Visions (The Daevas #2)

21 | A Life to Tell

How old are they? I thought. The girl looked no more than eighteen, while the man looked twenty-one.

I heard Matteo chuckle from where he was at, but I ignored him. Let him read my thoughts, then.

The young woman gave me a hug. "It's very nice to meet you, your high-" I stilled in her arms, bracing for the words to come, but they didn't. I saw all three males expressions turn. They were trying to make me feel at ease, not letting me know about my title as a princess. Little did they know how much I knew about my past now. When I was walking through halls with Ms. Haroldson, I saw visions of my pasts again. From Georgian to Renaissance. It was a good thing I didn't bump and, not to mention, Ms. Haroldson seeing my eyes glow dark green. What'd happened to me had been...I couldn't even describe it on my own. I never knew my life was miserable even then.

"Er...Venise. I am so happy to finally meet you!" she back-pedaled. She offered her hand. "I'm María Claveria. People call me with my last name joined; but whatever you wish to call me, I'm fine with it. María, if you want."

I smiled. "I've heard a lot about you, María."

"Let me guess," she said with a laugh. "It's Georgie, isn't it?"

"Don't forget Axel."

María raised a delicate brow. "That knave?"

"I'm sorry? Knave?"

She shrugged her shoulders prettily. "Rake, playboy. Whatever you wish to call it." She grinned.

"I don't think he's that much of a playboy anymore," I said, defending Axel a little bit. "Seems like a one-woman man."

María and the guy looked at each other with amusement. "I think I know the reason why," she told me, wiggling her eyebrows.

I blushed crimson, averting my eyes from her beautiful ones.

"Excuse my little fiancée here, Venise," her beau interjected, chuckling. "She can be very teasing at times." María swatted him playfully. He extended his hand. "I'm Andres Penitente. People in college call me Andie, but the Daevas go for Andres."

Andres and María were talking in normal English like me, but when they said their name, there was a roll of their own accent in it. Like when they said the R in their names, it was rolling on their tongues like Spanish people. But, of course, I knew that María was half Spanish and Filipino, while Andres had the Filipino blood running through his veins. They were too beautiful to look at, actually. What with their exotic looks and all.

"I think you should call him Andie," María suggested helpfully. "The reason why the kids in college call him that is because they can't pronounce his given name very well." I heard Gregori, Mr. Corsemithe, and Andres laugh softly. She leaned forward. "It's because, instead of Andres, like Andrrres (rolling your tongue when you say the R), they pronounce it like Undress, which would be totally strange for my dear Andres here if he would be called that. Daevas, you know, are good with languages and accents so they do not have trouble saying his name."

I gave a shaky laugh. "Andie, it is!" I still wasn't good with the whole accent/languages thing, so I was still unable to say Andres without referring to his name as undress in the process.

"Glad you made up your mind," Andie commented, patting me on the arm.

We took a seat in front of the fireplace.

"I heard," I began, looking at Andie, "that you just came back from the Philippines, helping the people there who needed help."

He nodded, leaning back in his seat. "Glad I cured them all."