far into the semester, so I had to withdraw so the classes won’t show up as ‘fail.’ Worse yet, I can’t get a refund on them.”
“Ouch,” G.G. said with sympathy.
“Si.” Ildaria sighed the word and then shrugged. “It’s my own fault, I guess.”
“Why?” G.G. asked at once, and then added, “And why does Lucian want you in day classes?”
“Because he thinks it’s safer,” she muttered, answering the second question first.
“Safer?” G.G. asked on a bark of surprised laughter. “You’re an immortal. Not much can harm you.”
“Si, but—” She broke off with a grimace, and then took a deep breath and explained, “He’s not worried about my safety that way. It’s more that he doesn’t want me to be put in a position . . .”
“He’s worried about you going vigilante again,” G.G. guessed solemnly when she fell silent.
Ildaria’s mouth tightened. “You know about that, huh?”
He nodded almost apologetically. “This place is gossip central, and people seem to like to talk to me.”
She rolled her eyes at that, and took another swallow of the drink he’d given her, enjoying the sweet treat.
“What made you go vigilante down in . . . some city in Montana, was it?” he asked with a frown.
Ildaria nodded, but didn’t bother to say which city. That part of her life was over now. She was stuck in Canada for the foreseeable future. Setting her drink back on the bar, she ran her fingers up and down the condensation on the outside of her glass and muttered, “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me,” he assured her quietly and Ildaria glanced his way, surprised to see the sincerity in his face. G.G.’s expression suggested that what she had to say was the most important thing in the world to him in that moment.
Three
Ildaria tore her gaze away from G.G.’s and swallowed thickly, trying to remove the sudden lump lodged in her throat. It didn’t do much, and after another swallow she gave it up and shrugged. “Do you know Jess Stewart Notte?”
“Raffaele’s life mate. Yes,” he said, nodding. “I’ve met her a couple of times when she was up here with Raffaele visiting family. You lived with her in Montana, didn’t you?”
“Si. Her and Raffaele,” she added with a faint smile. Raffaele hadn’t been able to stay away from Jess once he’d found her. Not surprising for life mates. But it had meant the three of them living in the house Jess had inherited from her parents, instead of just the two of them. Ildaria hadn’t really minded after getting to know the man. She’d even ended up liking Raffaele as a person. Despite that though, she still wished Jess had chosen Ildaria’s old captain, Vasco, for her mate. She’d had the choice between the two, and Ildaria knew Vasco was a good man under all of his swagger. Besides, he’d saved her life more than once and was like family. Well, she supposed she hadn’t let him close enough to be family, but he was important to her. Shrugging her thoughts away, Ildaria explained, “Well, as you say I was living with Jess and Raffaele, but as new life mates they were pretty wrapped up in each other.”
G.G. nodded. “I’ve noticed that happens.”
“Si.” She sighed the word. She liked Jess. They had become good friends despite the little bit of time they’d actually spent together. “But that was okay. I made friends at the uni there. In my classes,” she added.
“Mortal friends you mean,” G.G. filled in for her, getting it.
Ildaria grimaced. “Si. I didn’t want to specify and sound racist or something.”
G.G. blinked. “By mentioning that your friends were mortal?”
“Well, you can’t call anyone anything anymore without offending someone. Every time I learn the rules, they go and change them.”
G.G.’s mouth twitched briefly with amusement, and then he pointed out, “So, you were explaining why you went vigilante?”
Ildaria grimaced, but nodded and said, “Well, as I said, I had mortal friends at uni. Three of them, like I have here.”
“You have friends at university here?” he asked, eyes widening.
“You needn’t sound so surprised. I’m a charming person,” she informed him a bit testily.
That brought a laugh and he shook his head. “I’m just surprised because you haven’t been here long.”
“Almost two months,” she told him and shrugged. “That’s long enough to make friends.”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed soothingly.
“Hmm.” She eyed him suspiciously for a moment, trying to figure out if he was patronizing her, and then let it go and said, “Anyway . . . So,