I sat up, still dizzy, blushing even deeper, and noticed that he was staring at us with a frighteningly serious expression.

“Lea,” I started, but he ignored me and marched straight to Gabriel.

“What did you do to her?” he demanded in such an angry tone of accusation that I was beyond stunned. “You promised you wouldn’t touch her!” His once-tender voice sounded threateningly dangerous, and I tried to explain it once more.

“Lea ...”

“Answer me!” he shouted over my voice and my gaze turned to Gabriel, afraid of what he might do, but he was still lying on his side, just as he’d been, looking at Lea as if he couldn’t even see him.

As he didn’t answer him, Lea seemed to get even angrier, the hair on the back of his head starting to stand as his silver eyes glowed coldly, and I hurriedly grabbed him by his hand, and pulled him to me before he could do something really stupid.

“I’m okay, Lea!” I told him, holding his childish face between my hands so that he had to look at me, and his sorrowful expression was enough to tell me he didn’t believe me for a second. “I’m really all right!” I insisted and he raised his small hand to gently touch my face in a comfort.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve stayed closer,” he lamented with a sad look that seriously frustrated me.

“Leabhan, you should really hear what she’s trying to say,” Gabriel whispered softly and Lea’s angry gaze shot immediately towards him with pure hostility.

“I know what I saw!” he claimed once more in that grown-up tone, and I blushed again. “And I thought you said you didn’t want to make her do anything!”

“Lea, he didn’t. He didn’t make me do anything,” I told him and his face was suddenly taken by an incredulous expression of surprise.

“He ... didn’t?” I just shook my head and Gabriel stretched and yawned lazily. “Mari ...” He whispered my name still in disbelief, as if trying to process what I’d just told him. “Does that mean ... you like ... him?” he asked.

“Yes. I do,” I admitted, too aware of Gabriel, staring at me, but Lea was still doubtful.

“Really? I mean, you really like him?”

I recalled Lea’s nature, his true origin, and smiled. “Yes.”

A surprisingly huge smile brightened his entire face and he hugged me, his small arms wrapping around my neck.

“That’s great, Mari! Now I’m not the only one!” he told me, laughing, and I felt relieved that he would accept all that mess so easily. I hadn’t known what to do if he’d been opposed to the idea of Gabriel and me together. And so an already embarrassing situation had just become even more embarrassing! “I also like you very much!” he said, looking at me with that bright smile of his, and I lined a few disarrayed strands of his hair.

“I like you too,” I replied and his mischievous smile was all the warning I got, although I could never be fast enough to react in time. With a sudden inhuman strength, Lea’s small hands pulled me closer and he kissed my lips, just like he’d done when we’d established our agreement.

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“Suileabhan!!” The thunder of that voice made my stomach squirm and, in the next instant, Lea was no longer standing in front of me but tangled in Gabriel’s arms, which threatened to strangle him to death. The child laughed, kicking the air while trying to free himself, and I looked at the both of them, still wondering if Gabriel was joking or serious. “How dare you? Only I can kiss Mari!” he stated full of conviction, baffling me with his ability to say something like that out loud and with such a straight face.

“But I was the one who kissed her first!” Lea countered, still laughing, and Gabriel looked at me stunned.

“What!”

“We made an agreement,” I explained, amused at the persistent way Gabriel kept holding onto him, although Lea was kicking and waving his arms all over the place.

“What agreement?”

“It’s a secret! It’s a secret, right, Mari?” Lea said, his childish voice filling the room and I smiled.

“That’s right.” Gabriel pulled Lea by the collar of his sweater as if he really were a cat and looked at him, threateningly.

“What agreement?” he inquired. “That she may hide things from me, there’s nothing I can do. But, you ...?” Lea seemed to calm down and took a deep breath, tired from all that laughing. “So?” he insisted and, with a quick movement, Lea licked his face.

“Master, are you angry at me?” he murmured and Gabriel frowned.

“Don’t change the subject!”

“But ... I said all those things,” Lea went on in a shy, regretfull voice, and Gabriel ended up sighing.

“I’m not angry at you, Suileabhan. I know Mari is important to you and that you were only trying to protect her.”

“I’m so glad!” Lea said with a bright smile back on his face.

“But what the heck is going on here?” Alexander’s demanding voice made me jump to my feet, and only then did I notice the undone buttons of my blouse. In an immediate gesture, I turned my back to the door and re-buttoned them as fast as I could. “I send the cat to call you and all I hear is screaming and laughter.”

I ran my hands over my face to make sure everything was as it should be, and then I saw Jonathan, standing right behind Alexander, staring fixedly at me, which Alexander seemed to notice.

“Jonathan was too worried about your burnt roast and literally massacred me into using Magic to make it eatable again,” Alexander declared and the boy took a step back, lowering his head, obviously embarrassed. “Since we agreed no powers in the house so not to draw too much attention, and since he wouldn’t shut up, we went shopping and tried to duplicate your recipe.” I blinked in complete disbelief. “Of course, neither of us is that experienced in kitchen matters, but by the looks of things it doesn’t seem all that bad.”

“And I was coming to tell you that lunch is ready,” Lea added, still smiling, and Gabriel stood up with his usual slow movements, carrying Lea under his arm as if he were no more than a sack of potatoes. Lea squealed and laughed again, kicking the air, but Gabriel just went on, as if he couldn’t even feel him.

“Let’s go then,” he simply said, but his violet eyes looked amused, even pleased, at the sound of Lea’s laughter.

Alexander stepped to the side to let him through, and followed him, poking the ‘cat’ and nagging him, telling him that he did look like a sack of potatoes.

I was finally able to stop trembling and walked to the door, warning myself that the truce would be brief. And then noticed that Jonathan had stayed behind, waiting for me.

I smiled awkwardly, remembering that no matter what I did he had always refused to talk to me all that time, and looked for something smart to say.

“Thank you. You really didn’t have to worry about it,” I pointed out, but he looked at me with an intimidating expression.

“Mariane, if you are thinking about running away, now is the time! You should do it while you still can,” he added in a whisper. The smile that up till then had stubbornly persisted on my lips withered away. “Your Guardian is about to wake up. And when he does, the life you now know, all this, will be over,” he said without the shadow of a doubt and turned to walk away towards the stairs, leaving me behind still confused about what I’d just heard.

I just couldn’t understand how, just seconds ago, I’d felt so happy and fulfilled, and now those simple words had stolen it all away, leaving me cold and empty.