“There are some papers in here.” I said, pulling the controlled flame away and reaching in with my free hand. Withdrawing the treasure I’d found, my heart raced at my discovery.
The paper was folded much like the letters that Fiametta had at her place. I extinguished the flame in my hand and moved over to the desk. Sitting down, I did my best to read through each one, but since I couldn’t even read any Italian, I had no hope of reading these.
I scanned each line to see if I could decipher any specific names and found Luke’s a few times. By the sixth letter I unfolded, I realized the folly of my mission.
“I should take these, put the stone and painting back in place, and have Fiametta or even Luke help me read them,” I said. Just as I was giving up, I spotted an anomaly in the handwriting. “Wait a minute. I think this part right here is a name. But I can’t figure it out.”
Granny Jo broke my concentration. “Ruby Mae, I think someone is coming.”
“Shh, it’s probably Fia. I’ll bet her curiosity got the better of her.” My fingers traced over the loops of the hastily written script. “This might be an S. Or maybe an O. The next letter is definitely a lowercased A. Or maybe that’s an O?”
The secret door in the wall slid open, and I waved my hand at it. “Hey, Fia. Come see this. I think I’ve found the name of the person who was threatening Isabella.”
“Ruby Mae!” my ghostly great-grandmother shouted.
I turned too late, and whoever entered through the secret passage got the better of me. Something hit my head, and everything went dark.
My lungs fought to take in air, and I coughed myself awake. Granny Jo had disappeared, and my head pounded like someone had tried to split it open. I reached up to touch it, and when I pulled my hand away, blood covered my skin.
“That’s not good,” I uttered, sitting up.
Flames licked over every piece of furniture and cloth. Whoever had attacked me had also set the entire room on fire. Although a little woozy, I managed to get to my feet. The air at that level was too thick to breathe.
Falling back down to my knees, I crawled into the space in the middle to figure out my best escape. I looked at the wall with the secret passage, but a large dresser engulfed by flames sat in front of it.
To the left of the desk, velvet curtains that hung from the ceiling down to the floor smoldered and burned. But the leftover tatters revealed a windowed door to the outside terrace much like in my room.
My head ached and the room spun a little, but I knew what I had to do. I drew in a quick breath from the floor level and pushed myself to stand. Summoning my magic, I called to the fire. The tip of all the flames in the room changed direction and pointed in my direction as if I was the north to their compass. The bracelet on my wrist glowed, and I prayed it would give me a little extra boost when I needed it.
Holding out my arms wide, I concentrated and invited the fire to leave where it burned and come to me. Like a vacuum, I absorbed all of the flames in the room, letting them fill me up until I could take no more. The inferno raged inside of me, and I marched towards the windows behind the ruined curtains.
With a little energy push, the glass shattered, but the doors did not open onto the terrace. Every second I allowed the fire to burn in me depleted my magic reserves. If I used up any more power to open the door, I’d risk losing control. My skin glowed as if I was a walking ember, and if I couldn’t get outside, everything I’d absorbed would consume me, and my efforts would be for nothing.
Backing up as far as I could, I ran at the door, risking a little magic to protect my body as I rammed into the wood and leftover glass shards. I felt nothing as I broke through to the other side, and as soon as I saw stars in the sky, I sank to my knees. With one big wail, I aimed a stream of flames into the air until I had nothing left in me.
With the fire gone, I didn’t have to fight anymore. I collapsed onto the terrace, giving into the darkness that dragged me under.
Chapter Sixteen
I drew in a hard breath and winced at the burn in my throat. My eyes fluttered open, and my fiancé’s face filled my vision.
“Welcome back,” he uttered, flashing me a brilliant smile almost as bright as the sun lighting up the rest of the room. He brushed hair out of my face. “Oh, cara, you may be the death of me yet.”
I tried to chuckle. “That’s saying something, coming from a vampire.”
Luke helped me sit up in bed, propping pillows behind my back. He handed me a glass of water, and I downed its contents, holding it out to ask for more. I finished the whole pitcher before my thirst came close to being quenched.
“Is your sister’s room completely destroyed?” I asked, recalling the last thing I remembered. Lifting my hand to my head, I felt for the bump from where I’d been hit and flinched when I found it.
My fiancé shook his head, frowning at my pain. “We can discuss the details later. I want to make sure you’re fully recovered. May I call in the doctor to check on you?”
I agreed, too weak to protest. “I’ll need some food, too,” I uttered.
“First, the doctor.” Luke kissed the tip of
