“I am losing control,” she admitted. “Hold on.”
A curve in the road loomed up ahead, and I figured we’d fly off our course and crash. I called up a little of my magic to try and cast it at the driver of the other car.
“No, don’t. You might hurt us instead,” Fiametta insisted, her hands jerking the steering wheel to fight for control.
One more push from the car behind us, and we spun out of control. The wet world on the outside flashed in front of us again and again as we both screamed in horror. We whipped around until Fia’s car slammed off the road. The tires slid on the hillside, slowing us down. The chassis of the vehicle tipped on its side, and in that one moment where we were on two wheels, I forgot about everything except Luke.
The car slammed back down on all four tires, the engine still running. Rain pelted the car, and our panting breaths fogged up the windows. I held my hand over my beating heart and glanced at Fia.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She answered first in Italian, and then remembered to speak English. “Yes. I think so.”
We paused to stare at each other and then burst into hysterical giggles. She reached across and hugged me, and I barely registered the pain in my muscles from all the adrenaline coursing through me.
“You handled that well,” I said, complimenting her driving.
She thanked me, still catching her breath. “I think we got very lucky.”
Another car approached and slowed down. A man got out in the pouring rain and came over to check on us. Fia tested the car and found it could still function. Thanking the kind person, she rolled up the window, and we got back on the road.
As we drove closer to Perdaggia, more questions formed in my head. “Why did someone try to run us off the road?”
Fia shrugged. “Lots of tourists rent cars and drive like maniacs around here.”
“I could see someone maybe trying to pass us and going too fast. But whoever that was, they targeted us specifically.” I paused, trying to figure it out. “Why us?”
Fiametta drove in contemplative silence for a while until we crossed into the walled city and drove up the private road to the castle.
The closer we got, the more convinced I became that I knew the reason. “I think we’ve stirred up ghosts of the past,” I said.
Fia parked her car and sat back in her seat, her fingers drumming the steering wheel. “And someone wishes for us not to. I think you may be right. But you know what that means.”
I clutched my purse in my lap. “Yep. It means we must be on the right path.”
“Yes, but there are bigger concerns. We are being watched and followed.” Her eyes widened as she looked at me.
Through the streams of rain pouring down the window of her car, I stared up at the facade of the medieval structure towering over us. Somewhere inside, someone knew the truth. The urgency to unravel the mystery increased, and I would have to find the delicate balance between being careful and discovering the answers before anyone else got hurt.
Chapter Fourteen
Claudio met us at a side entrance. He grabbed Fiametta and drew her aside, speaking to her in hushed rapid Italian. She interrupted him a couple of times, but he wouldn’t stop fussing.
She held up her hand to get him to stop and addressed me. “You had better return to your room. It seems the tale of your display from the garden has complicated things for you.”
I winced in anticipation. “I’ll need a little help getting there. This place still confuses me.” My fingers dug into my sore neck. “Are you going to be okay?” I asked.
Fia nodded. “Please send word to me if you feel any worse. I can send up some cream to help any muscle aches.”
Claudio renewed his tirade at my friend, but she brushed him off, insisting he help me back to my room. He did so, but his friendliness level dropped from ten to zero.
At the end of the hallway I recognized, he stopped. “Please, Miss Ruby, do not involve Fia anymore.”
“She has her own reasons to work with me,” I insisted, understanding his concern but needing to keep my connection to her.
“And she has ways to protect herself. I know,” the young man admitted. “But I would rather she not cause any trouble, and ever since you have arrived, that is all that has occurred.”
I wanted to deny his accusation but couldn’t. “I understand. But the choice has to be hers.” Even though I needed her help, I refused to force her.
Claudio heaved a heavy breath. “Yes, she has a mind of her own.”
“Which is why you love her,” I finished for him.
His mouth dropped open, but he did not utter a protest. “Sì. I do,” he sighed.
I winked at him. “Then make sure she knows that, and she might take your concerns into consideration.” I gazed down the hallway at the door to my room. “Claudio, just how angry is Master Luca?”
The young man frowned in contemplation. “I would not wish to be you at this moment.”
Oh, sweet tea and spells. I glanced down the corridor in the opposite direction, weighing my options. Claudio chuckled at my reaction and urged me to face my fears, laying his hands on the top of my shoulders and guiding me in the right direction. His joke eased my worry that I had lost his favor, and I obeyed.
I reached for the handle to my door but flinched away at the last second. Even though it was the entrance to my own room, I knocked on the heavy wood instead.
Luke bellowed in Italian from the other side, and I swallowed hard, unlatching the door and entering. The man pacing in my room wore expensive clothes instead of stained coveralls. His jaw still held a bit of stubble but
