His face went flat and his eyes went from open windows to dark doorways filled with regret. "He attempted a burning anyway. He recruited my foolhardy son to give him water at the right time. All magi are different. Some can withstand a burning for twenty-four hours before they die. Dante failed to give him water in time and Nic died. In nine hours."
I swallowed. Isaia's father had gone through the same thing that I had, only he had burned completely to death. I imagined the blond man from the video clips lying on his back, unable to speak or move while his insides turned to ash. He'd been counting on Dante to administer the healing water at the right time...waiting in agony for help that never came.
"I'm truly sorry."
Enzo nodded his thanks. "I am too. Nic was much more than an employee. He was a great friend."
Raf had said that Enzo had always been disappointed in Dante, even when Dante was young. Nic's death must have been the nail in the coffin of their relationship.
"So, I guess you can understand my reticence to swear that I'll never protect myself against a member of your family?"
Enzo waved his hand. "You have nothing to fear from Dante, anymore. I still need your word. It's required from all of my men, and now... from my lady." The way he said it made me feel like he respected me.
I didn't have any intention of ever using my power against anyone, but suddenly I had another bargaining chip. "I will give you my word as long as you consider our trade complete. You won't send a man to visit Elda, in fact, you'll not visit her again on this matter."
He appeared to consider this, then he held out his hand and said, "My word also."
We shook.
He kissed both of my cheeks and then put a palm to each and squeezed my face lightly between his warm hands. "Grazie per tutto," he said, looking me straight in the eyes. "Be a good girl, eh?"
He curled his fingers around the back of my neck and planted a kiss solidly in the middle of my forehead. For a second, I felt like a pre-schooler.
"Oh," he said. "Tell Rafaele to come visit an old friend once in a while? I miss that boy."
I smiled. "I will. Although, I think you'll find he's become a man."
"And a good one, I am sure.” He tipped his index finger toward his forehead.
As though by magic, Karim appeared from behind the curtain.
Karim and I didn't speak until we were at the front gate.
"Well, Saxony Cagney of Saltford on the east coast of Canada. Did you get what you came for?" He held the gate open for me with one hand.
I stepped onto the street, feeling the little black card in my pocket. "I think... more, actually."
He gave a nod and a small smile. "Good," he said, and closed the gate.
Forty
As soon as the gate closed behind me, I turned toward the Baseggios’ villa. I froze in place and my brain skipped a cog.
Dante was leaning against the stone wall across from the villa. He had his arms crossed, and those wicked brown eyes were drilling into me from across the calle.
"What have you done?" His voice was low and dangerous. He sounded a bit like his father. Too bad he had none of Enzo’s integrity. Dante dropped his arms and straightened.
I lifted my chin and steeled my expression. Curiously, instead of speeding up, my heart slowed down. My thinking sharpened. We circled each other in the small piazza, our hands at our sides, like gunfighters.
I had just promised Enzo I wouldn't use my powers to harm him, or any of his own. As bad as their relationship might be, I was sure Dante still amply qualified as 'Enzo's own.' I swallowed and cursed inwardly.
"Coward," he spat. "I should have known. A girl can't handle the power of fire. You don't deserve it. You're an embarrassment to your kind. A failure."
The fire blossomed in my belly, but instead of rage, I felt a soothing calm. "Well, you should know what that feels like."
He froze. "What do you mean?"
"I just had a nice chat with your padre," I began.
He bared his teeth and lunged.
I spat an ember at the stones in front of his feet and it ricocheted through his legs. He halted, up on his toes. He looked at the smoking gouge in the ground and back up at me, his eyes wide. That burning cinder would have burned right through him if I had been aiming for his chest. A muscle in his cheek jumped. But before he could react, I dropped my jaw open wide. The sound of a lot of air coming out of a small opening filled the small piazza as I blew furnace-heated wind straight at him.
It was the first time I'd done such a thing. I could have belched a raging jetstream of fire into his face and roasted him like a pig on a spit. What other abilities had the burning given me...had Dante given me? Oh, the irony.
His hair blew back and his eyes squinted shut. He put up an arm to defend himself and staggered backward, away from the blast of my furnace. I was amazed at how I could regulate the temperature so accurately. It was quite hot and strong enough to push him back, but not hot enough to seriously burn him.
Best of all, I felt no pain, and no anger. The fire and I were finally friends. I let my eyes glow. I was a fire magus, after all.
He hit the wall behind him and I let the stream of hot air fade. I closed my jaw. He peered over his forearm and tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. His face looked pink and sunburned. Harmed? Not so much. Scared? I hoped so.
I fished in my bag for my travel sized bottle of aloe-vera and threw it at his chest. He gave a startled cry of surprise and caught the bottle. He looked down at it in confusion.
When he read the label, he started laughing, albeit without real mirth. The maniacal sound made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I walked past him and didn't look back as the laughter faded behind me.
Forty-One
I was pleasantly surprised to see Raf waiting on a bench near the Baseggios’ villa by the time I got home. He got up and walked toward me, his eyes worried. He opened his arms and instinctively, I stepped into the circle.
"Finally, the pretty Italian man I actually wanted to see."
He was too tense to laugh at my comment. "Everything okay?" he asked against my hair.
"Yes. I’m sorry I’ve been so much trouble,” I rasped. When he didn’t reply right away I pulled back and looked up at him. “Raf?”
There was an awkward moment and I would have given a finger to know what he was thinking.
He cleared his throat, “It wasn’t your fault, Saxony.” He tucked a curl behind my ear. “But you’re definitely not like any girls I’ve ever dated before.”
I sighed. “I know. And from the looks of it, I never will be a walk in the park.”
His dark eyes roved my face, like he was trying to decide if I was worth investing any more time in. I couldn’t blame him if he decided I wasn’t. I was magi, and I was leaving soon.
I cleared my throat. “Visiting Enzo was a good call."
"I'm glad."
"Speaking of visiting Enzo. He'd like to see you sometime," I said as we turned and walked toward the door.
I told Raf about our conversation. He listened with quiet concern. He took my hand and he held it until we got to my doorway. Everything came spilling out. My concerns about what to tell my family when I got home. My voice, which was never going to be the same. My promise to Enzo and wondering what he might ask me to do one day.
"I wish I could answer all your questions," he said, looking down at me. "But I have a feeling that you're going to figure everything out." He brushed hair away from my forehead. "We will stay in touch?" he asked, softly. "I don't want to lose track of you.” I guess he’d decided I was worthwhile after all.
I felt more relieved than I thought I would. ”Absolutely," I said, kissing his cheek.
"Will you call me? After you get back to Canada. Tell me how things go for you. You know, with your family."
"Sure, I will. But you know what I really want?" I said, looking up at him.
"What's that?"
"I want to pretend I'm just a normal girl for a while. You still owe me a night of The Godfather." I unlocked the door.