Page 42 of Dark Rover's Luck

Fenella was surprised that there was anyone in the village who didn't know the story yet. The place was a hive of gossip, and rumors spread at the speed of light.

"It's a long story. The gist of it is that Din had a crush on me, but he was bashful, and Max, who was supposed to be Din's best friend, didn't realize how obsessed Din was with me and rushed to seduce me instead. In my defense, I had no idea that Din was besotted with me because he never made a move. Anyway, long story short, Max inadvertently induced my transition, and here I am today, trying to figure out what I have missed out on with Din."

Shira shook her head. "I'm missing a lot of puzzle pieces, but I get the picture." She transferred the French toast to two plates, adding a generous dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup before sliding one plate in front of Fenella. "So that's what the date with Din was about? Checking out what you'd missed out on?"

Nodding, Fenella cut into the French toast. She hadn't intended to discuss Din with her roommate, whom she barely knew, but looking at Shira's eager, open face, she realized that she actually wanted to talk to someone about it.

Strange how quickly the human need for connection reasserted itself once safety was secured.

"He seems different than the guy I remember skulking at the bar I served drinks in." She took a bite of the toast, which was delicious—crisp on the outside, soft and custardy within. "He's more confident now, which is kind of absurd since he wasn't a kid back then. He's over five hundred years old." Fenella shook her head. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around that number. Then again, I'm seventy-three, and I still feel as young as I look, just less naive and more dejected. The world sucks, you know."

Shira nodded, but her expression indicated that she disagreed.

Great, she was rooming with an optimist.

It wasn't that Fenella had anything against them, but it was even more heartbreaking to see them crashing on the shores of reality than those who had been expecting it.

The way she saw it, life sucked, bad things happened, and when something good came along once in a while, it was a fortunate and pleasant surprise rather than the expected norm.

Oh well, it wasn't her job to teach Shira that the world wasn't made of rainbows and unicorns. One day, she would discover how awful it was outside the village and the library where she worked.

Still, Fenella had to admit that the evening with Din had been one of those surprisingly pleasant, rare occurrences. Din had been attentive, with just a little bit of overbearing intensity, and he had been interested without asking intrusive questions.

The only thing that cast a shadow over their date was the almost-kiss at the door, which she regretted spoiling by chickening out at the last moment. Their date should have ended differently, and she intended to correct that today somehow.

"I don't remember Din," Shira said. "What does he look like?"

Tall, broad-shouldered, dark hair, intense blue eyes that seemed to see right through her. "He doesn't look like he belongs on the cover of a magazine, but he's good-looking in the football captain sort of way." She chuckled. "I haven't seen a bad-looking immortal yet, male or female. This village looks like a computer game with fake, pretty people with some aliens thrown in for interest."

"That's true," Shira said, her green eyes dancing with amusement. "We are blessed with pleasing features. When are you seeing Din again?"

"Today. He's coming with me to meet Atzil at the Hobbit Bar. I might have a job there."

"That would be brilliant! I've only been to the Hobbit once, and I loved it, but I need to warn you that it gets a little rowdy in there."

Fenella laughed. "I've tended bar in Scotland. Rowdy doesn't bother me."

Shira smiled. "I know what you're talking about. I was born in the new country, as we called it for the longest time, but I visit Scotland from time to time."

Fenella studied her roommate over the rim of her coffee mug. "Is it rude to ask how old you are?"

Shira tilted her head. "Normally, yes. I don't know why, but immortals are sensitive about their age, and most of us don't even celebrate birthdays. But I'm still young, so I don't mind. I'm one hundred twenty-eight."

That explained a lot. Born into the clan's protection, Shira had never known the fear and desperation that had defined so much of Fenella's existence. She'd never had to run, to hide, to reinvent herself in strange countries with nothing but her wits to rely on. Never had to fight off predators, human or otherwise. Never had to make the kinds of choices that had kept Fenella awake at night, wondering what the purpose of it all was, and why God was punishing her to live endlessly like that.

"You're lucky," Fenella said.

Shira turned from the sink, soap suds clinging to her slender forearms. "I know," she said. "My mother keeps telling me that. According to her, it wasn't always easy for our community, and I'm lucky to grow up in the new country and all of its conveniences."

It was strange. Even though Fenella was technically younger at seventy-three, she felt ancient in comparison to Shira. The weight of her experiences had aged her. She'd been quite naive as a human, although she hadn't known that at the time, but after her transition she'd been forced to grow up fast, and the subsequent decades on the run had made her harder and more disillusioned.

"I'm not the girl Din knew fifty years ago," she said. "I'm not sure I even remember how to do this—dating, relationships. Heck, I didn't even know how to do that then. It was all about having fun. I was young and carefree, and I was not looking for my forever guy. It feels like speaking a foreign language, and I can't find a good course to teach me about it."

"You'll learn," Shira said. "The language of love is universal, and it doesn't require translation earpieces. Just look at Jasmine and Ell-rom or Jade and Phinas. Their love crossed species. Yours only has to cross decades."

That sounded so reasonable, and yet it didn't quiet the unease in Fenella's gut.

"Maybe you are right," Fenella conceded, though she wasn't convinced.

---