Saturnino took hold of her hand, bracing her for the onslaught of panic curling around her. “When does her family arrive?”
“Any day,” the courier said. “They will be held at a secret location, but not for long. The pope will use them to draw you out of hiding.”
Saturnino looked at him narrowly. “Why are you telling her this? Why are you helping her?”
A muscle in the courier’s jaw ticked. “Because there might be a way for us all to get what we want.”
“How?” Ravenna asked. She took a step forward, but Saturnino placed a hand on her arm, preventing her from drawing closer to the courier.
“Careful.” His voice was grim. “That man is not just a wizard.”
Her brows rose and she threw a questioning look at the courier. “You’re not?”
The courier’s lips pressed into a pale slash. Finally, he gave a single, reluctant nod. Ravenna studied him, trying to discern what it was she had missed, but he looked the same to her. That wild vitality clinging to his skin, his brown hair hanging in waves just past his jawline, the hard glint of his eyes… outlined inbloodred.
She gasped. “Vampyre.”
Ravenna had never knowingly met one before; they were famously reclusive, living in small dwellings carved into the sides of rocky mountains. They were mostly solitary creatures, but some were known to be a part of tight-knit groups of only a handful of members. Families, of sorts.
She replayed every interaction she’d had with the courier, a man caught in between, a wizard and a vampyre. This was why his staff only held five gemstones—he wasn’t a full-blooded wizard. With a start, she also remembered that all their interactions had happened in thedark.Vampyres were able to venture out into the sunlight, but it cost them.
They were weaker, their eyesight poorer, their bodies under siege.
The courier blinked; the beam of red was gone. He’d shown it to them deliberately. Saturnino snarled, dragging her back into the tower, but she resisted.
“He showed us so that we could trust him,” Ravenna said. She lifted her hand and cupped Saturnino’s cheek. “I want to listen to what he says.”
Saturnino flicked the courier a lethal glance. “If you—”
“I could have drunk from her on any number of occasions,” the courier said coolly. “But I did not. Make of that what you will.”
“Then speak, vampyre,” Saturnino said.
“It’s simple,” he said. “I’m proposing an alliance.”
Saturnino stiffened. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Because we are in a unique and mutually beneficial position,” he said quietly. “Because I trust her, and because she can’t do it alone.”
Ravenna gaped at him. “You do?”
“Reluctantly.” He gave her the merest hint of a smile. “If I get you access to the pope, and if I give you a weapon to destroy the magic in his chain mail, will you finish him off by using your magic against him?”
“Why can’tyoukill him?” Saturnino asked. “She’ll be in danger—”
“And you’ll be turned to stone,” the courier cut in, his voice even. “And I can’t attack anyone in the Holy Office.” His lips twisted in self-mockery. “A shortsighted bargain on my part. I’m offering the best chance she has to save her family. They need not die like her brother did.”
Grief flooded Ravenna, and she had to fight the burn of tears from falling. Her magic woke at the rising tide of her emotion, feeding off her sadness, her guilt. Saturnino reached for her, cupping the back of her neck, and gently soothed her.
The magic inside her settled. The tide of her grief drifted into the sea. She inhaled slowly; she was all right.
“How will our paths cross?” Ravenna asked.
“The pope is planning an attack on Florence,” he said. “The details haven’t been set, but it will be soon.” His eyes flicked to Saturnino. “When the city is at her weakest.”
“When we have turned back into statues,” Saturnino said. He glanced at Ravenna, turmoil lurking in the depth of his eyes. “I won’t be able to defend Florence or protect you.”
“Then we will need to control how and when the pope comes to Florence,” Ravenna said. “And I think I know a way.” She shifted, turning to face the vampyre fully. “But if I’m to put my life in danger, then you must do something for me in return, courier.”
