16

Talia

Stupid! That's what I was.

Replaying the last thirty minutes in my head was like watching a train wreck in slow motion, and all I wanted to do was crawl into a hole and never come out. I couldn't possibly face Ares now… or his father, and the thought of what would have happened if Cesare hadn't interrupted when he did made my stomach flip with a sickening mix of dread and insatiable hunger.

I was rounding the corner towards my room when I heard a sob. I stopped moving instantly, pressing myself against the wall.

“I can't keep doing this.”

The voice belonged to Siena.

“It's only for a while, until—”

“Until Ares takes over.” She let out a hopeless laugh. “Enzo, you really think things will change when Ares takes over?”

“He's not like Father.”

“It won't change anything,” Siena choked out. “Your father has been Capo for decades. Even if he isn’t on the throne, he’ll still call the shots. He’ll never let us be together. Don’t you get it? If he finds out about us…”

“Siena…”

“You have to let me go… please.”

A sharp tickle started in the back of my throat, climbing upward. I clamped my hand over my mouth, my eyes watering from the effort to stay silent, but a small, muffled cough escaped through my fingers.

“Who's there?” Enzo demanded.

I could hear his footsteps approaching my spot.

Shit! My heart leaped into my throat as I contemplated fleeing. I could probably make it to the servants’ stairwell, but that would make me look like I did something wrong. I hadn't intended to intrude, and more than that, I didn't want Siena living with the soul-crushing fear that a snitch had caught them. If she thought a spy was running to Cesare with this, she wouldn't sleep a wink for the rest of her life.

I took a steadying breath and stepped out, hands raised slightly.

“Hi.”

“Val,” Siena whispered. A visible wave of relief washed over her features even though her face was blotchy from crying.

Enzo closed the space between us, eyes burning with a protective, dangerous fire. Out of all Ares’s siblings, he was the one I’d barely spoken to. He usually had this cold, clinical vibe, like he was constantly calculating exactly how much trouble you were worth.

“You didn't see anything. You didn't hear anything,” he threatened, his voice dropping to a low, lethal octave. “If a word of this gets out, I’ll make sure you regret it.”

“I won't say anything. And it's not because of your silly threat.” I met his gaze squarely, knowing he wouldn't dare touch a hair on my head.

“Lorenzo! That's absolutely rude.” Siena scolded, stepping forward and placing a hand on his arm to pull him back. “Sorry about him.” She turned to him, glaring disapprovingly. “You should apologize.”

He looked like he was about to argue.

“Now,” she demanded.

“I apologize for my behavior,” he grunted.

“No,” Siena said flatly, folding her arms across her chest. “Say you're sorry.”

“I'm s-sorry,” he muttered, his gaze dropping to her with a look of utter defeat before he glanced back at me. “Are you happy now?”

“Pleased,” Siena replied.

My mouth dropped open. Never in my life did I think a woman could possibly force out an apology from a Marcelli man.

“It's fine. I wasn't offended.” I managed to say.

Enzo cast one last pained look at Siena before he turned and retreated down the hall, leaving us alone. I walked over to the wall and slid down until I was sitting flat on the floor. Siena hesitated for a moment, then slowly sank down next to me, her shoulder bumping mine. We stayed quiet for a long moment.

“Does Selene know?” I asked eventually.

“She thinks it's some silly childhood crush that will phase out,” Siena admitted, her face dropping to her lap while her fingers twisted the fabric of her nightgown. “She'd never forgive me.”

I looked at her, seeing the genuine terror of being found out by the one person who should be her safe haven. “I'm sure she'll understand, Siena. You're her best friend.” Also, I knew for a fact that Selene didn't think Siena's feelings for Enzo were just temporary. It was obvious to anyone; they just chose to joke about it because doing that was easier than facing the complexities of an ill-fated love.

Siena shook her head, a stray tear tracing a path through her cheek. “You don't understand how deep this goes. Selene has spent her whole life warning me about how her brothers are. She’s convinced they’re missing the part of the brain that lets a person love without destroying. To her, it’s not a matter of if Enzo will hurt me, but when, and she’s already told me she won’t be able to just sit back and watch it happen. She thinks that if I choose him, I’m choosing to destroy our friendship because she can’t be the person who picks up my pieces after he breaks them. She'd rather cut me off herself than watch me disappear into his shadow.”

Damn! This was a lot to take in. I opened my mouth to tell her it would be okay, but the words died in my throat. The gravity of what she was saying, that loving a Marcelli meant losing yourself in the process hit me hard in the chest. I didn't even understand what was going on between Ares and me, but there was a terrifying feeling that I was trapped in a cage he'd built just for me.

Siena's cold fingers wrapped around my forearm, pulling me from my thoughts. “You have to promise me,” she pleaded, looking at me with haunted eyes. “You can’t tell her anything, please. I can't lose her yet.”

“I promise.”

She let out a long, shuddering breath, her grip loosening as she slumped back against the wall.

“There's just something about the Marcelli men...” I tried to joke to lighten the mood. “They're like those beautiful, poisonous plants. You know you'll die if you touch them, but they're the only things in the room worth looking at.”

“They're worse than that, Val.”

“Tell me about it,” I sighed, stretching my legs out. “I think I just spent twenty minutes in the garden making choices that would make a nun faint.”

“Only twenty minutes?” Her eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief.

I laughed, feeling the suffocating tension in my chest loosen for the first time all night. “Shut up. It felt like a lifetime.”