Free Dark Heart Forever by Lee Monroe

I’d find you here,’ she said. ‘Ulfred needs you to clear out the barn, Luca … Who is this?’
    ‘This is Jane. Jane, this is my sister, Dalya.’
    ‘Is she a Hunter?’ said Dalya, looking me up and down. She dropped on to the grass next to us.
    ‘She’s … a mortal,’ said Luca cautiously.
    Dalya’s eyes widened. ‘You’ve been back to mortal Earth?’ She shook her head, disapprovingly. ‘You’re not supposed to—’
    ‘No, and you won’t tell anyone, Dalya,’ he said, sternly. ‘It’s under control.’
    I looked from one to the other. ‘Under control?’
    Dalya smiled impishly. ‘He means he won’t fall in love with you.’ She looked almost triumphant. ‘He can’t, or he’ll—’
    ‘That’s enough.’ Luca grasped her hand tightly. ‘Now be nice to Jane. She’s my friend.’
    ‘Luca hasn’t got any friends,’ Dalya told me, flatly. ‘He’s antisocial.’
    I bit my lip to hide a smile; Dalya and Dot were like two peas in a pod. ‘Makes two of us. Luca and I have a lot in common.’
    ‘He just reads all these mortal books that he took from Earth one time,’ she went on. ‘ Huckleberry Finn and White Fang and Franny and —’
    ‘ Zooey ,’ I finished. ‘I’ve read those too.’
    ‘How did you get here?’ Luca asked her. ‘You ran?’
    ‘No, I came on Sabre.’ Dalya gestured behind her. Further in the trees a small black horse was tethered to one of the trunks. ‘I brought India with me too, but I left her further back. She won’t come through the trees.’
    Luca looked at me. ‘I wanted to show you the Celestial Palace, but there’s no time now.’
    Dalya hopped from one foot to the other. ‘That’s what I came to tell you. Mother is on the committee for the Great Ball. She said we all need to help with the arrangements. She’s calling a family meeting.’
    Luca rolled his eyes. ‘I’d forgotten about that.’
    ‘What’s the Great Ball?’ I asked.
    ‘The annual Nissilum celebration of peace,’ explained Luca. ‘The angels host it at the Celestial Palace to keep good will amongst the species.’ He paused. ‘It’s where angels, vampires, witches and wolves all meet and pretend they don’t hate each other. It would be amusing, if one wasn’t required to wear a suit and be polite for hours on end.’
    ‘Luca always gets roped in to serve drinks and usher people about,’ Dalya told me. ‘It’s because he never has anyone to take.’ She looked at me, her brown eyes bright and mischievous.
    Luca frowned. ‘Stop it, Dalya. The Great Ball is not for mortal girls.’
    ‘She could pretend. Mother would be overjoyed that you have a mate.’
    I raised an eyebrow.
    ‘That’s “girlfriend”, in mortal terminology,’ said Luca firmly, giving Dalya a gentle prod in the arm.
    I chewed my lip. ‘It sounds kind of … interesting,’ I said slowly. ‘Fun, even.’
    ‘Really?’ Luca stared at me. ‘Are you saying you’d like to come?’
    ‘I don’t know …’ I threw up my hands. ‘I mean, it’s no more weird and frightening than anything else right now.’
    ‘True.’ Luca looked down at the grass.
    ‘I’d have to wear a dress, right?’ I said, warming to the idea. ‘Only I’m not a dressy kind of girl.’
    ‘That is the custom.’ He looked serious for a minute. ‘Jane, I don’t think this is a good idea. If anyone found out that you were mortal …’
    ‘She could be one of our southern cousins,’ said Dalya excitedly. ‘There’s so many of them, and nobody knows them very well.’
    ‘When is this ball?’ I asked.
    ‘A few weeks’ time,’ said Luca.
    There was a moment’s silence before I spoke.
    ‘I suppose I could come.’ I picked up a tiny stone and threw it into the water. ‘If you want me to. After all – in for a penny, in for a pound.’
    Brother and sister looked at me blankly.
    ‘That’s “What the hell!” in mortal terminology,’ I said, tongue in my cheek.
    Luca raised an eyebrow then turned to Dalya.