LOGINAURORASIX MONTHS LATER"Congratulations, graduate.” Seraphina said from behind me. I turned around and she hugged me so tightly that I nearly lost my balance.“Look at you.” She said as she pulled away and held my shoulders. "I can't believe this day is finally here."I laughed. “I am glad that is over.”The past few months had been one of the hardest in my life. Every single part about school reminded me of him and it felt like torture. The first couple of weeks, I kept waiting for him to walk through the door of the class and give us some absurd task, like he always did when he took the course. But of course nothing like that happened.She immediately pulled me into another hug."Congratulations, Rory."The use of the nickname made me smile."Thank you.""No." She shook her head, as her expression softened. "I'm really proud of you.”The simple words hit me square in the chest. At some point in the past it had been my absolute dream to go to art school, but I never felt that dr
AURORA"You are not leaving my sight again."That was the first thing Seraphina said when she opened the door for me and Tristan.And before I could even respond, she had already thrown her arms around me.I stumbled back a step, letting out a little laugh now."Whoa…”"No." She squeezed me tighter. “No trying to wiggle out of this. I am serious, Aurora."I laughed despite myself."I can barely breathe.""Good.""Seraphina,""I spent days thinking you were dead."The laughter died in my throat as her voice cracked slightly.She had truly been scared these past couple of days and had probably spent them imagining every possible horrible thing that could have happened to me.My arms tightened around her."I'm sorry."She buried her face against my shoulder."You better be."I smiled."I'm home.""Yeah." Her voice broke completely. "You're home."For a moment neither of us said anything. Then she pulled away and immediately grabbed both sides of my face."You look thinner." She finally s
ANTONIO"I never thought I would actually mourn the old man when he died." The words left my mouth now, as I let out a little laugh. I just sat there in the study.His study.Which now felt too large and too empty for me.The silence in the house was different from any silence I had ever experienced before. It reminded me of how it was when my mother had died that day.Only a few hours had passed since my father had died.A few hours, but it felt like a lifetime ago.I sat behind the desk with a glass of whiskey in my hand that I hadn't touched. Sebastian stood by the window.Neither of us had slept or even looked like we intended to. I just stared at the glass and then laughed bitterly."Look at this." I said, as Sebastian glanced at me. "Life truly can be cruel, cant it?”I shook my head."For years I hated him." I said, "For years I blamed him for the death of my mum and told myself I didn't care what happened to him."I swallowed hard."And now he's gone." The words hurt more tha
"You're leaving tonight," Vittorio Mancini said as he was basically fidgeting around. His large study was in complete disarray. Men moved in and out of the room carrying weapons, stacks of documents, and boxes of ammunition. Phones rang constantly, as voices barked instructions in rapid Italian.Outside the windows, the Mancini estate looked more like a military compound than a family home right now. Everybody knew what was coming.War.Andressa stood near the desk with her arms folded tightly across her chest."No," she replied to her father.Vittorio looked up from the papers he had been reviewing."What?""I said no," she replied."Andressa…""I'm not leaving."Her father sighed at this. He should have been angry at this show that she was putting on right now, but he didn’t even have the luxury to be angry. He was too tired for it. There were so many things that required his attention right now and he needed Andressa to be fully out of the way for him to actually focus on them.
AURORA"You are coming home with Tristan tomorrow, and that is final."I groaned dramatically into the phone."Seraphina…""No.""Can you at least let me finish?""No."I looked over at Tristan, who was sitting across from me in the living room nursing a cup of coffee, for a bit of support and he raised his hand up in surrender, showing that he had nothing to say to help my case.He looked suspiciously amused. The bloody traitor."I cannot believe you're enjoying this," I told him.Tristan raised both hands."I didn't say anything.""You don't have to."He laughed.Unfortunately, Seraphina heard that."Is Tristan around you there?""Unfortunately.""Put him on.""Why?""Because he's the only sensible person in that house right now."I gasped."Excuse me?""You heard me." She said, “It is as if you have lost your mind over there. Do I need to remind you what just happened to you?”I definitely didn’t need a reminder because it wasn’t something that would ever leave my mind to begin wit
ANTONIO"I still can't believe you are here right now.”I smiled as Aurora tightened her grip around my arm. We were sitting in one of the living rooms inside the house, and for what felt like the first time in weeks, I felt like I could finally breathe.She was here. Safe and sound. Every time I looked at her, I found myself checking all over again just to make sure she was actually there and that this wasn't some cruel dream.She leaned her head against my shoulder."You almost got yourself killed."Sebastian laughed from where he was sitting."That's actually true."I shot him a look and he raised both hands."What?""You were acting like a madman."Aurora looked up at me."You really came back for me."There was something softer in her voice now. I was sure that she had already accepted her fate in that house and God only knows what more hideous things they would have done to her.“I will never leave you.” I replied,Then her expression became serious now."I thought I was never
SERAPHINA“You wanted to see me?” I said, as I walked into the office, feigning confidence like I had not just dreaded the whole walk here.The moment the door shut behind me though, I felt the air shift. It was heavier in here and I could feel the tension from him as he sat there behind his desk w
TRISTAN“Take us home,” I told the driver the moment the door shut behind us. I was in no mood to be at this event for even a second longer and it was very obvious.He simply nodded, as the car pulled away from the curb smoothly. Thankfully, there wasn’t much media outside the event anymore and we
SERAPHINA“She’s here!” I yelled, as I stepped away from the window after seeing the car pull up.I barely made it to the front door before I pulled it open and practically yanked Naomi into the house.She stumbled in, laughing. “Okay, okay, relax. I’m not going anywhere.”We were both laughing at
SERAPHINA“In the event that I need you to talk, you will need to be able to explain things about Requiem.” Tristan said, “How is it coming along now?”The car had just rolled to a stop in front of the Castille estate and I could see the lights from outside already even through the tinted windows.







