I put my hands up so they know I won’t try anything. “This way.”
I take a few steps, but Max grabs my shoulder. “Wait. Slow down and tell us what happened.”
“You two are here to get Sofia. Yes?”
They nod.
“And you failed?”
Nick glares at me. “If you hadn’t brainwashed her like a psychopath, then we’d be far away by now, but shehadto go find you because you convinced her you love her and then she fell head over heels for you.”
“I do love her,” I state matter-of-factly.
Both of them give the other a questioning glance, and a cloud of silence falls over us as they seem to have a telepathic conversation.
Then, I wrap my head around what Nick just told me.
“Aspettare.She loves me?”
“Nick made her laugh over something stupid, and we promised we’d listen to her once we got out of the castle,” Max says.
“That was a lie,” Nick says, pointing at his bloody lip. “Once I started dragging her down the hill, she punched me in the face and ran back inside.”
“So… she didn’t want to run?”
“No,” Max snaps. “You said she’s in trouble?”
A resurgence of energy courses through me at the knowledge that Sofia loves me. Whatever unattached, passively suicidal, mindset that was protecting me in a sense melts away and I’m met with all types of horrible bodily sensations to replace it: suddenly I’m too nervous to swallow, I can hear my heartbeat in my ears, and my palms are dripping in sweat.
Now I can’t even picture her as a manipulative witch who broke my heart to cope with the fact she’s hurt and scared in that dungeon—she needs me.
I ball my hands up into fists to calm down enough to explain to them what happened. But I’m really struggling to find the right words. I give up and use my phone to help translate.
“Elio, one of my capos and Vincenzo’s best friend, planned a coup. My stepbrother woke up from a coma a couple of days ago, and they made a plan to dethrone me and put Vincenzo in charge.” I sigh and wait for my phone to translate for me before continuing on. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but Sofia and I are expecting. We just found out for certain this morning. So, I will not try any silly plan to get us all out of this because I love her too much. I’m simply going to exchange myself for her, and you two take her back home.”
They both blink at me, dumbfounded.
“You’ve had a hell of a day, man. I’m sorry,” Nick says.
“Now, let’s go before he can harm her further,” I say.
I walk towards the dungeon, leading the two down the hall.
“What has he done to her?” Max asks.
“Tied her wrists and ankles together and slapped her a couple of times. Nothing serious yet, but I refuse to let it escalate.”
He swears under his breath. “Where is everyone?”
I look around the dark, empty halls. Literally everyone is gone. The captains, the soldiers, all the low-level guards, and even all our employees that keep this place running and clean are missing. It just makes this nightmare more surreal.
“I have no idea.”
“Do you have any men who are loyal to you?” Max asks.
“I thought so, but it doesn’t look to be the case.”
“Just wait a minute.” He stops in his tracks, and I resist the urge to continue on without him. “Things aren’t adding up, and I don’t want Sofia upset because you threw away your life so quickly. You’re depressed as shit, and I understand that, but you need to snap out of it and think. Does it actually make sense that no one: not a single soldier or captain is still loyal to you?”
