I picked up my mask and secured it to my face.
I was finally there.
EIGHT
AVA
Both of myfeet off the gondola, I stood rooted to the spot. My heart was suddenly inflicted with a bad case of nerves, and I was finding it hard to catch my breath.
I’d never let anxiety stop me before, though, even when it felt like a steel wall between my dreams and me.
I climbed the motherfucker. Even when I slid and fell a thousand times. Even when I knew I might crash on the other side.
I stuck my chin up and squared my shoulders, took Rainer’s outstretched arm, and got in line. This was a massive event, and there was no shortage of people dressed in the ritziest clothes money could buy. I wondered if the some of the dresses and suites cost as much as a fancy car.
When I’d chosen my dress, I’d kept that in mind. Some of these people were gazillionaires, and I had used my entire life’s saving on this trip, clothes included. So, I picked a dress thatImade, instead of thedressmaking me, so I’d stand a chance of blending in with this crowd.
I’d always been partial to white, because it pulled out the blue in my eyes and just flattered me in general. It was covered in crystals and would sparkle when candlelight caressed it.
Besides, if what Edna had suspected was going to happen—Lothario refusing to give up the throne to Luca—I could have a magical dress, and no one would even notice. The switching of power was a huge deal for this family, and the sword was probably hanging in silent balance, ready to fall on the loser’s head.
I wasn’t going to play the fate game, where I ran through all the possibilities the night could hold ahead of time. I was on the verge of entering my dreams, but awake inside of them, alongside a cult following of readers who were with me.
I was going to be present in every second if fate allowed it.
Rainer held on to me tighter. He was almost rattling with tension, anxious for a second of time with Brando Fausti’s wife.
Even though he was nice enough, after he told me about the picture he’d taken of Scarlett Fausti without her knowing it, I thought he was a bit…odd. And not in a fun and quirky way. Because of it, I was going to warn him to tuck his heart in deeper—being odd didn’t make a person worthy of a death sentence—and then ditch him.
ON gave me instructions to get Scarlett Fausti alone in a room. I had no idea if Rainer was in on it or not, but I wanted to be on my own. I had no intentions of getting her in a room alone because I knew ON had nefarious intentions.
He’d threatened my sister, but I knew Lilo would take care of her, and I was going to warn the Faustis about ON and then ask for protection. Whoever this ON was, he had connections, but I had no doubt the Faustis could squash him.
The masked man at the door allowed us entry after Rainer’s invite was scanned. They also wrapped two fancy bands around our wrists and scanned those too.
We checked in Rainer’s designer coat and my cloak before we entered the main area of the luxurious palazzo. I asked for a separate ticket. I didn’t plan on leaving with Rainer, and I wanted my cloak. I’d never had one before, and I really loved it. It was fancy in an old-timey way, and it had cost almost as much as the dress because I’d found a seamstress in Paris to make it. She’d copied the theme of my dress and decorated it with crystals that shimmered underneath all the Venetian candelabras lit up by burning candlelight.
Oh my…
Oh my…
Oh my…
My thoughts were tripping over themselves. I couldn’t form a full one.
The entire palazzo.
Whoit was filled with.
Reality hit me like gale-force winds.
I stopped walking, and Rainer tugged on my arm.
“We should go find Scarlett,” he said.
“You go ahead,” I barely got out. I needed a moment to take this in. I needed to separate from him.
He looked unsure, but I knew nothing was going to stop him from going after Scarlett Fausti. He just needed a tiny push.
