Ravenna let their casual insults pass. A reaction from her would only encourage more of it. “I am much needed at home.”
“Remind me, your parents are innkeepers, is that right?” Signor Luni said. He scraped his knife against his plate and it made a loud screeching noise. “A respectable trade.”
“Thank you,” she said dryly. “The inn has been in our family for generations. We are all very proud of it. We’ve even had a magistrate stay with us at one time.”
“A magistrate? How… marvelous,” Signor Luni, clearly unimpressed but trying not to let it show. “A great honor.”
Ravenna wondered how much more of their insincere simpering she could take. “Instead of flattery, why don’t you tell me why you’re in need of five Nightflame gemstones?”
Signor Luni’s lips twitched in annoyance. “Once you’ve freed the stones, we’ll tell you.”
“I thought you’d freemeonce I completed the work,” Ravenna said.
“And I will,” Signor Luni said, giving the impression of a man whose patience had reached its limit. “Once the task is fully complete. Now, enough of this. You will begin excavating today. And from here onward,” Signor Luni continued in a hard voice, “all of your time and energy will be dedicated to finishing the task. That is your sole responsibility; nothing else matters. I trust there is no confusion on that score?”
Ravenna braced herself, forcing herself back into the chair, keeping her shoulders straight. “I understand my position in the palazzo. You have made your demands, and now I will make mine.”
Utter silence descended upon them.
Saturnino lowered his goblet to the table and narrowed his eyes at her.
“Demands?” Fortuna echoed, frowning. “Who do you think—”
“Fortuna,” Signora Luni said sharply. “Wait a moment.”
Marco glared at Ravenna, his lips pressed into a thin slash across his mouth. “Idon’t think you understand your position in this palazzo at all.”
“Let’s hear what she has to say,” Saturnino said, eyeing her shrewdly. “I’m very curious.”
“We are not indulging her idiotic whims,” Marco snapped.
Saturnino ignored his brother. “What are your demands?”
Ravenna placed both hands flat on the table. She inhaled deeply, let her breath fill her lungs, and then exhaled slowly. “I want a meeting with Lorenzo de’ Medici.”
Signor Luni scoffed. “No.”
She had expected that. “I’ve been brought to Florence with much fanfare as a sculptress who will perform a miracle for you. I won’t pretend to fully understand why you needed to tell a great story about who I am and what I’ll do for you. But Idounderstand that you need me. And so I will not toil for you unless you agree to take me to see Lorenzo de’ Medici.” Ravenna fixed her eyes on Saturnino, the knight, the greatest defender in Florence. “Not even for one minute.”
Ravenna had expected the family’s resistance to her plan, but she had not expected the slow smile that now stretched across Saturnino’s lips. It was hard to define, but he almost looked… entertained, maybe even a little proud, like he’d found a worthy opponent. A glow seemed to emanate from him, as if someone had struck a match against his heart. Ravenna shivered from his stare, from the respect glimmering faintly back at her.
The rest of his family regarded her coldly, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. Even if it was unsettling and uncomfortable.
“Why do you wish to meet with him?” Signor Luni asked finally.
“My business is my own,” Ravenna said.
“You have nobusinessother than what we tell you to do,” Marco snarled. “Of all the outrageous… why are we still listening to this?”
“Because she’s right,” Saturnino said. “We do need her, and besides, what’s the harm in a meeting?”
What wasthis? Saturnino on her side? Ravenna eyed him, suspicious.
“You know why,” Fortuna said. She gave her brother a pointed look, and a silent exchange passed between them. Ravenna would have given anything to know what they were communicating.
“I’ll arrange a meeting,” Signor Luni said to Ravenna.
Her heart thrummed loudly against her chest. It was more than she had hoped for. If she could persuade the politician to cease his involvement in the city, to cease building the immense fortress where he would keep an eye over everyone, lording over them, then she would have earned back Volterra’s love.
