“For what?” she demanded.
“A mutually beneficial opportunity,” he clarified.
“I still don’t—”
A sound of rustling clothing interrupted her. Signora Luni walked into view, dropping a light hand on Saturnino’s sleeve. If Ravenna hadn’t been looking at his face closely, she would have missed the slightest ripple of emotion changing his expression. The line of his jaw tightened, as if he were gritting his teeth. But the moment was gone when she next blinked, replaced by a bored look.
“Our dinner is ready,” Signora Luni said with a smile. She glanced at Ravenna, eyebrows rising expectantly. “I trust your accommodations are comfortable?”
She spoke pleasantly, as if she’d had no part in the kidnapping.The gall of the woman, Ravenna fumed. “I would be more comfortable in my own home.”
“Perhaps you’ll change your mind once the night is over,” Signora Luni said lightly. “You’ll escort her down, won’t you, my love?”
The knight’s eyes cut to hers. “Even if I have to drag her.”
Signora Luni laughed uneasily as she squeezed her son’s arm as she moved out of view. “I’m certain it won’t come to that.”
Cavaliere Saturnino held Ravenna enthralled in his cold, remote gaze. “Will it?”
She shook her head, her heart beating rabbit-fast. “It won’t.”
“Then come to me,” he said softly.
Ravenna locked her jaw but she approached the knight, her steps controlled and measured. She was proud her knees didn’t shake.
“Good choice,” he said.
Ravenna swept past him, her chin held high and spine straight. But she felt his gaze between her shoulder blades as he followed behind her, a wolf stalking his prey.
The reality of her situation sank into her bones: if she didn’t escape, there would be no more choices left for her to make.
Capitolo Sei
Ravenna followed Saturnino down to the main floor, their conversation running through her mind in a constant loop. Escapinghimwould require more effort than she originally bargained for. The immortal was dressed as a gentleman, but she could never forget that he was also a knight of the realm. Trained in battle, horseback riding, traveling long distances. It was him who she would have to outwit and outrun and outfight.
The thought didn’t give her much hope, but itdidmake her angry.
At him—and all the rest of his loathsome family, glittering and coldly beautiful with their cruel disdain for her life. How dare they take her, as if she were a figurine, a misplaced trunk, without a life of her own, as if she didn’t have responsibilities or people dependent on her. As scared as she was, she held on to her anger as if it were a holy sacrament.
Without it, Ravenna knew she would crumble.
She was glowering by the time Saturnino was holding the door open to the private dining room. The rest of the Luni famiglia were already seated in high-backed chairs situated around a long wooden table. Signor Luni sat at the head, a jug of red wine at his elbow. On the opposite end, Signora Luni was in quiet conversation with her daughter while Marco leaned back against his seat, arms folded tightly across his flat belly, an air of restless energy swirling around him.
The room was cozy; woven tapestries adorned the stone walls, and under her feet, a lush rug spread out wide, nearly touching the fourcorners of the space. Oil lamps were lit, and shadows danced across the immortal faces turned in her direction. Across the table were platters filled with their meal: roasted pheasant drizzled with an herby sauce, a medley of root vegetables, and a loaf of bread with a golden crust. There were bowls of olive oil and butter and honey placed in between the larger plates.
Ravenna had a childish impulse to smash everything to pieces.
Experience had taught hernothinggood came from giving in to her emotions.
She knew that lesson down to her bones.
Years of dealing with ornery customers and unwieldy siblings and stubborn parents who refused to listen to her ideas, even when it was the right course to take. Years of carting stone and carving marble, when everyone else would look down at her for it with ridicule and derision. Years of discipline, sweat, and toiling in secret. Ravenna did it all anyway because she wanted to be good at something that was all her own, something that would make her forget about the dark magic she carried with her everywhere, waiting to be set free and damning her soul in the process.
So no, she wouldn’t shove everything off the table in a tantrum. Even if she wanted to.
But she would make them rue the day they took her.
Someway, somehow.
