Chapter 18
Marcella had barely slept the night before, even though it had helped spending the day with the Greatdrakes women. Marcella got the distinct feeling that they didn't want her to be alone with her thoughts, and she was so grateful, she could have wept.
Charlotte and Yelena had changed her wards and cleaned off the lingering feeling of Carlo's magic sliding around the building.
They had made small protective charm bags of red felt to carry in their bras, and Marcella had been overwhelmed with affection for all of them by the time they had left.
She was growing to admire and genuinely like the whole family. It was dangerous to get attached to any of them, because they would eventually leave.
Marcella had spent the rest of her night, tossing and turning, wanting to text Cosimo and holding out because she knew that she was growing to like him most of all. More than like, if she were being honest with herself.
It was unlike any crush she had ever had before. It wasn't only the desire to see what he was hiding under all those well-tailored clothes. When she was with him, she felt...safe. He said he would protect her, but her body felt it when she was with him. It relaxed.
After a few months of being married to Carlo, her mother had passed away, and she had been inconsolable. He had grown tired of dealing with her grief after a few weeks, and that was when she began to see what he was really like.
Her body didn't feel comfort when he held her. It was alert. Ready for the fight, to be pushed away, to receive some comment about how she was getting too soft around the middle.
Her body hadn't relaxed in another's arms until she had fainted in Maria's tower, and Cosimo had just held her. It was so dangerous, this thing she had twisting her up inside whenever she thought of him.
By the afternoon the following day, Marcella didn't know if she was more nervous about being in a car for two hours with Cosimo or going back to Forli.
She had called the one hotel in town she knew she would be safe in and had booked it under a false name.
The owner was a friend, but she didn't trust them not to have staff that would get a message back to Renata on who she was with.
Her friend Adamo would understand as soon as he saw her.
Marcella didn't know why she had been so worried about being locked in a car with Cosimo, because when they arrived, it was in a sleek black van with heavily tinted windows. They weren't going to risk being separated for anything.
Cosimo was waiting for her outside when she stepped out of her building.
He looked her over, and her heart did an erratic skip.
She had casually dressed in black jeans and a lacy camisole, with a tight-fitting red cardigan over the top.
Cosimo's eyes were burning purple-red as they drank in the sight of her.
"Ready to go and get scrutinized by streghe?" she asked brightly.
Cosimo took her black overnight bag from her. "There is only one strega's scrutiny that can make me nervous, and she's not in Forli."
He opened the front passenger door for her and offered her a hand to help her up the step. Marcella took it, the warm brush of his fingertips sending a magical pulse through her. Cosimo only winked and shut her door.
"Buongiorno, my lovelies," Marcella said, turning in her seat to smile at the Greatdrakes behind her. They were coupled up with their mates and were handing around snacks and sweets.
"Are you feeling okay, Marcella?" Apollo asked, leaning forward. He toyed with the red chili peppers on her gold hoops. "These are so cute."
"I'm okay, and the chili peppers are good luck," Marcella replied and quickly whispered. "Is your dad okay? He's looking a bit serious this morning."
"He and his dragon made peace yesterday," Apollo whispered back. "They aren't fighting each other, so he might be a little intense with you because his dragon is also in control more. Have fun with that, gorgeous. Dad's dragon is a mood. Oh, shit, he's coming."
Cosimo opened the driver's door and looked at Apollo hanging over the seats. "Why do you two look guilty?"
"You are imagining things, amico. Apollo was just offering some of those Baci, which I definitely need," Marcella said, holding out her hand for the blue and white wrapped chocolates.
"Yeah, Dad, mind your business," Apollo said, parting with the chocolates and leaning back in his chair.
"You might regret not letting us portal into Forli by the end of this drive," Cosimo told Marcella, putting the van into gear.
"Renata's congrega would know that you are all coming then. I want it to be a surprise when I turn up with a crowd of magicians," she replied.
"The collective name, I believe, is a chaos of magicians," Cosimo said, grinning. "If they get annoying, I can seal their mouths closed for you."
"Keep that trick for when we have to deal with Renata." Marcella really wasn't looking forward to being face-to-face with the old witch.
"Tell us about this place they want to meet," Valentine asked from the very back of the van.
"The Red Carnation is a restaurant and bar that their family has owned for about thirty years.
They live on the floors above it. At least, Renata used to.
They might have moved out of town to my family's property," Marcella said, hating the thought of Renata anywhere near her things.
She thought that feeling had passed, but apparently not.
Marcella didn't realize her hand had turned into a clawed fist on the seat beside her until Cosimo gently put his hand over it. He didn't say anything or take his eyes off the road. Marcella swallowed hard and tried to remember more about the building.
"How many exits?" Lachlan prompted her.
"Three. One at the front and back, and a set of stairs that lead up to the rooftop garden and apartment," Marcella replied.
Her fingers unfurled from their fist. When Cosimo didn't move his hand away, she slowly turned hers so they were palm to palm.
She didn't dare look at him, just kept her eyes on the twisting roads they followed out of the city.
"Do they have guards or anything? What about people with psychic abilities?" Bas asked.
Marcella chewed her lip. It had been a long time since she had to think about them at all. "I know they have burly staff for the bar, but I don't know who in the congrega would have psychic powers."
"You should practice your mental defenses. I don't want them having a chance to get in your head in any way," Cosimo said, his fingers tightening around hers.
Marcella frowned. "What do you mean by defenses?"
"Bas and Bridget, swap seats with Apollo and Lachie, and teach her.
You have two hours," Cosimo instructed. He had a certain depth of authority to his tone that had Marcella's thighs clenching in response.
The side of Cosimo's mouth twitched into an almost smirk.
Marcella tried to hide her embarrassment that he had caught her instant response.
She fought the urge to cross herself in self-defense.
Luckily, she was spared from any further embarrassment as Bas started to teach her to build walls around her mind to keep anyone from prying.
"Roses. Interesting," Cosimo said after she had been working on it for an hour.
When Bas had told her to pick something to use as a visual wall, like high fences, Marcella had thought of the roses that her mother had let grow over one of the stone walls around their property. It had been easy for her to focus on it, because tending to them was one of her first memories.
"Roses are pretty but full of thorns," Bridget said approvingly. "It's good to have sharp bits for people who like to pry."
"How did you know?" Marcella asked Cosimo, and then she felt the slight prod in her mental shield. It was like a brush of smooth, hard scales against her skin, making her body tighten up.
You're looking particularly lovely today, Cosimo's voice whispered silkily inside of her head.
"Stop that!" she gasped.
Cosimo laughed. "I was only checking if you would notice me in there. Kids? Test her."
Marcella was mentally pushed and prodded for the rest of the ride. It was exhausting, but it also helped keep her distracted and not anxious about returning to Forli.
They were coming to the outskirts of the city, and Marcella sucked in a breath.
"What is it?" Cosimo asked, his fingers tightening on hers. They hadn't moved for the entire trip, and she had tried not to think about it too hard.
"I can feel it. The city's energy." Marcella closed her eyes and opened up her senses. It didn't matter that the wheels of the car separated her from the earth. She could feel its energy rising to meet her.
"How long has it been?" Cosimo asked, voice gentle.
"Ten years," Marcella replied, keeping her eyes closed against the tears that were welling up.
"No matter what, we will keep you safe," Cosimo said, the steel back in his voice.
"I know." And Marcella did. With his hand on hers, Cosimo kept her anchored and steady enough for her to open her eyes once more.
She directed them through city streets until they stopped in front of a terracotta and cream-painted hotel in a side street off the main piazza.
Marcella sat frozen in her seat, trying to stop the sudden panic from rising up her throat. The last time she had been at that hotel, she was fleeing for her life.
Cosimo opened the door for her. When she didn't move, he gestured to the others to get their bags.
"Look at me," Cosimo said, his hand tilting her chin up. Marcella's breaths were almost pants, but she focused on his purple eyes. Still using that voice that was pure authority, he said, "Breathe with me."
He took her hand and held it to his chest. He inhaled, and Marcella took in a shaky breath. He held her gaze until they were breathing slowly and deeply, their hearts beating in time with each other. The fear slowly loosened its grip.