“Staying with you. Can we stay with you?” Drako clarifies.
“I can’t open the door,” the boy repeats, and I feel that same relief again.
“You don’t have to,” Apollo says.
“Yeah, you don’t,” I agree. “We’ll keep you company from out here.”
“Okay,” my godson says, and Drako is the first to sit on the ground. Apollo and I follow, soon the three of us leaning against the door and the walls beside it. “Did you see my dad today? You’re uncles, so you must have, right?” Kael asks, making us look at each other for the third time.
When Nero arrived at the house we moved into just yesterday—face wet with tears, unable to stop crying—he needed some time to explain what had happened. All of us were surprised by how quickly Kael accepted him, welcoming him into his life. But I suppose the real surprise is that none of us know what it’s like to be a child who’s loved and has no reason to be afraid.
From what Nero told us, Nina always made it seem to the boy that his father was part of his life. I don’t know if she realizes how much that meant to my friend—but if he loved her before, after learning that, Nero started to worship her.
“Yes, we saw your dad today,” I say.
“So he didn’t go away to be a prince again?” Kael asks. I close my eyes, knowing what he means—Nero told us that part too.
“No, Kael. He didn’t,” I assure him.
“And you’re going to see him again today?”
“We are.”
“Can you ask him something for me?”
“Of course. Anything you want.”
“Ask him when he’s coming to see my hero collection,” he asks, and Drako, Apollo, and I exchange a look.
“We’ll ask him, yes,” Drako says. “But are your uncles invited too?”
“I don’t know. I have to ask my mom.”
“What are you doing here?” a voice from the front of the house makes us look toward the fence. Rosa is on the sidewalk, walking up.
“Good evening, Rosa,” I greet her. Her face softens when she speaks to me.
“Hi, Atlas. Good evening.” She steps through the gate and crosses the yard. The three of us stand, picking up the bags we left beside us. “What are you doing here?” she asks again.
“Good evening, Rosa,” Apollo and Drako say almost in unison.
“Good evening,” she replies, then turns back to me, one eyebrow raised, waiting for the answer she’s already asked twice.
“We thought we’d make dinner. Spend some time with Kael,” I explain. Her eyes narrow. “Please?” I ask. She sighs long and deep.
“I shouldn’t let you in—”
“Grandma?” Kael calls from inside the closed house.
“Yes, my boy.”
“Can I meet my uncles?” he asks, and Rosa’s lips twist.
Finally, she rolls her eyes and shakes her head. Nina’s mother waves us away from the door and slips the key into the lock.
Apollo, Drako, and I line up two steps back, waiting for the door to open.
When the blond little boy—an exact replica of the Nero we knew as a child—appears smiling in front of us, it’s impossible not to smile too.
