Seduced and Enchanted

by Stephanie Julian

  When she was younger, Rosie had assumed they were sisters, they looked so much alike. It was only later that she’d learned they weren’t, though they all had the same coppery brown hair, leaf green eyes and slim builds. Facially, they looked nothing alike. Lora’s features were sharp and pointed, giving her an inquisitive expression. Vivian’s features were soft and rounded and her constant smile never failed to make others smile back. Fanny looked a little like Katherine Hepburn and she had the haughty attitude to go with it. People got out of Fanny’s way when she walked, though none of her godmothers stood taller than Rosie’s five-two, and they couldn’t weigh more than three hundred pounds combined.

  It gave them an air of fragility that was incredibly misleading. Rosie’s godmothers were anything but weak.

  Right now Lora and Vivian stared at her with such pain in their eyes it almost frightened her. Only Fanny glared at Rio as if he were a toxic bug she’d scraped off her shoe. That wasn’t good. Rising, Rosie moved in front of Rio but he stood up as well, putting his arm around her and pulling her against his side.

  Fanny’s glare got hotter.

  Lora’s mouth made that funny little quirk that only happened when she was flustered, but she directed her next words at Sal. “We came as soon as we realized what had happened. We never expected— Well,” she sighed and looked back to Rosie, “we just never expected you to find him so soon. We’re so sorry, sweetheart. I know we have a lot to explain but I promise we will.

  “But first,” Lora gave Rio a weak smile, “maybe you could introduce us to your new…friend?”

  Before Rosie could make a sound, Rio stepped forward, hand outstretched to Lora, charming grin on his lips. Even with everything else going on and uncertainty gnawing a hole in her gut, that smile made her tingle from head to toe.

  “Valerio de Feo, ma’am. Son of Tana and Lucumo de Feo.”

  Every single one of her godmothers’ eyebrows raised in unison as Lora shook his hand then Vivian and finally Fanny. But Fanny didn’t release him immediately.

  “You’re linchetto, are you not?” she asked, a sharp edge to her words.

  Rio dimmed the wattage on his grin but kept his expression friendly. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I’ve met your parents.” Fanny finally released his hand. “Good people. I believe your brother Camillus runs a personal security and investigative firm.”

  “Yes, ma’am. My brother Antonin and I both work with him now.”

  Fanny’s gaze narrowed again. “And how exactly did you meet Rosalia?”

  “Wait just a minute,” Rosie interrupted when it became clear that Fanny was about to interrogate Rio. “I want some answers and I want them now.”

  Unconsciously, she took her hands out of her pockets and shook a finger at Fanny. As soon as she did it, she gasped and froze. But Fanny didn’t fly back or even take a step back.

  “Oh my God.” She looked at Lora. “Did you fix me?”

  Lora shook her head. “No, sweetheart. We just put a temporary lock on your powers as soon as we got here.” She sighed and that sad expression Rosie was beginning to fear made a reappearance. “Sal, I think we should take this into the living room, if you don’t mind. I feel we’re going to need somewhere soft to sit.”

  * * * * *

  “I know this is going to be a little unbelievable but you, my dear, are the very rare offspring of a fauni and an aguane.”

  Sitting next to Rosie on Sal’s couch, Rio’s mouth dropped open. Holy shit.

  He’d known there was something special about Rosie. He just hadn’t realized how special.

  And Rosie had no idea what they were talking about. She shook her head, her expression adorably befuddled. “Lora, I don’t even know what that means.”

  Lora grimaced. “I know that. It’s just… We’ve debated telling you for several years but something always came up. I know there’s no excuse for keeping you in the dark for so long but, sweetheart, your life is so…stable. All we’ve ever wanted was to spare you a life lived in fear.”

  “In fear of what, Lora?” Rosie’s voice rose. “You still haven’t explained what’s going on. What am I?”

  “You are salvanelli.”

  Rosie shook her head again but Rio’s was spinning.

  Even to the Fata, salvanelli were mythical beings. Right up there with unicorns and Santa Claus. Salvanelli powers were rumored to be almost godlike.

  “Lora,” Rosie said, drawing Rio’s attention back to the conversation, “you’re still not telling me anything I can understand. I mean, Rio’s explained a little bit about the Enu and the Fata but I still don’t understand what it all means.”

  Lora gave him a weak smile, which he hoped boded well. At least she wasn’t glaring at him like Fanny. “Well then, you are Fata, like us. Vivian and Fanny and I are gianes. Some call us wood elves. Your mother was aguane, an elemental spirit of rivers and streams, and your father was fauni, an elemental spirit of the forests and fields. All Fata, with the exception of the salvanelli, were created through the mating of fauni and silvani, the elemental spirits of air. But you, my love, are very special.”

  “How so?” Rosie asked.

  Lora turned to look at Vivian, who took a deep breath and continued, “With your powers unlocked, you would eventually be able to control certain aspects of weather and time and you would be able to shape-shift.”

  Rio’s eyes popped open. But Rosie’s hand tightened on his. Her ice-cold hand. “You mean I’m a werewolf?”

  “No,” Fanny jumped in, “your ability to take on another form is much different from how the versipelli change their shape. But it’ll take you years to master that skill.” Fanny paused and looked back at Lora, who nodded. “And you’re going to have more important things to worry about before you can even begin learning how to do it.”

  Rosie’s hand had tightened on his until he was pretty sure he’d have bruises. Not that he cared, just so long as she kept holding on. “And those are?”

  Fanny’s mouth screwed up into a mean-ass grimace. “For starters, there’s a bergoia looking for you.”

  Oh shit. Rio’s entire body flinched as if he’d taken a blow to his solar plexus. That was really not good.

  “Jesus, how the hell did that happen?” The words were out before he even realized he’d spoken them and Rosie’s godmothers pinned him at once with sharp glances. He swore he felt the prick of tiny needles all over his skin. Most gianes were peaceful women who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

  He didn’t think these three would hesitate to squash him if he so much as looked at Rosie the wrong way.

  He opened his mouth to tell them he would never hurt Rosie but before he could say anything, Rosie turned to him, eyes wide. “What does that mean? What’s a bergoia?”

  Rosie knew from Rio’s expression that whatever this bergoia was, it wasn’t a good thing.

  He opened his mouth to answer but she held up her hand to cut him off before he could say a word.

  “Wait.” Suddenly it was all too much and her stomach tightened into a hard ball. Everyone was staring at her. Her godmothers. Sal. Rio.

  She’d never liked being the center of attention. Her godmothers had never encouraged her to try out for the lead in the school musical or play a sport. They’d encouraged her to be a good student but never exceptional, to make friends but not too many. To be invisible.

  It’d helped that she had a quiet personality, liked to read and was content with a small circle of friends. All that had made it easy for her godmothers to keep her hidden—from whatever this bergoia was.

  She should probably be terrified. But all she felt was numb. It was too much. All of it. She was something called a salvanelli. She had powers, more than just being able to make things move by waving her hands. Rosie wanted to run, stick her head under a pillow and sleep until they all went away—except Rio. She wanted him in bed with her.

  He squeezed her hand as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  She looked up to fi
nd him staring into her eyes.

  “I don’t… I can’t…” Hell, she couldn’t even finish the thought.

  “Yes you can.” Rio squeezed her hand even harder. “I didn’t mean to scare you but, hon, you need to know. A bergoia is kind of like a pissed-off ghost. It’s created when a Malandante strega is killed and her spirit returns for revenge on whoever killed her.”

  Her mouth twisted in a bitter smirk. “I don’t have a clue what a…Mala…whatever is but it sounds like something I don’t want to cross in a dark alley.”

  His easy smile made her tight muscles loosen just a little. “It’s sort of an evil witch but you’re not going to have to worry about it. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “Oh for the love of Uni.” Fanny threw her hands in the air, her mouth drawn in a tight frown. “Son, you’re no match for this. Why don’t you run back to your brothers and let—”

  “Fanny.” Lora reached over to put her hand on Fanny’s shoulder. “That would only delay the inevitable. We knew this day would come.”

  Vivian sighed, a wistful smile on her lips. “Our baby’s all grown up, isn’t she? We should have prepared you better for this but we never expected you to find your so—”

  “Ah, Viv, let’s not go there yet.” Lora sliced a glance at Vivian. “One thing at a time. Bergoia first. Other stuff…later.”

  Actually Rosie would rather have known what Vivian had been going to say. It had to be much more interesting—and much less frightening—than dealing with a vengeful spirit.

  “Now,” Lora said, her gaze going back to Rosie, “we have to relock your powers. If we’re lucky, the bergoia hasn’t been able to pinpoint your location yet. Then we need to get you somewhere safe. Somewhere the bergoia won’t find you. We’re working on the assumption that it felt the spell break and is probably already on its way here.”

  “Why is this thing after me? I didn’t do anything to it.”

  Vivian reached over to pat her on the shoulder. “Your parents weren’t killed in a freak accident, honey. They died after defeating this Malandante strega in battle. Their injuries were too severe to be healed but they lived long enough to get you to us and beg us to hide you. While you were still a baby, we were able to lock your powers away, to mask your true nature and hide ourselves here in Reading. There’s a large Etruscan community here and, well, Sal was here, so if we got into trouble, we’d have backup.”

  “Why did it kill my parents?”

  “Your parents were fierce protectors, love,” Vivian continued. “They knew someone had to take a stand to protect the races from the Mal. It was what drew them together from the start. Fauni and aguane don’t mate often. The aguane are water spirits. They never venture far from the stream or river they call home. But your parents had a love affair for the ages. They never expected to have children and when you were born… Oh Rosie, they thought you hung the moon. They gave up their battle against the Mal to keep you safe. But they fought one final battle after you were born. And that’s the spirit that haunts you now. The bergoia can’t reach them anymore and as you are their only child, it has focused its revenge on you.”

  “So,” Lora stood up, her face set in firm lines.

  Rosie knew that look. It was the one Lora had worn through most of Rosie’s teenage years. The look she’d get when she told Rosie she wasn’t allowed to go the concert in Philadelphia with her friends or couldn’t have her friends sleep over for her sixteenth birthday.

  That face had worked amazingly well when she’d been a teenager. After a while, she’d learned what was acceptable and what wasn’t. She’d stopped asking if Sara Linney, whose parents worked for the newspaper, could come to the house or if she could take a vacation with friends at the shore.

  “We need to lock down your powers again,” Lora said. “It’s for your own good.”

  Lora believed that completely. And as Rosie looked at Vivian and Fanny, she knew they did too. But…did she believe the same?

  “No.”

  Lora’s eyebrows shot straight up. “Rosalia, you don’t know what you’re talking about. This is for your protection—”

  She held up one hand, cutting off Lora. “This spirit…this thing isn’t going to stop until it finds me. It’s only a matter of time, right? Or am I supposed to hide my entire life?”

  Lora’s expression went blank and Rosie knew that was exactly what she thought.

  Well, hiding away her whole life wasn’t an option. “Don’t you think it would be better if I learned how to use my powers to protect myself? To find out as much as I can about this thing that’s after me? I’m sick of hiding. Hell, I didn’t even know I was hiding, but my entire life has been about being invisible.”

  Vivian shook her head. “No, sweetheart. We didn’t want you to be invisible—”

  “Oh hell, Viv.” Fanny’s hand slashed out. “The girl’s right. We put her in a bubble. And that’s no way to live.”

  Her godmothers began to argue among themselves, Fanny’s voice loud and excited, Lora’s calm and reasonable, Viv’s quiet and conciliatory.

  Rosie’s stomach rolled and her head hurt. She didn’t want her godmothers to fight. On the one hand, she wanted to do whatever they said. Considering they’d given up their lives to raise her, it wasn’t too much to ask that she listen to them. She’d been conditioned to do so her entire life.

  On the other hand, she was twenty-seven years old. When did her life become her own?

  Rio squeezed her hand, drawing her gaze back to his as her godmothers continued to talk. “Are you sure?” He gave her his warm, comforting smile.

  She barely heard his voice over her godmothers’ discussion but she knew what he was asking.

  She smiled back, even though the expression trembled a little. “Of course I’m not sure. I don’t know what I’m getting myself into. But I’ve had my head in the sand for years and I’m sick of it.”

  He nodded, no longer smiling. “Then I’ll be right here.”

  Rosie’s confused look told Rio she couldn’t understand why he wasn’t running in the opposite direction.

  Hell, he was a little surprised himself. His brothers were right about him in some respects. He hadn’t met a woman before who held his interest long enough to make him stick around for more than a few dates. Until now.

  Rosie’s godmother Vivian had just confirmed it. Lora hadn’t let her finish but Rio knew what Vivian had been going to say.

  Soul mate.

  Rosie was his. The one woman meant for him. That was why he’d been so drawn to her from the beginning. That was why the spell had been broken when they’d made love.

  Joy flooded him. He’d met the woman he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with. Now he just had to keep her safe while they defeated a bergoia so they could live a long life together.

  Rio didn’t have a clue how he was supposed to do that. But he knew one thing for sure. Rosie’s godmothers weren’t taking her away from him.

  “We need to move her before the bergoia gets here,” Lora said. “Hopefully it didn’t track her to Sal’s but—”

  “Rosie and I will stay here for the day while you ladies scout the city, see if the bergoia has shown up,” Rio decided, standing to address the godmothers. He figured he needed every advantage. “We’ll be safe here, at least for today. Sal will make sure of that. Besides, it’s a good environment for her to test her powers, get a feel for them. Tomorrow, if you decide it’s safe, I’ll take her to someone who can teach her how to control them.”

  Lora opened her mouth to shoot him down but Vivian spoke first. “I think that sounds like a plan. Release the spell, Lora.”

  “Viv, really—”

  “Release her.” Vivian’s voice held absolutely no give and both Lora and Fanny stared at her with widened eyes. They grumbled about how stupid that idea was but Vivian stood firm until Lora finally said a few words in Etruscan and snapped her fingers. Rio felt the rush of the spell breeze toward Rosie, who gave a little
gasp as it connected with the arus in her blood.

  Then Vivian winked at Rosie. “We’ll be back in a little while, sweetheart. Try not to worry too much while we’re gone.”

  The little godmother turned to Lora and Fanny and herded them toward the hall. “Let’s go. We have a lot of ground to cover.”

  With a huff and a pointed look at Rio, Fanny headed toward the front of the house with Vivian, but Lora lingered. She managed to look down her nose at him even though she was shorter.

  “I certainly hope you’re as good as you think you are, son,” Lora said. “We’ll be back by nightfall.” She turned to Sal. “I’m still not sure this is the right thing to do.”

  Sal hopped off the chair and stood, waving the woman toward the doorway. “You knew the day was coming, Lora. Gotta let go sometime.”

  With a sigh, Lora let Sal lead her out of the room.

  The front door opened and closed and finally alone with Rio, Rosie closed her eyes and blew out her breath through pursed lips. Then she turned her gaze to him. “What now?”

  Good question. And one he better have a damn good answer for. “First we need to teach you how to get a handle on your little hand problem. That’s the easy part.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “Easy, huh? Maybe I don’t want to know what the hard part is.”

  “You can still get your godmothers to bind your powers.”

  She thought about it for a few seconds then shook her head. “No.” She took another deep breath. “No, I can do this. Lead on, Rio. I just hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

  So did he.

  Chapter Eight

  Six hours, two meals and countless bruises later, Rio gave Rosie a standing ovation in Sal’s basement workout area.

  She stood in the center of the room, waving her hands in the air like a conductor while he stood directly in front of her. Not flying into the wall at his back as he had the last twelve hundred or so times.

  Her smile was radiant, her eyes sparkled—and the aches and pains in his battered body became nothing more than a slight annoyance.