The Shadow (Florentine #2)

by Sylvain Reynard

  “Something is wrong.”

  William lifted his head, but he kept his hand where it was, angling it so he was cupping her over her underwear.

  “What is wrong?”

  She shook her head. “Not with me. With you.”

  She plucked his hand from between her legs and cast it aside.

  He tried to move closer but she kept him at bay with a hand over his heart. “This week you were distant and cold. Now you’re all over me. What’s happening?”

  “Excuse me. I didn’t think I needed a reason to touch you.”

  He withdrew immediately and adjusted his trousers, turning from her to tug on the cuffs of his shirt. His gold cuff links, which bore the symbol of Florence, glittered as he moved.

  Instinctively, she touched her bracelet.

  “William,” she breathed, her face crumpling. She turned away from him and wrapped her arms around her chest.

  “There’s no avoiding it,” he mumbled. “I have to tell her.”

  He wound an arm around her waist, resting his forehead on her shoulder, and heaved a great, shuddering sigh.

  “I am undone.” His words were muffled against her dress.

  “How?”

  When he didn’t reply, she turned and touched his head. “I’m right here. Talk to me, William.”

  He lifted his face, his expression tortured. “It will be a long conversation.”

  “I don’t have anywhere else to go.” She scratched at his scalp.

  “What about the celebration? You should be with your friends.”

  “I am with a friend, I think.” She gave him a searching look.

  “Then it’s best we leave.” He picked up her purse and her cane and extended his hand.

  She took his hand, hopping inelegantly from the table. Without further explanation, William accompanied her out into the corridor and down one of the side staircases.

  Once they reached the outside, he lifted her into his arms and began to run, gaining enough speed to scale a nearby building and ascend to the roof. From rooftop to rooftop he leapt, while Raven kept her eyes tightly shut. A few minutes later, he landed on a terrace on top of one of the structures near the Duomo.

  He placed Raven on her feet.

  “I don’t dare step on holy ground, not when the night has so many spies.”

  She nodded her understanding. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”

  William crossed to the edge of the roof and placed his hand on the stone battlement. He was quiet for a moment as he gazed out over the city he loved.

  “I received a letter from your priest.”

  Raven’s heart leapt into her throat. “What? Why?”

  “Because you are with me. Did you really think he’d let you go? If he didn’t give you back to your mother the night he found you and your sister, why would he allow you to stay with a demon?”

  “You aren’t a demon.” Raven’s tone was fierce. “He’s misguided. He thinks he has to save me. He wrote to me this week and asked me to come to Rome to work on one of the restoration projects in the Vatican.”

  William turned his head. “It’s a ruse.”

  That pricked Raven’s pride.

  “Perhaps.” She shrugged.

  “To you he offers the promise of a prestigious project. To me, he offers peace. If I deliver you to him, he will persuade the Curia to stay away.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Because he loves you. Because he’s afraid for you. He thinks I’ll kill you, or worse, I’ll make you like me.”

  The Prince gazed out over the city again, his body tense.

  “Father told me he spoke with Cara. I’m grateful for that.”

  “I’m glad for you, if it’s true.”

  Raven stiffened. “He’s never lied to me. What did you tell him?”

  William leaned heavily on the battlement. “I haven’t replied. That, in itself, is a kind of answer, but I doubt he’ll act preemptively. . . . I have been trying to figure out what I’m going to do.”

  “What you’re going to do?” Raven repeated.

  He continued to look out over the skyline. “Yes.”

  “What about me? Shouldn’t I have some say about what happens to me?”

  William’s eyes cut to hers. “I am responsible for my city and for you.”

  She limped toward him. “I didn’t ask you to take on that responsibility.”

  “You asked me to love you,” he said, reproaching her. “How can I love you if I don’t ensure your safety?”

  Raven shut her mouth abruptly.

  William ground his teeth. “The Vatican is the safest city on earth, at least from vampyres.”

  “I don’t want to be safe from you.” She leaned on her cane, shifting her weight off her injured leg, which was beginning to throb.

  William didn’t respond.

  “Do you want me to go?” Raven’s voice trembled.

  “No.” His grip tightened on the stones. “But what I want doesn’t matter. With one letter, he’s destroyed everything I’ve built.”

  She reached out and grazed his sleeve. “You have to explain it to me, because I don’t understand.”

  William flexed his arms, moving back from the battlement.

  “If I deliver you to him, I shall lose you. He’ll deprogram you or whatever it is they do to those who were in thrall to a vampyre. You’ll forget me and he’ll ensure I never see you again.”

  His expression tightened. “If you remain here, the Curia will come, if not for you then to ensure my reign ends. No single principality has ever been able to fight off the Curia. I’ll be destroyed and you’ll be rescued, if you aren’t killed by accident.”

  She gripped his arm, leaning on him. “We can leave. We can flee the city tonight.”

  He gave her a look that was grim in its resolution. “I can’t.”

  “But they’ll kill you! If we leave, the Curia will stay away.”

  “I won’t leave my people to be butchered. Even if I cared nothing for the city I have loved and ruled for centuries, I still wouldn’t leave. Your priest is determined to save you. He’ll hunt us. Eventually we’ll be found.”

  “Isn’t there another city you can appeal to? Can’t the other principalities band together?”

  “And risk massacres on their own city streets? No. There was a time when all the vampyres stood together. That was how we were able to broker a treaty with the Curia. But times have changed. Many of the covens are weak and all are selfish. No one will come to my aid. They’ll simply watch, relieved Florence is being attacked and not them.”

  “So you’re just giving up?” She pushed him in the chest. “You can’t give up!”

  William retreated a step, his eyes sparking in anger. “Tell me, if you’re so wise, what should I do? Kill him?”

  “I didn’t say that. I don’t want you to kill him. I don’t want him to kill you.”

  “But that’s precisely what will happen. One of us will die and it will likely be me.”

  She searched his eyes. “I could go to him, beg him to leave Florence alone.”

  “No. I don’t know what they’ll do to you.” He lowered his voice. “If you go to them, I may as well hand over the keys to the city. I’d rather find myself in hell than remain here without you.”

  She looked down at her shoes. “I never believed in hell. But I’m beginning to change my mind.”

  “Hell is knowing your fate and knowing there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.” William pushed a lock of hair back from her forehead.

  “Father Kavanaugh said he didn’t rule the Curia. He doesn’t think he has a lot of influence with them.”

  A muscle jumped in William’s jaw. “That may be the case. But since the Curia is already interested in Florence, his pleas will not land on deaf ears. He’s given them a reason to march on my city, something they haven’t had since the old prince ruled.”

  Raven turned her head and looked at the Duomo. She looked at the tiled
rooftops and buildings, the starry night sky, and the solemn structure of the bell tower that stood nearby.

  “I’m not Helen of Troy. The Curia won’t wage a war with you over me, not when they risk worldwide panic and exposure. All we need is one bystander with a cell phone, and video of the Curia killing vampyres will be all over the Internet.”

  “You underestimate their power.”

  “I don’t care how powerful they are. They can’t control everyone and everything. War means exposure, for them and for you. That’s why Father wants me to come to him voluntarily. He doesn’t want a war any more than you do.”

  William scowled. “I wouldn’t compare me to him if I were you.”

  She lifted her chin. “I may not be able to choose my death, but I can choose my life. And I choose to spend whatever time I have left with you.”

  “No!” he snapped.

  She gave him a look that was more wounded than irritated. “Why not? Don’t you love me?”

  He rubbed his chin roughly. “Of course I love you. That’s the point. I’m trying to save you. You could return to America. I could send for you when it’s safe to return.”

  Raven watched him for a few seconds, the expression on his face, his body language, and the strange emptiness that filled his beautiful gray eyes.

  “You’re lying. You know that if you send me away, we’ll never see one another again. It would be too dangerous for me to return and it’s possible the Curia will kill you for outsmarting them.”

  He sighed his resignation. “I am already dead. The human I was died years ago and this body took its place. I’ve lived a long life, long enough to hold hope in my arms.”

  William caught a lock of Raven’s hair and tenderly wound it around his finger. His expression grew anguished. “But you, Cassita, you have your whole life ahead of you. If you stay, you could be killed.”

  Her green eyes flashed defiantly. “Then we die together.”

  “It’s suicide. You can’t—”

  Raven interrupted him. “What would my life be like, knowing you were still alive but that we couldn’t be together? Worrying every day that they could be hunting you or torturing you. Worrying that they were going to kill you. I’d rather spend whatever time we have left with you, than to be safe somewhere across an ocean, suffering because I’ve lost half my heart.”

  She gripped his biceps tightly. “You’re the other half of me, William. Please don’t send me away.”

  William lifted his head to the heavens and closed his eyes. He clenched his fists and recited a litany of curses.

  “I’m too weak to send you away. The night I found you, I saw a vision of what the world would be like without you. That was before I knew and loved you. Now that I do—it would be impossible.”

  She buried her face in his chest. “I would go to the Curia to save your life.”

  “I know.” He kissed the top of her head. “Defensa. But it’s possible they’d destroy me anyway. And what kind of life would I have without you? Without light? Without hope?”

  Her lower lip trembled. “I was so afraid you would send me away.”

  “No,” he whispered, enveloping her in his tight embrace. “I may as well walk into fire and let the flames annihilate me. That fate would be preferable.”

  She shivered in his arms. “What are we going to do?”

  He hesitated. “We can hope your priest has little influence on those in power. We can hope the Curia will direct its attention to a different principality.”

  “Is that likely?”

  William sighed. “I don’t know. I tried to organize a distraction but it seems to have failed.”

  “I can try to delay Father Kavanaugh. I can say that I’m thinking about it.”

  “I wouldn’t antagonize him, Cassita. That might hasten their arrival.”

  “It’s so unfair,” she whispered, fighting back tears. “I waited my whole life to find you, and now that I have, I’m going to lose you.”

  “Do not give up hope. I couldn’t bear it if the light of your hope was extinguished.” He held her tightly and she clung to him as if she were falling.

  Chapter Forty-two

  In the aftermath of their shared decision, William and Raven’s lovemaking took on a new dimension. William spent the evening hours slowly adoring Raven’s body, and in her turn, she did the same for him. They lay awake in each other’s arms almost until dawn, when Raven finally succumbed to sleep.

  William spooned Raven, his eyes drawn to Botticelli’s depiction of Allegra while his mind whirred with preparations for war and for the protection of his beloved.

  The following morning, Raven was seated on the balcony, drinking coffee and sunning herself, when her cell phone chirped with an incoming text.

  I’m in Rome. Dan and I flew in last night. We’re staying with Fr. Jack. Come and see me and we’ll talk.

  Raven nearly dropped her phone.

  She stared at Cara’s message, reading and rereading it, a feeling of dread falling over her. She wanted to see her sister and reconcile with her. But not in Rome. Not now.

  Could it be that Father Jack is using Cara to get me away from William?

  The answer to her own question was clear.

  She hadn’t expected this. She hadn’t expected any of this. And she had no idea what to do.

  “I scent anxiety.” William spoke from the doorway, his nose wrinkled. He was dressed all in black, as was his custom, and his hair was still damp from the shower.

  Raven looked up at him sadly. “Read this.” She handed him her phone.

  He scanned the words. “And so it begins.” He returned the phone to her.

  She looked down at the screen. “I can’t believe he’d use her like this.”

  William didn’t comment.

  Raven looked up at him. “What should I do?”

  “I think it best to leave all talk of the Curia and of me out of it. Perhaps you could reply, saying that you’re just finishing up your project and you can’t get to Rome. Invite her to come here.”

  “If Father is pulling the strings she’ll see through my excuses.”

  William leaned over and kissed her forehead.

  “And if Cara is anything like her sister, she’ll stubbornly insist on deciding for herself what to think.”

  “That’s true,” Raven admitted.

  She typed out a quick response and showed it to William.

  Hi, Cara. Glad you and Dan are here. I can’t leave work this week. Could you come to Florence? Love, Rave.

  He nodded tersely. She sent the text and placed her phone aside, turning back to her breakfast.

  William’s hand rested on her neck. “How are you this morning?”

  “I’m tired,” she confessed.

  His thumb traced the patch of skin around the place where he’d fed from her. “I’ve taken too much. I’ll instruct Lucia to bring you an iron supplement.”

  She shook her head. “It isn’t that kind of tired. I’m just anxious because of everything and—and I’d like to make peace with my sister before . . .” She couldn’t bring herself to speak the words.

  William nodded his sympathy. “I am sorry.”

  “I know.” She leaned into his touch. Just then, her cell phone chimed. Her worried eyes met William’s. She picked up the phone.

  I’m sorry about what I said to you. I flew across an ocean to get here. Why can’t you take a couple of hours to see me in Rome? You don’t have to stay all night.

  William read over her shoulder.

  “I’d offer to bring her here, but that would only exacerbate things.”

  “I have to persuade her to leave Rome.”

  Raven quickly typed out a response.

  I can’t. It’s a couple of hours by train each way and I have to work early tomorrow.

  She was lying and Cara probably knew it. The conclusion of the restoration project had been international news, especially on the heels of the robbery at the Uffizi.

  Ev
en if Cara hadn’t seen the news, no doubt Father Kavanaugh would have told her.

  Raven sent her lie quickly and within a few minutes, she received a reply.

  Right. Work is more important than me. Why the hell did I bother coming. . . .

  Raven resisted the urge to throw her phone from the balcony into the rose garden below. She tossed the offending item on a vacant chair instead.

  William pulled up a chair beside her. “This may not be what you want to hear, but Cara might still be in America.”

  “You think Father Kavanaugh stole her phone and texted me? The texts are coming from her number.”

  “I think he wants you in Rome and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get you there.”

  “I’m going to call her landline in Florida.” Raven pressed buttons on her phone and held the device to her ear. It rang a few times and shifted to voice mail. She ended the call and dialed Dan’s cell phone number. The same thing happened.

  Taking a deep breath, she called her mother’s house. The telephone rang and rang and then she heard a sleepy voice. “Hello?”

  “Mom.”

  There was a long pause and then the sound of movement and footsteps. “Jane? Is that you?”

  Raven gritted her teeth. “It’s Raven. Where’s Cara?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I called her house. She isn’t home and Dan isn’t answering his cell.”

  “That’s because she’s in Italy. Isn’t she with you?”

  “We had a fight. What makes you think she’s coming to see me?” Raven tried her best to sound convincing.

  “She wanted to talk to you. I thought she told you she was coming.”

  “So she’s on a plane?”

  “She left last night.” There were inchoate, muffled sounds and the sharp click of what could have been a light switch. “It’s five o’clock in the morning here. According to the itinerary she gave me, they would have arrived in Rome a couple of hours ago.”

  “Really.” Raven sat back in her chair.

  “Ja— Raven, what’s going on?”

  “Nothing, Mom. Go back to bed.”

  “Wait! Don’t hang up.” Her mother sounded panicked. “I want to talk to you.”