"Yes." There was no point denying it. Marcella was sure it was all over her face when she looked at him.
"Does he know? Because he was never too switched on about those kinds of things. It would be best to just tell him how you feel." Maria stretched out her shoulders and back. "I need a hot shower and a long ass sleep. Can we go now? It's still a long drive to Florence."
Cosimo and the others came back over to the van. He hugged his sister. "You aren't driving. We need to take the car. Be good and don't run off anywhere until I get home."
"I won't. I'm too tired," Maria grumbled and let him go.
Valentine opened a portal, and she let out a delighted squeak, all tiredness melting from her face. "How did you do that? What is this?"
"I'll tell you later," Valentine said. He looked at Cosimo. "Yelena and I are coming with you as backup, Dad. If thestregheattack, or Marcella's magic starts to get out of control, I know that my necromancy skills can help. Yelena can shield the rest of the town from any blowback."
"I would feel better having them," Marcella admitted. She didn't doubt Cosimo's abilities, but if the rest of thecongregadecided to attack them to defend Renata and Carlo, they would need the extra hands.
"Okay, but you follow Marcella's lead and don't interfere until she asks. No heroics. No provoking them if we don't need to," Cosimo said, his hands on his hips. He looked at the rest of his family. "Look after Maria. Make her eat something other than trail mix or junk."
"We got this, Dad. Don't worry. We will look after her and see her sorted out," Reeve reassured him as he helped pass their bags from the van through the portal to the villa in Florence.
Maria was too busy studying the portal to pay attention to anything else. "How is he doing this?"
"I know the basics of it," Bridget said and winked at Cosimo. "Come on through, and I'll tell you all about it, Auntie."
Maria followed them, and Valentine closed the portal with a small gesture of his hand.
"Bridget doesn't know a thing about portals," Cosimo said and chuckled. "She understands people, though."
"They have enough to keep Maria amused as it is," Valentine commented.
"Her dragon is definitely awake too. I didn't want to mention it, but I can smell it in her scent," Yelena told Cosimo. "She's powerful, like Val, but it is different. It's hard to explain."
"I believe you. Maria was always next level at everything she put her mind to," Cosimo said. He turned to Marcella. "What did she tell you?"
"This and that," Marcella replied. She reached up and rubbed her thumb over the crease between his brows. "Stop with the frown. I want it to be a surprise."
Cosimo's dragon shone through his eyes. "You two were alone for too long. She didn't hit on you again, did she?"
"So what if she did?" Marcella smiled. "Why? Are you jealous?"
"Sort this out. We will be in the car," Valentine grumbled. He and Yelena climbed into the back of the van and shut the door.
Cosimo ran a finger along Marcella's jaw, sending a hot thrill down her neck. "Dragons are very possessive."
"Even of yourfriends?" she asked and then felt petty. It was ridiculous that the comment had gotten under her skin at all.
Cosimo growled. "I only said that because I was put on the spot, and I didn't know what the appropriate term for us actually is."
"Let me know when you do," Marcella said, stepping away from him and getting into the car.
She blew out a long breath and tried to settle her pounding heart. She wasn't about to have the feelings conversation with him on the eve of a fight. She refused to dwell on what Cosimo meant to her, not when his life was about to be on the line.
Unlike the Greatdrakes, MarcellaknewRenata. There was no way she would let them go easily, and holding onto her father's shade was the one thing Renata knew that Marcella would come back to Forli for.
Marcella ran through the magic that Maria had told her about over and over in her mind. This was her chance to deal with her past once and for all. After it was finally dealt with, then she could untangle the twisting ball of emotions that were her feelings for Cosimo Greatdrakes.
33
Cosimo hated leaving Maria so soon, but letting Marcella face Renata and Carlo alone was never going to happen. He had to trust that his children would look after Maria and ease her into their new world.
Gods, she didn't know that fae had returned and that magic was tentatively living alongside the humans once more.
