An Immortal's Song (Dante's Circle #6)(17)

Amara took Seth’s hand, and they made their way down the large staircase. Instead of turning left toward the sitting room, they went right. The scent of cooked meat and bread filled her nose, and she knew they were going in the right direction. Her stomach rumbled, and Seth chuckled.

“Let’s get you fed.”

As soon as they entered the large kitchen she blinked. A door on the other side swung closed, leaving her and Seth alone.

“It’s like they don’t want to be in the same room as us,” she said dryly.

Seth just shrugged once again. “They haven’t been introduced to us, and since Tristan is royalty, there might be some protocol or something. I don’t think his family lives here since the place feels only of Tristan’s energy and not another high-ranking fae, but I could be wrong.”

She frowned as he went to the fridge and opened it. “You can sense those sorts of things? Is that what mermen do?”

He pulled out two plates and lifted his brows. “It seems they made us plates since there’s a third in there for Tristan.” He wiggled one. “They have our names on it. They must have just stuck them in here because they’re still hot.”

They indeed had their names written on top of the foil with marker. She couldn’t help but feel touched and a little out of her element. She’d never had anything like this. The kitchen itself was larger than her apartment with two six-top ranges and two dishwashers and refrigerators. The island in the middle was a piece of artwork, and she wanted to lay prostrate at Tristan’s feet just so she would be able to cook in the room.

Her stomach rumbled again and she suddenly didn’t care about the differences between her and the men she’d given herself to and wanted to eat whatever was on the plate.

“Anyway,” Seth continued as he pulled off the foil to reveal still-hot roast beef, potatoes, green beans, corn, stuffing, and rolls. “First, I am hungry enough to eat my entire plate worth of food and possibly lick up whatever’s left. Let’s get forks. Second, as mermen, our powers are more about what we can do within water. The ability to sense other supernaturals is inherent in every supernatural. You’ll be able to gauge another’s presence and perhaps their power level too once we figure out your powers and you practice. First, though, we’ll have to teach you to glamour so you don’t end up showing up in the human realm with that lovely ink of yours.”

Her eyes widened and her hand went to her temple, to the ink that felt natural even if it was brand new. “I forgot for a second. My brain isn’t working. How could I just not think about what others will see when they look at me now.”

Seth pulled the foil off her plate and procured two forks from a drawer in the island, after some searching around. “It’s to be expected. Just breathe and eat—though not at the same time. That’s all you need to do right now. Between the three of us and the other women’s experiences when they changed and found their mates, we’ll figure it out.”

She took the fork and sat on one of the stools at the island, careful to sit on Seth’s shirttail rather than just her naked butt. Some things should not be done in the kitchen, even if it might sound sexy.

As soon as she took the first bite of roast and gravy, she almost orgasmed again. Seth must have noticed, but he was too busy tearing through his food to comment. She did the same, getting through a good quarter of the plate before she looked up again. Seth had apparently put a glass of water in front of her and she was grateful.

“Sorry for zoning out. But, food.”

He grinned at her and finished up his water before going back for more. “No problem. I did the same thing.”

When he gulped half the glass in one go, she raised her brow. Something clicked about him and she wanted to know if what she’d thought was right. “You need water to survive, don’t you?”

He nodded before taking another bite of food. She did the same, only this time, they were both a little slower since their appetite was at least somewhat sated.

“Yes. If I dry out, I die. Each realm, each species, has their own weaknesses and that is one of mine. As for everything else? I’m not exactly like you and Tristan when it comes to looking human. Tristan uses glamour to hide the slight luminescence of his skin and his pointed ears, and you will do the same to your ink and skin. I’m a shifter, so I don’t use glamour. I actually just shift from one form to the other.”

Her eyes widened. “I’d never thought of that.”

He grinned and held out his leg. “See? No tail. I have a tail in my other form, and my skin sometimes has a gold or green sheen depending on the lighting. But it’s only in places, and only when I’m fully shifted. It’s like when wolves, bears, or dragons shift. They go from one form to another, depending.” He grinned. “That also means, like the other shifters, we don’t have sex in our mer form. That is only for the human form.”

She choked on her roll and gulped water to wash it down. “How on earth did you know I’d thought about that?” Even if it hadn’t been a fully conscious thought.

He snorted. “Because everyone does. They want to know how a merman or mermaid can have sex with a tail in the way. We don’t. We shift to human just like the other shifters do. It’s not that complicated once you think about it, but most people just want to make fish jokes.”