Dana Bell - Artistic Vision

“Yup. Out to the road, make a left, head straight on through the rest of Nebraska until I hit Utah and eventually Colorado.” She held out a piece of paper. “Are you sure I’ll be able to hole up here for a while?”

Robin stared at the paper over Shane’s shoulder, shamelessly eavesdropping. He stared in shock at his own address. He met the hybrid’s eyes, his own narrowed in suspicion. Shane was up to something.

Shane winked at him. Winked, like this was nothing but one of Robin’s own pranks. “Yup. Trust me, they’ll be delighted to have you.”

“Are you sure?”

Shane grinned. “I checked with the owners.”

Did he now? Odd, Robin couldn’t recall that conversation.

“Just remember, the owners work for the palace, so stay away when you hear the King is coming to visit.”

She shuddered. “You gotcha. I have no desire to meet a royal.”

Now that was even more intriguing.

“Thanks, Shane.” The nymph hugged the hybrid, her expression full of gratitude. “I mean it. I don’t know what I would have done without you and your folks.”

“You would have survived.” Akane stepped out from around the house and wrapped her arms around her mate. The puzzle box was in her hand. It looked exactly like it had the day Robin had first seen it. “You’re strong.”

The female, Cassie, shrugged. She looked oddly embarrassed. “Yeah, well.” She turned and stared at the road before giving them both a quick hug. “I’m outta here.” She gave Robin a brief, formal nod. “Nice to meet you, my lord.”

“Cassie, wait!”

Robin turned swiftly. Ruby Dunne had dashed out of the house like a madwoman. She threw herself into Cassie’s arms and hugged her tight. “You visit us, you hear?”

Cassie hugged back, and her expression set Robin back a step. This was a woman starved for affection, and Ruby was handing it out to her in super-size quantities. “I will, Ruby. You have my word.”

Well now, this was a fascinating twist, wasn’t it? He watched as the nymph, waving good-bye, took off down the wintery road toward whatever fate Shane Dunne had seen for her. She wasn’t the prettiest lass he’d ever seen, but there was something about her face that caught at him. Could it be? “Is she mine?”

Shane shook her head. “Nope.” He put his hand on Robin’s shoulder. “You’ll meet yours before she meets hers, but she’ll see hers before you see yours.”

Robin blinked slowly. What the hell? “Care to explain yourself?”

Shane gave him a shit-eating grin. “Let’s just say the child of Dunne has just done his duty.” And Shane took his laughing mate back into the Dunne house, leaving Robin standing out in the cold, confused as hell—and more curious than he could ever remember being.

A small hand patted him on the head. “You’ll get used to it.” Ruby Dunne took his hand and pulled him into the warmth and the light. Into something he longed for with all his ancient, weary heart.

Home.

Dana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She attended the High School for Creative and Performing Arts for creative writing, where freedom of expression was the order of the day. When her parents moved out of the city and placed her in a Catholic high school for her senior year, she tried desperately to get away, but the nuns held fast, and she graduated with honors despite herself.

Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, to be precise), with a brief stint on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil, ice-cream stealing cat and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese.

You can learn more about Dana at www.danamariebell.com or contact her at danamariebell@gmail.com.