“You know so little about your own magic, bound as it is to the Nightflame,” Saturnino mused in a quiet voice. “The stone around it protects the pietra magiche. If I were to force my way in, it would destroy the gemstone. It has to beyou.”
He grasped her shoulders.
“You are either helping me to get what I want, or you are standing in my way.” His dark green eyes pierced hers. “Please, do not make an enemy of me.”
She splayed her hands, thankful her cloak covered her trembling, and lied to him. “I’m not your enemy.”
For some reason, her words seemed to amuse him. He gave her a slow, enigmatic smile, fine lines fanning from the corner of his eyes. “Ravenna, tesoro, I consider all humans enemies. Even you.” His eyes narrowed. “Especiallyyou.”
He dropped his hands, crossed the room to the door, and dropped a light hand on the golden latch. “It’s time you went to bed.” His expression turned mischievous. “Unless you’d like to join me in mine?”
Ravenna could only stare at him, someone she was attracted to but did not trust. In that moment, she might have despised him. “I would not.”
He opened the door for her. “Then off you go.”
Ravenna crossed the room, resenting his beauty, his position, his demands.
His power.
“You have three days,” he said softly as she slid past him. “Don’t waste them.”
She paused, one foot still within his chamber. Then she glanced at him from over her shoulder. “Thank you.”
He arched a brow, puzzled.
“For saving me.”
His face was cool, dark, aloof. “It served my interests.”
“Maybe so,” Ravenna said as an insistent feeling in her belly told her that he wasn’t being entirely truthful. “But it didn’t serve your interests to save me from experiencing pain at the hand of another. You could have let them have their way with me, beat me further. But you prevented that from happening. Thank you.”
The corners of his mouth turned downward with the slightest hint of prickly dismay. If she hadn’t been standing close to him, she would have missed it. She gave him a beatific smile and then reached forward to shut his door before he could have the last word.
He got it anyway. She had only taken a few steps when he said, “Three days.” It didn’t matter that he was on the other side of the door, didn’t matter that he couldn’t look at her. The words were like a terrible spell, curling around her in a tight, icy grip.
Ravenna lost her smile.
Capitolo Ventuno
Early-morning light cast Via del Corso in a dreamy, golden haze. Ravenna stood at her bedroom window, Ombretta curled in her arms, and stared down at Saturnino. His leather doublet cinched over a cream linen shirt, the high collar grazing the sharp line of his jaw. A wool cape fluttered around his shoulders and his feet were encased in knee-high boots, dyed a rich burgundy. His black hair gleamed in the gathering sunlight, and his pale skin had an uncharacteristic healthy flush, the soft blue of an iris petal.
He looked impossibly perfect.
Ravenna pressed her lips into a flat line, hearing his icy voice weave through her thoughts.You have three days.
Three days to achieve the impossible.
Ravenna pressed her hand against the glass, the cold seeping into her palm. It reminded her of Saturnino’s touch. His voice. His implacable stare.
He would not be happy to hear about her failure.
Her heart beat at a dizzying pace.
The best thing she could do, the only thing, was to extract the Nightflames from the stones.
Her progress on the virgin stones might buy her time. A way to appease the bear. She stared down at the immortal, Ombretta purring loudly, and wondered if whatever work she did would be enough to save her life.
Saturnino brushed a gloved hand in his horse’s mane before grasping the reins and lifting himself up onto the saddle in one fluidmovement. Then he stilled. Slowly, he turned in his seat, tilted his head backward. His dark eyes unerringly latched on to hers.
