“That was clear as mud.”
“I think I just confused myself.”
A giggle slipped out before he managed to stop it. “You are ridiculous…”
Severo huffed. “It’s simple when I do it, but complex when I try to explain it, okay. It’s like my mind is a microphone, and it is using the shadow as a speaker. But because the voice originated from the version of me on this side, it also projects here, even though this me didn’t actually speak, which is why you can hear it. As this Shadow Realm is also me. It's my creation out of the void that is connected to me; mind, body, and soul.”
Seri’s head tilted. “That…sort of makes sense…I think.”
It sounded complicated, yet fascinating. But then again, he had always found Dwellers fascinating, even if he feared them now… Did he fear them, or was it just Preston he feared?
This interest, he wished he didn’t have it. It was the whole reason he ended up on that date with Preston in the first place, despite his antisocial and introverted ways.
Dwellers were a type of Cryptid that, like Fates, kept their powers and the bulk of their abilities to themselves. It was the whole reason he’d been determined to study them for his dissertation. To be able to deep dive into something that no one else had gotten a chance to…had been hard to pass up. So, of course, he’d jumped at the chance to ask an actual Dweller questions.
“Right, let’s get this over and done with. Before Skya realizes she is hungry. Because she will soon, and she puts the anger in hangry.”
“Little miss doesn’t like her belly empty?” Severo asked, sounding slightly off as he spoke. Babyish was how he’d describe it. Then again, the man was no longer looking at him, and instead waving his fingers at Skya, who just giggled.
Though…now that he thought about it, his talking had been slightly off since that bandage on his nose appeared…
Seri winced on remembering something. Had he…been the one to do that? He vaguely remembered elbowing him in the face. Eh…well, it’s not like Seri could be blamed for doing something in the spur of the moment as he tried to escape.
But what he did and didn’t do was not important at the moment. Severo really needed to understand the severity of the problem…because yes, his daughter was adorable…but…
“‘Little miss’ will make our ears bleed if we aren’t fast enough.”
Severo glanced up, eyes wide. “Right…Water Nymphs are distantly related to Sirens.”
“Yes, we are. And this young, we also can’t control much.”
“Okay, yeah, let’s hurry up.”
He shook his head as Severo took off at a fast pace.
Wine bottle in hand, Killian leaned closer to the retina scanner outside Cyrus’ front door, lining up his eye. After about a second, there was the sound of the lock disengaging.
Opening the door, he walked in. It locked behind him automatically as he let it swing shut.
There was soft music playing, and some absolutely delicious smells flowing throughout the house. Killian took a deep breath in—mmm, lobster. There were more scents, but really, the lobster was what his mind focused on.
“Cyrus, I’m here,” he called out.
“In the dining room!”
He eyed the house as he walked through it. The entrance opened up into a large living room. Shaped like a giant circle cut into half, with marbled floors. The walls were wooden, besides the only one that wasn’t curved. The large flat wall to the right, which he knew was all mirrors, was mostly covered up, leaving just a mirror border around the huge wooden and gold art piece hanging there. Glowing golden lines of all shapes and sizes swirled and bent as they connected and disconnected in thousands of spots on the wooden board.
Chandeliers hung down, lighting the room, a circle of plush brown couches sat in the middle, surrounding a large wooden coffee table with golden accents, underneath a fuzzy gray rug.
He wasn’t actually a fan of curved, or even partly curved rooms… Killian preferred to be able to easily hang things on his walls.
He entered the hallway, smiling when the smells grew stronger. His smile only widened the minute he caught sight of the meal laid out on the dining table. Lobster, homemade cheddar biscuits, crab, and so much more.
A grin spread across Cyrus’ face upon spotting him. “Sit, eat, and then we’ll talk about the unsavory things.”
Killian did just that. They sat, ate, and talked about nothing important until all that was left were empty plates and wine.
“So, what the hell is going on?” Killian asked, before taking a sip of white wine.
