Starling (Secrets of the Eternal Rose) by Paul Fiona

Author:Paul, Fiona [Paul, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

“A broken spirit will proceed calmly to its own demise.”

—THE BOOK OF THE ETERNAL ROSE

sixteen

Falco,” Cass whispered. She pushed the tray of bread and ale away and crawled toward the front of her cell.

He looked up, and Cass could see he’d been beaten. His left eye was swelling, and his lips were leaking blood. Her heart wrenched open.

“Hello, starling,” he said. “Nice to see you again.”

The guard tossed Falco into the cell on the other side of hers. He teetered dangerously and then flailed at the cell bars, attempting to hold on to them for balance. His hand barely brushed the steel before he collapsed onto the floor in a heap. Groaning, he rolled onto his side so that he was facing Cass.

She turned away to look at Piero and the guard. “What did you do to him?”

“We gave him a proper beating,” Piero said. “I would have killed him, but I suspect Bella will want to do that herself.”

Piero watched with pleasure as Cass reached her hands through the bars, trying to wipe away the blood leaking from Falco’s mouth.

“I love a happy reunion.” His lips twisted into a smirk. “Bella’s going to be devastated. Now who will paint her pictures?”

“I’ll paint pictures of both of your corpses,” Falco muttered.

“Bold words for a man who can’t even stand.” Piero ducked out of the room with the guard trailing behind him.

“Cass.” Falco reached out for her hand. “Will you ever forgive me? All this time you were right—about everything.”

He was still lying on his side. His shirt was torn and his left forearm had a long scratch down the front of it. His fingernails were cracked and bloody. If only he had believed her sooner.

“It’s all right,” Cass said. “There’s nothing to forgive.” She folded Falco’s fingers in her own, trying not to notice the smears of his blood rubbing off onto her skin. “How did you end up here?”

“After you sent me away from your room at the brothel, I went to a taverna, where I overheard that a man called Giovanni de Fiore had accused Joseph Dubois of conspiracy, heresy, and murder. I talked to a few people and realized his daughter had been executed for consorting with vampires and that he thought Dubois was behind the arrest.”

Giovanni de Fiore was a bit of a recluse, but he was also a very wealthy nobleman. If he was brave enough to accuse Dubois, the Senate and Doge might listen. Cass could only pray that he had proof to back up his suspicions. It was the first piece of hopeful news she’d heard in days.

“It seemed very close to the executions in Florence,” Falco said. “A bit of a coincidence that the vampire-mania arrived in Venice at the same time Belladonna did. I went back to Palazzo Dolce to find you and inform you of what I’d learned, but I found your room in ruins and realized you must have been attacked. I tore the entire city apart searching for you, Cass, but no one had seen you.

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