said, laughing. “Unlike some, I check in with my young from time to time.”
Silvas gave him a disgusted look. “Do not act like I do not check in on you and your brothers. I have spent much time over the centuries wandering between your territories and visiting with your families. I have held more infant silvani than I ever expected to.”
Diana held back a sound of mirth as the males snorted at each other.
“Well, excellent then. You will come visit my domus and bring your uxorem to meet Cassia.”
Silvas gave her a pinched look and she knew what he was thinking even without the bond. He didn’t want to admit to his son that he didn’t remember his mate or the events that occurred between them. Unfortunately, neither of them knew if he would ever gain his memories. They just needed to take one day at a time and see what the future had in store.
Setting a calming hand on Silvas’s bicep, she smiled over at Larce. “That is lovely, thank you.”
Beaming, Larce led them through the winding trees, past the altar, into a thick copse that opened into another portal that opened into a small pocket in a hidden grove. They stepped through it, and a familiar energy surged through her. They were back. Although it was a very small pocket of space, surrounded thickly by trees, they were back in the Eternal Forest.
Chapter 43
Diana was shocked when she entered the beautiful domus. Though simple on the outside, the inside was lush with beautiful fabrics, collections of antiques, and carefully polished antiquities displayed everywhere as one would beloved knickknacks. They were so casually displayed, a wealth of human history in one room, that it was awe inspiring, but also made her afraid to get too close to anything out of fear of breaking something. What surprised her the most, however, was the human woman who greeted them with a pleased expression. She kissed Silvas on both cheeks before she enthusiastically welcome Diana.
“It is such a pleasure to finally meet you!” Cassia exclaimed as she elbowed Larce out of the way. Her mate growled playfully as he moved aside, his mouth brushing a brief kiss at the top of her head as he made his way into the house.
Diana, however, had barely been able to form a polite greeting in return as she rudely stared at the woman. Though Cassia looked as young and beautiful as she likely was since the day that she and Larce bonded, her appearance was entirely human, from the sun-bronzed olive skin to the fall of dark curly hair and large, brown, expressive eyes. Her simple violet dress hung gracefully from her curves as she led them into the small sitting room.
“Please come in and make yourselves comfortable. It is so nice to have company. I was just speaking to Larce some days ago that we never have company anymore. There used to be silvani and fauns in and out of our domus daily.”
“My love, you are thinking of how things were hundreds of years ago,” he chuckled. “Besides, things have become far busier with the human world opened up.”
She snorted and rolled her eyes. “I know, I know. Every being thinking they are going to make some name and reputation for themselves in the human world like the days of long ago. You and I both remember what that was like. Idiot men trying to kidnap you from the monster, sacrificed virgins—the human world has always been a mess, and it isn’t going to get any better any time soon,” she rebuked with a snap of her fingers. Switching gears, Cassia gestured to a comfortable chair. “Please do sit.”
It was only after everyone was seated that Cassia, with the satisfied look of a woman completely in her element, went about attending to her hostess duties. Refreshments were brought and set out, along with nuts, olives, cheeses, and small sweets of honey drizzled dates in pastry. Diana’s eyes widened at the food set lavishly in front of her. Although she had some of the hard cheeses that the local farmers traded for, it had been years since she had tasted nuts or had an olive. She had never had the sweet before, but she sighed with pleasure as it hit her tongue.
“Good, isn’t it?” Cassia asked. “There are cultivated groves all throughout the Eternal Forest attended by the various beings who call this place their home. Many parts of the forest are dark and frightening,