Donatello pointed to the big staircase in the foyer. “Upstairs, I have five guest suites. Abi has one of the rooms. Maddy and Nico will take one room. The lovely Sinthy will have her own as well. Gentlemen, you’ll need to work out how to split the last two rooms, or I could get you a spot at the main lodge.”
Luis waved him off. “Felipe and I will bunk up. Diego can have his own room.”
Diego looked at him. “Do I smell that bad?”
Luis wrinkled his nose. “Well, I didn’t want to say anything, but…”
“Dick.” Diego laughed.
“Go, get settled, and then we shall meet on the veranda to discuss what’s been happening,” Donatello said. “I texted my kitchen staff as we were approaching the island. We should have a full spread ready when you come back down.”
“Hell, yeah,” Felipe muttered, rubbing his stomach. “I’m freaking starving.”
I led Maddy upstairs, and into the first bedroom we found. It was fantastic. Bigger than my bedroom at home, and the bathroom was beyond my expectations—a huge walk-in shower,a bathtub that was almost as big as a small swimming pool, two massive closets, and two separate water closets with a toilet and bidet inside.
“I could get lost in this room,” Maddy said.
“Yeah, I think this bedroom and bathroom are bigger than your old place. Before you moved in with me.”
“Uh, yeah. It definitely is. I think my old kitchen, dining room, and bedroom could all fit in this bathroom alone.”
We spent ten minutes unpacking and getting situated in the room before heading back downstairs. Everyone had already made themselves comfortable at a large umbrella-covered table on the veranda that overlooked the pool and the beach beyond. Donatello hadn’t lied. There was more than enough food for everyone. Multiple different kinds of brewed coffee, three different fresh juices, a massive platter of sliced tropical fruits, yogurt, granola, freshly baked croissants, and pastries, a platter of bacon and sausage, scrambled and boiled eggs, roasted potatoes, smoked salmon, and a fresh salad with citrus vinaigrette.
I looked at the spread, then with disbelief at Donatello. “You know there are only six of us, right? Not sixty.”
Felipe pointed a fork at me, his mouth full of food. “Hey, shut up. I plan on finishing all this.”
After everyone had made a plate and gotten drinks, Donatello began the discussion.
“So, our friend Maddy is now known to every bigot in the world. Not ideal,” Donatello said.
“At least she’s here and not back home,” Luis said.
I nodded. “Right. But that means we can’t go home until Viola has been taken care of. She’ll never be safe until the threat is gone. I mean…” I gestured to the island. “This is amazing, but we can’t impose on you forever.”
Donatello sipped at an espresso. “True. You deserve to live in your own home free of fear. So, what do we have that we can use against Viola?”
I inclined my head at Sinthy. “We caught one of Viola’s special ops groups trying to break through Sinthy’s magic wards. They had their own witch, a young man, who absolutely didn’t want to be doing her bidding. Sinthy… uh… took care of the two military guys, put a magical tracker on the witch, and sent him packing back to Viola.”
Donatello set his cup aside and sat forward eagerly. “So, we have a way of finding one of Viola’s people? At any time? Do we think Viola suspects?”
I shook my head. “We don’t think so. She called me not long after the incident. Nothing in her voice or demeanor indicated that she knew. We could even hear her abusing the boy over the phone. I think it’s safe to say she doesn’t know.”
“The tracker is still on him. I can sense it,” Sinthy added. “Which means the boy is still alive. Even if they did somehow discover it, the only way to remove it would be to kill him.” She shuddered. “She’s an evil bitch, so I wouldn’t put it past her to try and dissect him to figure it out and somehow use it against us, but that’s not possible either.”
They all continued to talk as I turned my burner phone back on. It was almost six in the morning. I needed to check in back home. I texted both my parents and waited for their response. It didn’t take long, and as I read the incoming messages, a lump formed in my stomach. My worry and fear must have shown on my face.
“Nico? What’s wrong?” Maddy asked.
My chest constricted as I looked up. “Um, Mom texted. She says there are nearly three thousand anti-shifters surrounding the gates and wards.”
Luis’s fork clattered to his plate, and Felipe’s face went gray.
“Three thousand?” Luis asked in barely above a whisper.
I nodded. “She says as soon as the report came out with Maddy’s name and last-known location, they started swarming in.”
“Are the wards holding? Is everyone safe?” Diego asked.
