had grinned down at her and spun
her around in circles until she collapsed into a giggling heap.
But now things seemed different. Darker. Malevolent. Thunder
crashed above her head, and Cass jumped. The vendors moved
throughout the crowd hawking their wine and jewelry with loud,
forceful voices. The spinning dancers enclosed her, their circles
tightening, threatening to trap her in the piazza.
And then Cass saw a familiar face in the crowd. Dark eyes. Dark
hair. Dark skin. It was Piero Basso, Belladonna’s personal physician.
The man who had drugged Cass and drawn her blood while she was
unconscious. Panicked, she pushed past the circle of dancers and
craned her neck from side to side. If Piero was here, then Belladonna
was likely nearby. Perhaps they were looking for her.
Perhaps they were looking for her blood.
It had been a bad idea to come here. The gondoliers and fishermen were all merry and drunk. No one looked as if he wanted to
leave the party. Cass didn’t see Belladonna in the crowd. And now
she didn’t see Piero either. Had she imagined him, or was he working
his way around her at this very moment, preparing to sneak up behind her?
Spinning around, she pushed through the masses of people. She
had to get away. Far away.
She made it to the edge of the piazza when a man dressed all in
black melted out of the night and reached for her.
“Rare is the blood that recombines to
form a pure sample of the fifth humor.” —THE BOOK OF THE ETERNAL ROSE
nine
C
ass shrieked, but the festivities drowned out her voice.
She flung her elbow at the man’s midsection, turning to
flee as he stumbled backward in surprise. She plunged
into an alley, leaping over a pile of tangled metal outside a blacksmith’s shop. Gasping for breath, she pulled the paring
knife she’d stolen from Palazzo Viaro from her pocket. Footsteps
pounded behind her.
She ducked between two buildings, pressing her body tight
against a stucco wall. Her knife wavered in her grip. Peering around
the corner, her eyes widened as the man dressed in black drew near.
“Maximus?” she said incredulously. Cass hadn’t spoken to the
conjurer in weeks.
“Signorina Caravello,” he said. “I thought I recognized you.” He
adjusted his hat and then rubbed the left side of his rib cage. “ Caspita. Are you wearing armor beneath those sleeves? I think you cracked a
rib.”
“Just my bony elbow, I’m afraid.” Cass smiled ruefully as she
slipped her knife back into her pocket.
•
63
•
Just then, the skies opened and rain began to fall, hard and fast
like tiny swords. She ducked into a doorway. “ Mi dispiace, but what
were you doing reaching out for me like that?”
“I was trying to talk to you, but you were walking as if the Devil
was clawing at your neck.” Maximus joined her beneath the overhang. “Where are you headed at such a speed?”
“I need to get back to San Domenico.”
“Signorina, that’s an impossibility. No one will travel in this
weather. Worse, just two hours ago I saw boats patrolling the
shoreline—both government and private. If you try to go back there,
you’ll be captured.”
Lightning slashed at the sky again. Cass prayed that Luca had not
been caught. “But I was told by a source I trust that the Senate had
given us up for dead.”
“Aye,” Maximus said. “Someone must have seen you since and
reported it. That would explain why they have begun to search for
you again.”
Cass swore under her breath. “Then it appears I’m trapped here
for the time being.”
“Well, I’m not going to leave you all alone,” Maximus said. “So
we’ll have to be trapped here together.”
Cass smiled. From this distance she could see the bits of gold and
orange that danced in Maximus’s dark eyes and the tiny wrinkles
beginning to form at the edge of them. He was likely close to the age
her father would be if he were still alive, and for a moment she tried
to decide if the two men would be
her around in circles until she collapsed into a giggling heap.
But now things seemed different. Darker. Malevolent. Thunder
crashed above her head, and Cass jumped. The vendors moved
throughout the crowd hawking their wine and jewelry with loud,
forceful voices. The spinning dancers enclosed her, their circles
tightening, threatening to trap her in the piazza.
And then Cass saw a familiar face in the crowd. Dark eyes. Dark
hair. Dark skin. It was Piero Basso, Belladonna’s personal physician.
The man who had drugged Cass and drawn her blood while she was
unconscious. Panicked, she pushed past the circle of dancers and
craned her neck from side to side. If Piero was here, then Belladonna
was likely nearby. Perhaps they were looking for her.
Perhaps they were looking for her blood.
It had been a bad idea to come here. The gondoliers and fishermen were all merry and drunk. No one looked as if he wanted to
leave the party. Cass didn’t see Belladonna in the crowd. And now
she didn’t see Piero either. Had she imagined him, or was he working
his way around her at this very moment, preparing to sneak up behind her?
Spinning around, she pushed through the masses of people. She
had to get away. Far away.
She made it to the edge of the piazza when a man dressed all in
black melted out of the night and reached for her.
“Rare is the blood that recombines to
form a pure sample of the fifth humor.” —THE BOOK OF THE ETERNAL ROSE
nine
C
ass shrieked, but the festivities drowned out her voice.
She flung her elbow at the man’s midsection, turning to
flee as he stumbled backward in surprise. She plunged
into an alley, leaping over a pile of tangled metal outside a blacksmith’s shop. Gasping for breath, she pulled the paring
knife she’d stolen from Palazzo Viaro from her pocket. Footsteps
pounded behind her.
She ducked between two buildings, pressing her body tight
against a stucco wall. Her knife wavered in her grip. Peering around
the corner, her eyes widened as the man dressed in black drew near.
“Maximus?” she said incredulously. Cass hadn’t spoken to the
conjurer in weeks.
“Signorina Caravello,” he said. “I thought I recognized you.” He
adjusted his hat and then rubbed the left side of his rib cage. “ Caspita. Are you wearing armor beneath those sleeves? I think you cracked a
rib.”
“Just my bony elbow, I’m afraid.” Cass smiled ruefully as she
slipped her knife back into her pocket.
•
63
•
Just then, the skies opened and rain began to fall, hard and fast
like tiny swords. She ducked into a doorway. “ Mi dispiace, but what
were you doing reaching out for me like that?”
“I was trying to talk to you, but you were walking as if the Devil
was clawing at your neck.” Maximus joined her beneath the overhang. “Where are you headed at such a speed?”
“I need to get back to San Domenico.”
“Signorina, that’s an impossibility. No one will travel in this
weather. Worse, just two hours ago I saw boats patrolling the
shoreline—both government and private. If you try to go back there,
you’ll be captured.”
Lightning slashed at the sky again. Cass prayed that Luca had not
been caught. “But I was told by a source I trust that the Senate had
given us up for dead.”
“Aye,” Maximus said. “Someone must have seen you since and
reported it. That would explain why they have begun to search for
you again.”
Cass swore under her breath. “Then it appears I’m trapped here
for the time being.”
“Well, I’m not going to leave you all alone,” Maximus said. “So
we’ll have to be trapped here together.”
Cass smiled. From this distance she could see the bits of gold and
orange that danced in Maximus’s dark eyes and the tiny wrinkles
beginning to form at the edge of them. He was likely close to the age
her father would be if he were still alive, and for a moment she tried
to decide if the two men would be
Similar Books
