Lupi 04 - Night Season

her?”
    â€œYou think it isn’t for the rest of us?” Cynna broke off a bite and popped it in her own mouth. “Who’s Jenek?”
    â€œGan’s been staying with his family.”
    â€œHe’s my minder,” Gan said, and ran her tongue over her teeth to get the last of the chocolate.
    A gnome, then. There was a lot Cynna didn’t know about gnomes, but she’d bet she knew something the others didn’t. “Is that what you are now—a gnome? Or what you will be, when you finish your transformation?”
    Gan shrugged. “Can’t be a demon with a soul, can I? I haven’t decided which family I’ll marry with yet, but…” Her features squinched up in a suspicious frown. “I think you aren’t supposed to know about that.”
    â€œI used to be Msaidizi. I know a lot of things demons know, and they know where gnomes came from.”
    â€œWhat’s a mizzay-dizzy?”
    â€œDemon rider.” Among other things, not all of them bad.
    â€œOh. Well, don’t tell anyone. I want to watch television,” Gan announced, turning to Lily. “Where’s your television?”
    â€œUpstairs. I’ll show you. Do you know how to order pay-per-view?”
    â€œNo. What’s that?”
    â€œGood. Come on.”
    Cynna grinned as Lily and her orange sidekick left the room. “It’s like raising the demon child from hell, isn’t it? Literally. Bet you’re glad Toby isn’t here right now.”
    Rule’s eyes widened. “God, yes. I hadn’t thought of that. I may have nightmares…Cynna, how did you guess that Gan was becoming a gnome?”
    â€œI’m not supposed to tell. Got any candy?”
    â€œGan cleaned me out,” he said dryly.
    â€œYour credit’s good. Here’s the big secret, passed on to me by a demon I knew in my bad old days: gnomes started out as demons. Not all of them—I mean, they’re a separate race now and have children and all that, so most of the ones alive today were born as gnomes. But that’s where gnomes come from—demons who for some reason developed souls.”
    Rule shook his head. “That explains why Max took Gan to his people, but I’m…amazed. Max hates demons. He says all gnomes hate demons.”
    â€œGuess humans aren’t the only ones with parent issues.”
    His mouth twitched. “I guess not. Cynna…” The timer dinged. He turned to slip on a mitt, then opened the oven.
    Harry lifted his head, sniffed, and jumped down to stalk over to the stove, where he announced his willingness to sample chicken enchiladas.
    â€œYou’re right, Harry. That smells fantastic.” Cynna heaved a theatrical sigh. “The man’s good in bed and he cooks, too. If only Lily were a little less conventional! Threesomes aren’t that unusual these days.”
    Rule slid the glass casserole onto a cooling rack. “I ought to take you up on that just to see how high you jump and how fast you run.”
    â€œHey, you’re supposed to pretend you don’t know I don’t mean it.” She didn’t, not anymore, which made the flirting comfortable. The mate bond really did change everything, even the vaunted lupus distaste for fidelity.
    Of course, she now knew where that distaste came from, why they were taught that sexual possessiveness was wrong and marriage was forbidden. Cynna’s good mood evaporated. Unconsciously, she touched her stomach.
    Rule studied her. “You’re thinking about going to Edge, aren’t you?”
    She wrenched her thoughts back on topic. “Yeah. If they can get me there, I’m going. If you’re worried about Lily—”
    â€œI’m worried about you.”
    And that was the first thing she’d noticed about Rule, way back when. He cared. “I’m not buying into their story about Daniel Weaver all the way, but I think…well, thinking isn’t good enough. I have to know. It, uh, it sounds like you don’t plan to go there yourself.” Which gave her a queasy feeling. She’d assumed they’d all go.
    â€œI can’t.”
    â€œBut…” Her voice trailed away. She’d been so busy avoiding thinking about her own stuff, she hadn’t given any thought to other people’s problems. Again. “The mantles.”
    He nodded grimly.
    Rule had been tricked into assuming the heir’s