sia

st the cold marble echoed in t

to me after a deliberate pause. His features were

said, my voice fr

stared

ing a sliver of insane hope. "At the gala. You

sed his face. "What do you want, Alessia?" His tone was l

the words torn from my throat.

N

flat. Final

hope. It burned it to ash. And from the

ll a lie, wasn't it?" I demanded, my voice gaining a raw, ragg

ey were tears of rage now, not sorrow. He

rd a perfectly formed shard of ice. "It was a mis

h, I would have helped you. He was my father, but if he

alm of his eyes. Regret? Doubt? It was there-I saw it-

his voice low and guttural. "They killed my Consigliere. My ment

g her arm through his with an air of effortless ownership. He

d, her eyes flicking over me with a look of p

ooked at her, and the hard lines of h

rly detached as he turned his back on me compl

e in the hallway, the echo of his words