“No. It can’t be,” Luke uttered, watching the rest of the scene unfold.
Although I couldn’t hear the male speak, I recognized the face.
“Cassio,” I whispered.
Chapter Twenty
I turned to my fiancé. “Did you know he visited her?”
Luke pushed himself off the floor and wiped his face with the back of his hand. “No, he never told me in all these years. What was he doing here?”
The transparent form of Luke’s best friend knelt on one knee in front of Isabella, holding her hand.
“That looks like a proposal to me,” I stated, watching the young woman’s face for her reaction.
Isabella yanked her hand out of his hold. She pointed at the door, and as best as I could tell, she refused Cassio. He stood but approached her again, tugging on her arm to get her to face him. When she turned, she slapped him across the face, drawing blood. He wiped his cheek and licked the contents off his finger. His eyes narrowed as he confronted her with anger in his gaze.
She pointed at the door again and waited for him to trudge in that direction before turning back towards the window. At the last second, Cassio turned. He picked up the nearby oil lamp that provided light for the whole room. In a fit of passion, he threw it at her.
Isabella shielded herself with her arms, but the glass shattered against her, covering her in oil. The flame from the lamp caught the oil on fire, and her whole body burst into flames. Cassio stared at what he’d done but did not move to help her.
“No!” shouted Luke. “Help her!”
Flames consumed the vision of his sister, and her mouth opened in silent screams. The figure of Cassio stood and watched. Isabella stumbled backward and steadied herself by clutching the stone edge of the window. She pointed at the cruel man, and I found my same hand pointing as well. Whatever she said displeased him, and he rushed towards her. His hands hit her shoulders, and she tumbled out of the window behind her.
Luke roared out curses in Italian as he observed the demise of his sister and accepted the identity of the true killer. The vision disappeared, and I bent forward, drained and panting to catch my breath.
“That is a neat trick,” Cassio said, clapping his hands as he entered the room. His hair was cut to modern standards and he wore a well-cut suit. “It is too bad that nobody will believe you if you try to tell them what really happened.”
Luke’s body tightened, and he stood like a predator about to spring on his prey. “Do you honestly believe you will live another second outside of this place?”
His former friend sneered. “I have survived over all these centuries and garnered much favor within the ranks. There was a time when the golden son of the de Rossi family would inherit everything, but now, things will be changing.”
“As if I would allow you to assume any power. I have seen the truth, and you will pay for what you did to my sister,” Luke promised, curling his upper lip back to show off his fangs with a hiss.
“Ah, but you forget. I know every move, every trick you use when you fight. We trained together. Fought side by side. There is nothing you can do that will catch me by surprise,” Cassio taunted. “Do you honestly believe that you won every match we ever played against each other? Every fight?”
“He’s lying,” I accused.
“Be quiet, witch.” Cassio spit on the floor in disgust. “You and your kind should have been wiped out ages ago.”
“You just have a thing against us because you couldn’t compare to Isabella’s man. Paolo outmatched you in every single way. Especially as a potential lover.” Provoking the remorseless killer might not be the best plan, but I needed to buy us a few more minutes.
“Do not speak his name!” Cassio cried out. “He could never love her as much as I did. I would have provided her stability, and the two of us could have ruled when it was our turn.”
“Why did you never tell me?” Luke asked. “You were my closest companion outside of Isa.”
Cassio scoffed. “You have believed that to be true because that is what I wished for. I came from nothing, but I aspired to much more than my lack of position the vampire ranks would allow me. The only way I could rise was by befriending you.”
My heart broke for Luke as the truth cut him to his core. A keening noise escaped from my fiancé’s lips, and he rushed toward the traitor in front of him. He slammed Cassio against the wall with brute force, and a crack spread from the point of their impact up to the ceiling.
Instead of grimacing in pain, his former friend sneered, holding up a knife in his hand with my fiancé’s blood dripping down it. “That will hurt, my friend.”
Luke stumbled back, clutching his stomach. “What good will it do? You know I cannot die.”
“Ah, but I have laced the blade with a poisonous mixture boiled down from the death cap mushroom.” The villain shrugged. “It may not kill you, but as your metabolism tries to burn through it, you will suffer its effects until it is all gone.”
I rushed to Luke’s side and tried to catch him as he stumbled again. “You are a fool if you think you can escape the consequences of your actions, Cas.”
The man reached inside his suit and pulled out a vial full of liquid. “I may not have an oil lamp to use this time, but I did find a very effective accelerant. When your parents hear how your witch got upset when you told her you were leaving her and set the two of you on fire, they will mourn
