes you too much already."
"How awful for me to have a dragon's attention," she teased.
