"Thank you. For being here. For being my friend."
"Always. We're in this together, remember?"
Lia's breathing eventually evened out. She'd fallen asleep, exhausted from crying, still holding my hand.
I extracted myself carefully. Covered her with a blanket. Stood there watching her sleep, this girl who'd become more sister than friend.
We had to survive this. Had to find a way out. For her sake as much as mine and Kai's.
I slipped out of my suite quietly. The hallway was empty, guards stationed at their posts but not paying attention to me. I was supposed to be in Salvatore's wing, after all. Where else would I go?
I needed to find Kai. Needed to tell him about Lia. Needed to see him, touch him, remember why we were fighting so hard.
I found him in the east corridor, reviewing security reports with one of the guards. He looked up when I approached, and something in his expression shifted. Softened for just a fraction of a second before the mask slammed back into place.
"Miss Romano. Is something wrong?"
So formal. So distant. It hurt.
"I need to speak with you privately. About my Italian lessons. I'm having trouble with the subjunctive tense and Mrs. Rossi suggested you might help clarify."
The lie was transparent. But the guard didn't question it.
Kai nodded curtly. "Of course. My office. Five minutes."
He dismissed the guard, waited until the man was out of earshot, then started walking. I followed at a careful distance.
Once inside his office with the door closed, everything changed.
He crossed to me in three strides, hands cupping my face, forehead pressed to mine.
"God, I've missed you. It's been seven days and I'm losing my fucking mind."
"Me too." I breathed him in. Memorized the feel of his hands on my skin. "Lia told me about the engagement announcement. To Moretti."
His entire body went rigid. Hands dropped from my face, clenching into fists.
"That bastard is using her against me. He knows I'd do anything to protect her. So he dangles her fate in front of me like bait. Step out of line and she gets married to a monster who'll probably kill her before their first anniversary."
"What are you going to do?"
"Accelerate everything. I've been meeting with Marco and a few trusted men. We're close to having enough evidence. Twomore weeks and we can move against him. Present everything to Father Benedetto and the Council. Force them to act."
Two weeks. The wedding was in four weeks.
"That's cutting it incredibly close, Kai. What if something goes wrong? What if you need more time?"
"We don't have more time." He started pacing. Caged animal energy radiating off him. "The wedding is in four weeks. Lia's engagement gets announced at the reception. If I don't move soon, both of you are lost to men who'll destroy you. So yeah, it's close. Too close. But it's all we've got."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to point out all the ways this could go wrong. But what was the alternative? There wasn't one.
"What do you need from me?"
"Keep playing your role. Be the perfect bride. Don't give my father any reason to suspect. And trust me. Can you do that?"
"I can try. It's getting harder every day to pretend I'm excited about marrying him when all I want is you."
He crossed back to me, pulled me against his chest. I melted into him, absorbing his warmth, his strength.
