“I only inquire after your health due to your appearance.” Amara frowned as if concerned. “You look as if you have just woken up and have not had the time to properly dress for the day.”
Well, bless her cold, dead, non-beating heart. If she wanted to play games, I knew a trick or two myself.
Putting on my best and brightest smile, I laid my accent on thick. “Oh, honey, you have no idea. Luke and I stayed up all night together, and…well, since my manners don’t allow me to divulge what goes on between a man and his fiancé behind closed doors, I’ll let you do the imagining.” I winked at her with petty pleasure.
My little ploy to get her to think about my relationship with Luke did the trick. The snide woman’s face paled even further.
She coughed a little, pressing her hand to her chest. “Yes…well…”
“Amara,” Cassio called out on his way to rescue to me. “What a pleasant surprise to see you today.” He greeted her like an old friend, kissing both of her cheeks. “And Ruby, may I say that in the light of the sun, your hair is even more stunning. There are women across the world who would pay handsomely for hair blessed with that lovely shade.”
I primped my locks in jest. “And all it took for me was a little luck in the gene pool.” Neither of them needed to know that while I got my hair color from my mother, there was nothing else I’d claim from that abandoning witch.
“How sad for you that the passage of time will make it all fade away.” Despite the dreadful message of her statement, the awful woman grinned with glee, her fangs gleaming in the sun.
“You are truly incorrigible, Amara. Retract your fangs and let us join our friends for lunch in town,” Cassio instructed, flashing me a sympathetic roll of the eyes.
“Oh, will Luca be joining us?” she asked, being sure to watch me for a reaction.
“I am sure he has better companions to spend his time with,” Cassio answered for me. “You are welcome to join us, Ruby. If you have not spent any time in Perdaggia, we could show you around after eating.”
“Perhaps you can volunteer your time in such a mundane venture,” Amara sniffed. “I think it will rain this afternoon.”
“Aw, and we wouldn’t want you to float, now, would we?” I joked.
She frowned. “I thought the phrase was melting in the rain.”
“That’s sugar. Sugar melts. There are other things that float when they are in the water,” I said as sweet as pie.
Cassio snorted and did nothing to hide his amused comprehension. Amara narrowed her eyes at me. “I do not understand why Luca would choose someone like you. I hope you get drenched.”
Since both of them already knew about my status as a witch, I didn’t see the harm in my response. Summoning a little of my fire energy down my arm, I walked over to a nearby fountain and reached under the cascades of water. The heat from my magic evaporated the drops before they could touch me.
“I don’t get wet,” I bragged, twisting my arm this way and that for good measure. “I burn.”
Amara swore in Italian. “Come. Let us leave.” She stomped away with less grace than before.
Cassio let her put some distance between us before he addressed me. “You cannot let her get to you like that. She knows how to rattle her victims and has had centuries of practice.”
“I know, I know,” I grumbled, guilt replacing my temporary triumph. “And now she has firsthand knowledge of my powers.”
“Oh, to be sure, others will have that knowledge very soon,” Cassio said, backing away from me. “Be more careful, Ruby Mae.”
Fiametta appeared at the door from the castle and paused when she caught sight of Luke’s friend leaving me. She dropped her head and curtsied to him as he passed. Hurrying over to me, she grabbed my arm and rushed me away. I tried to talk to her, but she stayed quiet until we reached her small, dark green car.
She unlocked the door for me with her key and did the same on her side. Although the interior of the vehicle barely fit the two of us, I didn’t mind being cramped as long as I got some answers.
“I saw what you did.” Fia gritted as she drove us down the road, leaving the grounds of the castle. “And you don’t know who else might have seen your foolish display.”
I winced. “I know. I let my ego get the best of me. No, I let Amara rile me up to do something stupid.”
Fiametta grunted. “Yes, she is a nasty woman. Always rude to the staff. Many are afraid of dealing with her.”
“I can understand. But you’re right,” I said, guilt swirling in my stomach.
Fia drove us down a curvy road that led away from Perdaggia and out a different exit of the walled city. Once we were on the other side, she blew out a long sigh.
“If Amara pushed you to act as you did, then I am not so sure I would have done anything different than you. I am sorry for my irritation,” she said.
We were running away from the possible consequences of my actions, and I wouldn’t know until I returned just how much I’d screwed up. The image of Luke’s disappointment on his face haunted my imagination.
“No, my daddy raised me to be smarter than that. And if Granny Jo ever manifests again, I’m sure I’ll get an earful.” I drew out the token from underneath my shirt and rubbed it.
Fia’s eyes flashed to the metal in my fingers, but she didn’t ask about it. “There have been many times I wanted to react with magic openly at the castle. But the risk would have been too great.”
“Why are you there? I don’t quite understand how everything works. If Luke’s family has run the place for as long as I think they have,
