Page 31 of Nikola

The moment we entered, Aunt Reina and Uncle Amon appeared with their flock of children. The youngest, Kai and Lia, who just turned twelve, shifted their eyes around the room, probably contemplating how to sneak out. Those two loved to collect seashells.

Spotting me, they abandoned their plans and ran over, their faces transforming as grins split their cheeks.

They tilted their faces up, speaking too fast for me to read their lips, and I chuckled at their enthusiasm as I hugged them.

I signed with my free hand. “Slow down.”

Kai straightened, then signed while speaking slowly, “We missed you so goddamn much.”

“Kai!” Aunt Reina scolded him as she strutted over in her pink heels. “Language.” She pecked my cheek. “They couldn’t wait for you to get here.”

Kai muttered something, but his father pinned him with a stare. “Listen to your mother.”

Despite being twins, Kai and Lia couldn’t be more different. Lia was a basket of sunshine with her blonde curls and blue eyes. Kai, on the other hand, was a replica of his father and arrived on earth grumpy.

He looked at me and I winked. “It’s easier if we listen to our parents.”

He signed back. “Because they get off our cases?”

“Exactly.”

Reon, the oldest of Uncle Amon and Aunt Reina’s children, clapped a hand over my shoulder. “What’s up, cousin?”

I stifled a chuckle. “Not much. How’s England?”

“Cold and rainy as fuck,” he grumbled, drawing an exasperated look from his mom. “What? It’s true. I bet Alaska gets more sun than England.”

“Your father and uncle also went to school there,” Aunt Reina reminded him. “So you can handle it. Plus, you’re much closer this way.”

My mama patted her godson on the cheek. “Finish your degree, then you can do whatever you want.” Mama shot Aunt Reina a warning look. “Whateverhe wants,” she repeated.

Reon pushed his hands into his pockets like the big shot he thought he was—a fifteen-year-old genius attending college—and made his way to his father, probably to tell him his plans of moving out or something like that.

“The kid is way too independent,” Aunt Reina complained, her eyes on her eldest. “And way too smart.”

“In four years, he’ll forget why he ever wanted to move out,” Mama pacified her.

“I certainly hope so,” Uncle Amon grumbled as he appeared, signing at the same time. “The boy is so much like Dante it’s scary.”

My papa chuckled. “Ah, so super handsome and whip-smart. Sorry, brother, must be hard for you mere mortals.”

“Let’s climb into the boxing ring and you’ll see how ‘super’ you really are,” Uncle Amon threatened teasingly, then winked at me. “Skye can be the judge.”

“You forget that myprincipessafavors her papa.” He bent his head and pressed a kiss on my forehead. “Call timeout in the first round,” he signed without moving his lips.

Uncle Amon shoved his hand against Papa’s shoulder. “I understood that.”

Sonomi, who was incredibly shy, stood slightly back from her papa, her wide eyes on me, and I closed the distance. “How are you?”

Her timid gaze darted around the room while she blushed profusely and melted into my hug. “I missed you. Are you staying for a while?”

Sonomi was the quietest, usually lost in her thoughts, and often needed to be coaxed out of her shell. She reminded me a lot of myself when I was that age.

“Just a few weeks,” I signed, then slumped onto the loveseat and patted the empty space next to me. When she took it, I continued. “But Christmas holidays are coming up. I’ll be home for at least three weeks.”

Papa took his usual spot on the sofa, Mama finding herself next to him.

The rest of the adults got comfortable while the twins and Reon opened the balcony doors and made their way outside despite the cold.