Chapter 30
They left Forli early the next morning, Marcella silently praying to her father to reassure him that she would be back for him. She wouldn't let Renata continue to abuse his spirit and the people in town. Enough was enough.
Cosimo's hand rested on her leg, in a casual, comforting touch like he wanted to remind her that he was there for her.
Marcella had tried to be a braver person since leaving Forli the first time, but she had never thought she would actually consider overthrowing Renata. She knew a lot of her newfound courage was coming from the knowledge that the Greatdrakes family had her back.
Cosimo had told her the whole family history in detail the previous night and acted like he half expected her to walk away from the relationship that was building between them.
The man had no clue that any woman would want to be a part of such a loving unit, despite the enemies and challenges that arose.
Not only that, but they also weren't interested in pushing each other, or her, down in any way. They wanted her to dive deep into her magic, to learn about it, and not be afraid of that part of her.
She had thought for so long that it was a curse to have these gifts from the family gods. Now, she felt like a flower finally being free enough to unfurl all her petals to the sun. It was liberating. It was terrifying.
Marcella linked her fingers around Cosimo's and held on. She might be scared and nervous sometimes with how quickly they were moving, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying.
"We won't be gone long," Cosimo reassured her as they cleared the borders of the city, heading south.
"I know. I'm just trying to think what I can do to stop Renata for good. I have a good idea. I just need to think the magic through," Marcella replied.
Cosimo lifted their hands and kissed her knuckles. "We are all here to ask questions if you need it. Although you might get a more pragmatic answer of a knife between the ribs."
"I'll keep it as an option." Marcella laughed and, for once, didn't feel guilty about the vicious thoughts of getting revenge on Carlo and Renata.
Cosimo and the others wouldn't think any less of her for them.
She still didn't want to kill them, but she needed a way to make them stop for good.
The answer was there. She just needed to take the time to think and find it.
The town of Santa Sofia was situated in the middle of the Casentinesi Forest National Park. It was a UNESCO World Heritage site, surrounded by ancient beech forests, mountains, rivers, and a lake, offering tourists and campers a range of natural attractions to enjoy.
"So no ancient Roman ruins have been found in the area," Bridget said from her seat behind them.
"But we do know that the wider Emilia-Romagna region had a lot of Roman occupation.
We also know that there were Etruscan settlements in this area that predate the Romans, around the Apennine foothills, where Santa Sofia is located.
Auntie Maria was onto something without a doubt.
If she is actually in the remains of a temple, she might have also made a huge archaeological discovery. "
"That will please her," Cosimo said with a grin. "Maria is nothing if not an overachiever. She will think that being stuck in a time spell for decades would be worth it just to prove her theory about a Minerva temple was correct."
"Sounds like a magician," Reeve said.
"Sounds like a Greatdrakes," Marcella corrected and giggled when Cosimo poked her in the side. "What? It's true. I was your rival, remember? I know how tenacious you are when you want something."
"You don't know the half of it," Cosimo said with a gleam of dragon in his eyes.
They pulled up at a parking area that had been built for hikers and campers, and climbed out into the cool, fresh air. Lachlan had the most experience navigating dense forests without getting lost, so he took over the map that Bridget had marked up.
"Are you sure you don't want to split up? We might cover more ground that way?" Valentine asked, adjusting the backpack on his shoulders.
"No. We stay together. I don't know what traps Maria has set off, and I don't need anyone else getting stuck in a spell where we can't find them," Cosimo insisted.
Marcella couldn't help but notice how good he looked in casual jeans and boots. He caught her gaze and gave her a slow once-over. He frowned and knelt at her feet.
"Your laces are undone," he said and began to retie them. His fingers slid under her jeans to brush against her tattoo and sent a tingle up through her leg.
"Thanks, Cosimo. I'm not capable of tying them on my own," she said with a straight face.
Charlotte and Yelena snickered behind them.
Cosimo smacked her ass as he stood. "Don't sass me. I'm trying to make sure you don't break an ankle."
"Dad, my laces are undone too," Apollo said, waving his foot at him.
"Oh, shut up, all of you. Let's go," Cosimo grumbled, looking flustered.
Marcella bit back a giggle.
"Okay, the trail is this way," Lachlan called over the top of them. "We should get to the centre of this area within an hour if we don't dawdle."
Marcella held out a hand to Cosimo. "In case I slip on wet leaves or something."
Cosimo took it with a sideways smile. "Can't have that."
It had been a long time since Marcella had been out in nature.
She tended to get so caught up in her studies that she didn't always take enough time off to reset and explore outside of Florence.
She had grown up on a farm with a wood, and now, as the greenery around her soothed her, she made a mental note that she needed to do it more.
"It's so beautiful out here," she said, staring around at the tall beech trees.
"Oberon would love it. Maybe I need to bring him back here. He's been growing forests again back in England," Cosimo replied as they walked.
In Marcella's small backpack, the carefully wrapped statue of Minera began to hum. She paused and looked around.
"What is it?" Bas asked from behind her.
"There is something here that's reacting to the statue," Marcella replied. A tingle was spreading over her skin, an awareness that they were being watched.
"I don't want you touching it again," Cosimo said with a frown.
"I'll be fine. Just make sure you are behind me." Marcella let the bag drop from her shoulders, and she knelt in the damp undergrowth. "Trust me, Cosimo. I know what I feel."
"We'll be here with you if you get dragged under," he said, though he was frowning. Despite hating it, he wasn't stopping her, and she loved him for it.
Marcella took out the statue and put it on the ground beside her. She wasn't wearing her muffling bracelet, and she could feel spirits moving around them. Going off blind instinct, she placed her hand onto the damp ground.
"Spirits of the forest, spirits of those who came before, guide us," she whispered. She should have thought to bring some kind of offering for them, but now it was too late. A susurration went through the trees, and Yelena sucked in a breath.
"I can feel magic. Old magic," she whispered.
In the corners of her eyes, Marcella could make out faint whisps of spirits, like smoke in the wind.
She unwrapped the statue carefully and took some deep breaths to center herself.
This was the kind of magic she had never been brave enough to reach for, and she didn't want to second-guess her intuition for a moment.
Lady Wisdom, Lady Minerva, guide me, she prayed, and took hold of the statue. Ancient presence and power rolled through the earth and up through Marcella's feet. She could hear the singing again, the prayers and petitions. There was a path in front of her, and she wasn't alone.
A tall woman with dark hair walked in front of her. She was dressed in jeans, scarred boots, a T-shirt, with a battered black backpack over her shoulders. She stopped every couple of meters to consult a map and a compass.
Marcella held on tight to the statue, hoping that Cosimo and the others could still follow her. She hurried after the woman, the path winding through the trees.
Marcella tried not to get distracted by the changes in the landscape or lose sight of the path the woman was on. She didn't want to analyze what the magic was doing to her. She just obeyed it.
Through the beech trees, the outline of a roof came into view. It shuddered and disintegrated until only the woman remained standing under the trees.
Marcella took a step toward it when something tangled in her feet. The statue fell from her hands onto the forest floor, and Cosimo's strong arms went around her before she hit the rocks and leaves.
"Breathe. I have you," Cosimo whispered in her ear.
Marcella was shaking, and she turned in his arms, holding him tight. "Oh, goddess. I saw her. I saw..."
"It's okay. We didn't let you fall. You were in a trance, and took us in a different direction than we had planned," Cosimo said, his hands rubbing her back. Marcella let his body warm her up, and her shaking stopped enough to look down. Around her feet was an old piece of rope.
"What is this?" she said and grabbed the end of it. She pulled on it, and it rose out of the dirt that covered it.
"Something left over from camping, probably," Reeve replied.
"It's going in the direction of where the woman stood," Marcella said, shaking her head.
She continued to follow the rope, pulling it up out of the ground for another twenty meters, and then she couldn't lift any more.
She got down on her hands and knees, heedless of the questions the others were asking.
Marcella's hand pushed through a loose bundle of branches and would have fallen straight into a black pit if Cosimo hadn't gripped her by the back of the jeans.
"Mio Dio, I'm going to tie you to me soon," he said, pulling her backward.
"That is a big hole," Bridget commented, coming to stand beside them and looking in.
Apollo dug about in his pockets and pulled out a glow stick. He cracked it and dropped it. It went down only a few meters and lit up the walls around it. A set of broken stone stairs led down to it, but the top ones were missing.
"Marcella? I think you have found it," Cosimo said with a bright laugh.
Marcella looked down into the darkness, her heart pounding hard in excitement. "We are going to need some more rope."