“I’m happy to see you.” He lowered his voice. “Grandmother frowns a lot.”
She had a lot to frown about. “Maybe you should see how many smiles you can win from her each day.”
A mischievous smile curved his lips, and for a gut-swooping second, I saw so much Carmine in him.
“Hello,” said Owu.
I placed Adeuto on one knee, then beckoned Owu to the other. “How did two boys have fun today?”
That required a long stretch of thought.
Owu replied, “We ate food.”
Adeuto nodded. “We looked at Neti’s baby. Mother, you haven’t been to see him.”
“Let’s go then.”
The boys sprinted ahead, and I followed at a leisurely pace, trying to log every part of this to memory, from the smell of Adeuto, to his expressions and the way he ran. The length of his hair. His laughter that still contained an edge of babyhood. Their freedom.
That was what I needed to retain.
And preserve.
I readied myself to portal to the boys as they charged to Neti without any concern for their safety.
She opened an eye, then closed it. Only her head remained out of the sand, and only the flaring nostrils of her calf.
“Neti,” I cooed. “Aren’t you clever?”
She opened her eye again to accept my comment.
“Very clever,” I told her. “You did that all by yourself. You are a beautiful mother.”
Neti chuffed and snorted in a way that made me suspect she was—rightfully—very fucking proud of herself. She nuzzled her calf, dislodging sand from around him.
He raised his head and bleated, blinking unevenly as he woke.
Adeuto and Owu beamed at me.
“Isn’t he cute, Mother?” my son whispered, hugging into my side.
“He is, darling. We are so lucky Neti let us see all of this. Thank you, Neti.”
“Thank you, Neti,” he dutifully said.
I felt Owu watching us, yearning in his eyes. Perhaps it was for the better that I didn’t visit for a time. Athira was a colder presence that wouldn’t create jealousy in Owu.
I said, “Owu, have you ever seen a nismus?”
“Only in a book,” he answered shyly. “I didn’t know they could be tamed.”
Neti huffed in objection.
“I didn’t know they could choose to linger close to demons either,” I replied.
Adeuto crawled closer to pat the calf, and Owu dropped back to where I crouched.
“Syera,” he whispered. “Tiers was today.”
