explained, and then added, “And I was eighty-four when I met him, found out I was his life mate, and allowed him to turn me. That was several years ago now,” she admitted wryly. “But I don’t feel a day over sixteen. At least, not on the inside,” she added wryly, and then glanced over her shoulder with concern. “Are you managing all right? Do you need to stop and rest?”
“No. I’m fine,” Allie assured her, and it was true—she felt fine. Going down the stairs wasn’t tiring her at all. But she hadn’t forgotten what had happened the last time she’d mounted stairs. She’d have to remember to take it slow when she came back up.
“Good idea . . . at least until you’re sure you can manage them well enough,” Leonora said brightly as if Allie had argued the subject aloud. It reminded her that these people could read her thoughts. Except Magnus. He couldn’t, she recalled, and wondered if that was why she felt so much more comfortable and safe with him.
“Well, you’re up.”
Allie looked past Leonora to see a redhead with a pretty face and big eyes waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
“You’re looking much better than you did when you arrived, dear,” the woman said with a wide smile that Allie automatically responded to with one of her own.
“Allie, this is Elvi Argeneau,” Magnus announced as they reached the bottom of the steps and paused in front of her.
“And I’m Mabel,” a pretty blonde announced coming around the corner to join them. In tight jeans and a clingy T-shirt, she had a killer figure that made Allie feel like a boobless wonder in comparison.
Allie peered from one woman to the other and then to Magnus and finally Leonora. “You all look to be in your mid- to late twenties. But I know Leonora is in her nineties.”
The blonde and redhead exchanged a wry glance, and then Elvi turned back and announced, “We’re all older than you, love. Well, except for our Stephy and the children.”
“But we aren’t as old as our mates,” Mabel added with satisfaction. “They’re ancient old men.”
“Oy!” A man with dark hair and a friendly face came around the corner and slipped his arms around the blonde. Hugging her from behind, he kissed her neck and said, “I may be an ancient old man, but I’m your ancient old man.”
“This is Mabel’s husband, DJ,” Elvi announced, smiling at the couple, and then she turned back to Allie to explain, “The nanos are the reason we all look so young. They’re programmed to keep us at our peak condition, and that would be between twenty-five and thirty for humans.”
“Nanos,” Allie murmured. It wasn’t the first mention of the word, and her curiosity about it returned at once.
“I can hear the questions mounting in your poor mind,” Elvi said with amusement. “Why don’t you sit yourself down at the table. We’ll put some food together for you and then answer all those things you want to ask.”
“That would be nice. Thank you.” Allie followed when the trio turned and led the way into a large dining room that, along with a kitchen area, ran the length of the house. An L-shaped counter divided the two sections, but did nothing to make it seem smaller. It was positively huge and had a large fireplace against the far wall that looked Victorian. But then, so did the foot-high molding and the trifold doors that sat open between the dining room and the entry she’d just passed through.
“Who wants coffee?” a tall, good-looking man asked from the kitchen as he fetched coffee cups off an open shelf on the wall next to a door that looked to lead outside.
“Victor Argeneau, Elvi’s life mate,” Magnus murmured by her ear, and Allie smiled faintly and nodded.
“Magnus? Coffee?” Victor asked, glancing their way.
“Not for me. I like the taste, but caffeine agitates me,” Magnus said with a shrug.
“You’re in luck, then, it’s decaf,” Victor announced. “Caffeinated coffee winds me up too.”
“In that case, coffee sounds good,” Magnus decided, and glanced at Allie in question even as Victor did.
“I’ll have one too, please,” she said as Magnus led her to the dining room table.
“What do you feel like eating, Allie?” Elvi asked, moving around the kitchen counter to join her husband. “Something to build up your blood would be best, I suppose. How about some scrambled eggs and toast?”
“Just some toast would be fine,” Allie said at once. “I don’t