At the mention of her name, I reached for the chain around my neck and pulled out the token. At first, it didn’t respond to me, and I feared the worst. Before my worry great into full-blown panic, a slight pulse of energy responded to my touch, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
An older female entered the room after Luke answered the knock, and she examined me while my fiancé translated for the both of us. When she inspected the injury on the back of my head, I clenched my teeth to keep from groaning in pain.
She checked on my breathing and seemed pleased at the condition of my lungs. But after she examined all my limbs, her slight frown concerned me. Her voice raised as she gestured at me while talking to Luke. I did my best to keep up, but my fiancé responded for me, keeping me in the dark about his answers to her questions. She nodded and accepted whatever he said, but her eyes continued to scrutinize me with intensity.
After she left, Luke chuckled. “She’s confused as to why you aren’t more damaged from your injuries.”
I glanced down at my skin unmarred by any burns. “I guess it wouldn’t make sense to someone who didn’t know about my magic.”
“I told her you had managed to fight your way outside, saving you too much injury,” he said. “I think she suspects the lie, but she won’t question my word.”
Snorting, I repositioned myself on the bed. “The benefits of being the richest family in the area.”
He sat down next to me on the bed, fussing over the sheets instead of looking at me. “Yet all the money in the world will not bring you back to me if you do something that will harm you too much.”
I stopped him from straightening the covers. “Are you mad at me?”
He clenched his eyes shut and sighed. “I’m doing my best not to be. But you take such risks, and this time, you were lucky.” Luke opened his eyes to let me see the hurt and anguish in them. “But what about the next time?”
A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed hard. “I didn’t mean to cause any problems. Tell your parents I will be glad to pay for any damages.”
“You think I’m talking about my sister’s room?” Luke scrambled off the bed, too angry to stay still. “It’s you I’m worried about, Ruby. Things can be replaced. You cannot.”
I opened my mouth to utter an apology, but a firm knock on the door interrupted us. My fiancé ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
“That will be some food for you,” he said, answering the second knock.
I heard him argue with someone at the door, and my stomach clenched when I recognized the voice. His mother strode into view and stood next to my side of the bed with her arms crossed.
“The doctor has informed me that you are recovering well from when we first found you,” she said, her voice even and cold.
“Yes, I guess I just needed a good night’s sleep to heal a little.” I offered her a weak smile.
She glanced at her son. “She does not know?”
“Know what?” I asked.
Damiana huffed out a quick breath. She played with the ruby amulet dangling from the gold choker around her throat. “Two nights have passed since we found both you and my daughter’s chambers damaged.”
I pulled the sheets up around my body as if I could shield myself. “That was two nights ago?”
“Mother, I don’t want you to upset Ruby Mae,” Luke pleaded.
She silenced him with a single look. “If she wanted a visit with nothing but pleasantries, then she should have refrained from flaunting her powers in our home,” she said to her son. “As I see it, she has done nothing but disrespect our family.”
Luke frowned and replied in Italian. The two of them devolved into loud squabbling with raised voices and wild hand gestures. I heard my name enough to know I was at the center of the argument.
“Hey,” I called, my voice scratchy and a little too weak to be heard. Scrambling out of bed, I stumbled a bit from an immediate wave of dizziness but refused either of their help. “I’d appreciate if you both talked to me rather than about me.”
Luke’s mother looked down her nose at my less-than-stellar ensemble. My fiancé had dressed me in my comfy worn-out T-shirt and a pair of old shorts with a faded logo from the tiki bar that were too holey for any other purpose than to sleep in.
“Mother believes you set the fires in Isabella’s room,” Luke said, crossing his arms over his chest.
I turned around, offering to let her inspect the injury on the back of my head. My fiancé insisted she feel the wound, and I hissed through my teeth when she found it.
“Perhaps someone attacked her,” she said with care. “Or perhaps she inflicted this injury upon herself to cover up her true purpose. To ruin my only daughter’s possessions.”
“Lady, if it weren’t for my efforts, half of your castle would be burnt to a crisp,” I defended, too tired to mind my manners.
I wanted to appear tough and strong, but my head swam while the room spun. I wobbled on my feet, and Luke rushed over to get me back in bed. Damiana’s expression softened at my weakness, and she asked her son to bring a chair over for her to sit in while we talked.
Once she got settled, she addressed me in a quieter tone. “Why were you in my daughter’s chambers? I have had that whole wing declared off-limits to anyone for a long time. And yet, you found it appropriate to break in.”
“I didn’t exactly break in. Not the first time,” I admitted, a little nervous sweat breaking under
