“You know I did not!” The Barone spoke back with a soft snarl now as his onyx eyes flashed crimson. “Your palace is a warren of sub-basements and under-passages for them to haunt, idiot Fae.”
“They should have been kept out by my father’s wards.” The blond lord spoke darkly as his warm fingers caressed Ariana’s face, pouring a steadying energy through her now and adding it to the Barone’s rather than his former blaze. “We need to get her out of here. You know my father will kill her if he finds her here. Come. Quickly.”
But as the blond Fae lord hefted Ariana up into his arms, she lost contact with the Barone. Pain blazed through her again – creating a terrible spiral of burning all through her. As Ariana screamed at that ruinous magic, whatever it was, the Barone moved in. Though he glared at his rival, he set his long white fingers to her neck, pouring a soothing flow of darkness through her again. The blissful starlight and moonlight sensation inside Ariana returned now that both men touched her.
As they glanced at each other, and the blond gave a quick nod down the Fae-hall. “Hurry, Quinn. This way.”
Racing down the hall, they left the normal Pitti Palace behind as the Barone kept his hand on Ariana’s neck. A commotion like guards followed as they took turn after twisting turn; pushing fast through halls both ornate and strange. Even as Ariana flickered in and out of consciousness, she understood she had somehow crossed over from the human world into the Fae-realm she had heard about as a child – the Twilight Realm. But raised like a human all her life without any magic, the Twilight Realm was astounding to her as they broke into a colonnaded courtyard with what looked like dragonfly-wing domes far above, and Ariana felt herself whisked up into a carriage.
As the blond lord laid her upon a seat of brocaded sky blue velvet, the Barone heaved up into the gilded baroque carriage beside her, still pouring his soothing powers through her. As the lord touched her cheeks with his sunlight-warm hands, his beautiful eyes appeared above. No longer flooded with light, his eyes were summer blue, lovely as a noon sky – and Ariana lost herself as she stared into them. Staring back, his full lips had fallen open, his high cheekbones handsome and exquisite. Something passed between them like a lance of energy; as Ariana’s breath caught, she felt it matched by the dark-haired Barone and the blond lord both.
As if all three of them were resonating with each other’s power, together.
But agony came into the lord’s blue eyes as his ash-blond eyebrows tightened suddenly and he glanced to the Barone. “Take her to the Florence Hotel, Quinn. It is the only place a Dark Fae might be safe, for a short while at least. But if any harm befalls her… I swear, I will rip your corpse from this world and banish you to the four winds myself.”
“Lucca.” The Barone Quindici DaPonti spoke with dark intensity as he regarded the Fae lord. “You’re a fool if you think I’ll let anything happen to a Dark Fae, especially one this strong. Back away. And leave her to me.”
“Bastardo.” The lord growled. But though his eyes flashed a terrible sun-hot gold, they left his rival. Glancing to Ariana, agony was in his every motion as he backed quickly out of the carriage, slamming the door and pounding the side with a strong hand, snarling up at the driver to take them away. As a whip cracked, the carriage lurched and some beast like a lion roared. And then they were pulling away, rushing out through rows of colonnaded archways topped by dragonfly wings.
Into the city of Florence – that wasn’t entirely Florence anymore.
Ariana didn’t recall the rest of the carriage ride. Cradled by the Barone and soothed by his river of dark power pouring through her, she must have passed out as they drove. When she woke, it was to the quiet sounds of someone idling nearby, a china teacup clinking as it was set upon a saucer. As her eyelashes flickered open, she found she was in a bed, a sumptuous affair of tall ebony bedposts and luscious cobalt silk in a massive suite. A baroque canopy spread above as daylight streamed into the room, a warm late afternoon breeze from open wrought-iron windows fanning the bed’s heavy drapes. Stirring, Ariana found her body no longer hurt like it had.
As she remembered the battle at the Pitti Palace – and her blast of silver-gold light and dark rainbows.
A strange sensation filled Ariana as she stared up at the canopy, seeing an intricate pattern of roses and brambles embroidered in gold upon the cobalt silk and wondering if it had all really happened. She didn’t have magic; she’d been tested for it as a child and come up as empty as her magic-burned mother. For a moment as she gazed around the Italian baroque room, she pretended she was still in the human world. Everything ornately gilded and carved, enormous paintings of Florentine masters hung upon the walls. The theme was roses and brambles, for every painting featured Renaissance women being spied upon as they bathed near a rose garden, or devils condemning wretched sinners into bramble-patches as the heavens rained fire.
But the decor was royally done, creating a calming environment despite the intensity of the art. The beauty of everything around Ariana seemed heightened in a way her father and mother had often described the Twilight Realm; as if every scent, sight, and sensation burned with luminousness the human world just didn’t have. As Ariana stared around, feeling its strange beauty, whoever was in the room with her noticed she was awake. Rising from a cobalt chaise near a cold fireplace, a tall man set a leather-bound book and a gilded china teacup aside as he moved elegantly to her bedside.
The Barone Quindici DaPonti – Ariana realized as she stared up at his handsome face.
As she blinked, the fiercely elegant Barone regarded her back. Wearing a slim dark crimson suit different from the one he’d had on earlier, with a black shirt, tie, and pocket square, he was utter elegance as he came to sit at Ariana’s bedside in a high-backed chair. Regarding her with a frown upon his straight dark eyebrows, his onyx eyes were pensive, gold rings shining upon his fingers. Exquisitely tall and lean, Ariana’s mystery Barone had a beautiful elegance as he crossed one knee over the other, showing maroon argyle socks and expensive black shoes. As a glimmer of sunlight found him from the windows, Ariana saw a fiery crimson shine in his onyx eyes, and deep russet highlights in his rich dark hair.
“Your fever’s broken, finally.” He spoke in his sonorous baritone as Ariana stared at him. Suddenly, she felt like she wanted to wrap herself in that delicious voice and never leave as her tall, dark, mystery Barone watched her. Handsomely elegant, his subtle magical allure curled through the room as Ariana shivered.
But not from fear this time.
“I was sick?” Frowning, Ariana set her hands to the bed and pushed up. As she did, she noted that she no longer wore her suit from the Pitti, but a lovely blush silk negligee and robe, decorated with an excess of dripping white Italian lace. Though a slight blush flamed her to realize someone had undressed her, she brushed it off as normal for a severe illness. She was still stiff from whatever had happened; but as she settled against the brocaded pillows and headrest, the Barone poured her a glass of water from a copper pitcher, extending it. Accepting it, Ariana drank, feeling her stiffness abate. Gazing at her, the Barone’s eyes held a dark, smooth patience as he waited.
“You were ill, yes.” He spoke as she finished. “How are you feeling now? Any pain?”
“Not much.” Ariana spoke honestly, actually feeling quite a lot better. “Where am I? And how long have I been here?”
“You’re at the Red Letter Hotel in Florence. You’ve been here under my care for three days, in and out of a fever most of that time. I am Head of this Hotel, and you are my guest.” Her host the Barone Quindici DaPonti spoke soberly now in a calm, no-frills manner as he watched her. “And may I ask your real name, Ms. Summers?”
“My real name?” Ariana spoke confusedly, blinking at him now. “What do you mean? Ariana Summers is my real name.”
“I see.” Quindici spoke quietly as he sat back in his gilded chair, lacing his long white hands around one knee. Cocking his head, his gaze was penetrating, as if not believing what she’d said. As she watched him back, she saw a flash of fiery red in his dark onyx eyes. “And are you really the acclaimed new Associate Authenticator from Robar, Fisk & Lund?”
“Yes.” Ariana continued with a bit more heat now, incensed but still confused about just what was going on. “My name is Ariana Summers. I’m from the United States but was mostly raised in Florence and have a PhD in Art History with a specialization in curation and authentication. I’ve been working for Robar, Fisk & Lund for three years and am their youngest Associate Authenticator. So just who the hell are you,BaroneDaPonti?”
“I am who I say I am.” He chuckled quietly now, though he still watched her with a piercing intensity. “My name is Barone Quindici DaPonti and I was born here in Italy. I run this fine establishment and donate frequently to the Pitti Palace’s restoration from my extensive collection of human-world antiques.”
“Human-world…” Ariana blinked at his statement, sitting back in the pillows. “So you are a creature of the Twilight Realm.”
“Not only that,” he spoke softly now, watching her, “but you are no longer in the human realm, Ms. ArianaSummers. You have come through to the Twilight Realm, and you got here by manifesting a rift between worlds. As far as I can surmise, your Fae magic opened up suddenly for an unknown reason, causing a reaction in time and space that formed a rift between Realms – something that is vastly rare. But opening that rift and fighting off a Vampire Revenant took far more out of you than you have right now with such newly-opened magics. It nearly killed you. Though… it was formidable.”
“Are you saying I have magic?” Ariana whispered with her heart in her throat now at what he was telling her.
