"We can use this." Marco stood too, blocking my path to the door like he could read my thoughts. "This is enough to bring him down the right way. Legal by Council standards. No blowback on you or Lia or Aria. You go to Father Benedetto tomorrow, request emergency session, present the evidence."
"She needs to know." I stopped pacing. Looked at him. "Aria needs to know what they did. That her father wanted to save her. That he died trying to protect her from this marriage."
"Kai, it's two in the morning. Your father is in his wing. Luca does rounds every hour. You can't just walk over there and..."
"Watch me."
I grabbed the recording. Shoved it in my pocket. Headed for the door.
Marco grabbed my arm. "You're not thinking clearly. Wait until morning. Tell her when it's safer."
"She's been living with the guilt for months. Thinking her father died while she was out having fun. Blaming herself. I'm not letting her spend one more night carrying that when I can give her the truth."
Marco stared at me for a long moment. Then sighed, let go of my arm.
"You're an idiot. A complete fucking idiot. But I get it." He grabbed his jacket. "I'll create a distraction. Pull Luca to the east wing with some fake security issue. You'll have maybe fifteen minutes. Don't waste them."
"Thank you."
"Yeah, well. When we're both dead because you couldn't wait until morning to play hero, I'm haunting you for eternity."
Despite everything, I smiled this time, but it was a brief smile.
Fifteen minutes later, I was slipping through shadows toward my father's wing. Marco had done his job. Luca and two guards were dealing with a "suspicious person" Marco had reported seeing on the east perimeter.
The hallway to Aria's suite was empty. I picked her lock in seconds. Slipped inside.
She wasn't in bed. I felt a moment of panic before I saw her in the sitting room, curled up in a chair by the window with a book.
"Why aren't you in your room?"
She jumped, dropping the book. Her head whipped around. When she saw me, her entire face transformed.
The smile that spread across her features made my chest ache. Like I was the answer to prayers instead of the complication making herlife harder.
"Kai." My name on her lips sounded like coming home. "What are you doing here? If your father finds out..."
She stood, moving toward me. The nightgown she wore was silk, clinging to curves I'd memorized with my hands. Her hair was loose, falling around her shoulders. She looked soft and sleepy and so fucking beautiful it hurt.
I met her halfway. Pulled her against me. Buried my face in her hair and just breathed her in.
Jasmine and something sweet. The scent that had been haunting me for weeks.
"I couldn't stay away. Needed to see you. Touch you. Make sure you're real and not something I dreamed up."
She wrapped her arms around my waist. Held on tight. "I've missed you so much. It's been five days and I feel like I'm going crazy without you."
"I know. Me too." I pulled back enough to look at her face. "But that's not why I'm here. I found something. Something you need to hear."
The happiness in her eyes shifted to concern. "What? What did you find?"
I guided her back to the chair. Sat her down. Pulled out the recording device.
"This is a conversation between my father and your uncle. From the night your parents died. I need you to listen to the whole thing. Can you do that?"
Her face went pale. "Kai, what..."
"Just listen. Please."
