“They are important, at least within a certain circle.” Luke took my hand in his and rubbed his thumb over my ring. “I am a part of vampire nobility. My family has a modicum of power within the European families.”
“Perhaps my English is not so good,” Cassio said, sitting back down. “But the de Rossi family possesses more than just a little bit of power and influence. And Luke is not just nobility. He is un Principe viziato.”
I looked to Luke to translate, and my fiancé did so with reluctance. “He means to imply that I’m a prince, which I’m not, as my parents are not king and queen.”
“So, if we got married, would that make me a princess?” I asked Cassio, trying to lighten the heavy mood of the room.
“If the marriage were to be allowed, then you would carry a title once Luca accepted his duties,” he replied.
Luke’s friend understood English just fine, and I caught the specific words he used. “What do you mean if? The only two people who have a say in whether or not we tie the knot are sitting on this couch.”
My fiancé opened his mouth to speak, but Cassio cut him off. “Yes, perhaps Luke Manson could marry at will, but Luca de Rossi cannot. Not without permission from his parents, and considering what your father has been busy negotiating, I doubt that a union between the two of you will last.”
Before I could utter any protests, Luke blurred from his spot next to me and picked Cassio up by his shirt and slammed him against the wall behind them.
“You will not come into my house and insult my bride-to-be with tradition and expectations,” he growled, spitting his words into Cassio’s face. “Ruby Mae is the woman I choose to tie my life to, and you will treat her with the respect she deserves. Or you can leave. It is entirely your choice, Mimmo.”
Cassio grasped one of Luke’s hands in his and twisted his grip loose. They grappled with each other, blurring about the room with their violence until Luke flipped Cassio onto the wood-and-glass coffee table in front of me, shards and splinters exploding from the impact.
I pulled my knees up to avoid the catastrophe and scrambled to my feet, balancing on the soft couch cushions. “Hey! You two knock it off!” Summoning a little power, I conjured small fireballs in both my hands. “Don’t make me have to scorch your behinds.”
Cassio’s eyes widened, the flames reflecting off of them. He crab-crawled away, terrified. After a couple of Italian curses, he pointed at me. “Una strega, Luca! She is a witch!”
My fiancé stopped fighting with his friend and pointed at the fireballs. “It’s a little much, don’t you think?”
“Well, there were two crazy vampires beating on each other so much that you broke a coffee table.” I gestured at the wreck around where he stood. “A girl’s gotta do something to protect herself. Y’all are acting like two toddlers instead of grown men who know better.”
Luke took careful steps around the broken glass and shredded wood. He offered a hand to his friend. “She’s not wrong.”
Cassio kept a wary glance on the fire I controlled. “No, she is not. I have been provoking you all night, so I guess I deserved it.” He accepted Luke’s help in hauling him off the floor. “But you should know, signorina, that we have always worked out our differences in this manner much to our mothers’ disappointment.”
Luke pulled him into a manly hug and kissed him on both cheeks. “Yes, my mother may never forgive us for destroying the fresco painted by Pinturicchio himself. When was that? 1470?”
Cassio chuckled. “No, the artist painted it in 1471. We destroyed it in 1527. If I recall, you were mad because I had won a bet with you and you refused to pay the price.”
“You won a horse from my stable. Not my prized horse,” Luke protested in jest. “You were trying to lay claim to my Bernardo on a technicality.”
Cassio held up a finger. “No, you never specified which horse.”
The two men’s friendlier demeanors added to my general bafflement. However, their banter back and forth reminded me of some of the squabbles that happened with frequency in my family, so I extinguished the fire in my hands with a flourish, letting go of the magic. Centuries-old vampires, and it all boiled down to the same thing. Boys would be boys, and they definitely fought over their toys.
“At this point, I don’t know which end is up with you two. But I will say this to you, Cassio.” I sat on the back of the couch, unwilling to move too far for fear of broken glass. “I would like to get Luke’s parents’ blessing, but I don’t much care about what his family thinks. Whether or not they approve makes no never mind, and I will marry him if and when we decide to do so.” Wiggling my ring finger at him, I showed off the engagement ring.
Luke’s friend gawked at the jewelry. “So, that’s where it went. I always thought it was lost when she…” He trailed off, his brow furrowing in thought. “It is more than befitting, though. Your sister, of all people, would approve.”
“Yes, Isabella would definitely like Ruby Mae.” Luke winked at me.
Cassio touched his friend on the shoulder. “But I am sorry, old friend. You know how your parents will react when they find out.”
“If I do not return with you, then how will they find out unless by your tongue, old friend?” Luke challenged. “And I would invoke the same trust I have had with you for so long as my chosen brother not to betray me in
