It was all over the walls.
Only a few men had been standing around him, the ones whowere closest to him, as far as hierarchy. Donato and Guido. But they had walked out after Luca had ordered them to.
That left me.
This was where my soft would come in. I’d wrap him in my arms, putting all my love on him, when he could see straight enough to know it was me he was seeing. I wasn’t sure what or who he was envisioning, but it was haunting him and pissing him off at the same time. But what was he fighting against? A ghost is as good as air for landing punches.
“Rocco,” I whispered, taking a step closer to him.
He was truly wild. His hair a mess. His clothes full of wrinkles. Blood splatters stained his shirt and pants. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I knew. All the darkness had drowned out the green color, turning him into a beast—nothing to separate animal from man. The man was too lost to him.
Another step closer.
That was when I noticed it. A…secret?…door behind the wall was open. I peeked to the side of it. I could see it led deeper into thecastello,maybe to secret passageways. It felt like the air coming from that side was frigid, like the weather outside had turned cold, and soon enough, we’d have snow on the beach.
My eyes narrowed on writing written in red paint—or blood—right at the entrance.
Truth.
Voice.
Kill her.
I understood the kill her part, but what about truth? Voice? It meant nothing to me, but it seemed to mean something to Rocco. That was why he was attempting to take this place apart—wall by wall. It seemed the same ghost from last night was haunting the both of us.
I was about to take a step toward the entrance, shouting inside of the halls, “Come at me, bitch!” But it felt like something stronger than the candelabra hit me from the side. Whatever hitme was trying to take the brunt of something worse than blunt silver.
Rocco had hit me, like a knight with all his gear on.
We were both on the floor, his body shielding mine, but nothing was coming at us.
Nothing I could see, anyway.
His entire body trembled, and his arms were like bars around me as he kept repeating, “You are here.”
“That’s right,” I wheezed out. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, myleone.” After a few seconds, maybe even a minute, I called his name. “I. Can’t. Breathe,” I barely got out.
He released me in awhoosh,but he took me up with him, his eyes darting around like he was expecting something to come at us again. He set his back against the wall, a defensive position.
“What happened?” I whispered, my eyes darting around too.
“You will not leave me,” he said, an order amid storming winds that would push everything in its path.
“I’m not.” I stared into his dilated eyes. “No matter what.”
We stared at each other before he bowed his head to me, wrapping what seemed like his entire body around me again.
“Rocco,” I whispered, running my hands through his hair.
He only held me tighter.
A few minutes passed before he seemed to come back to himself. He cleared his throat and stood, lifting me, and we started for the door. The husband-and-wife caretakers of thecastellowere coming in as we did. They averted their eyes, like they didn’t want to see what was going on.
Me either, I almost said, but I was in the middle of this.
If I left him, would she stop? Was that why he was so distraught? He thought that in order to stop her, he had to leave me? Or vice versa?
Kill her.
