A low chuckle burst from my lips. A tittering giggle followed until I devolved into full cackles. My sides ached from the uncontrolled laughter.
“I see nothing funny about your situation unless you are simply losing your mind,” Cassio said with contempt.
I sighed out loud just to annoy him. “You’ve been scheming for so long, you haven’t paid attention, have you?”
“To what? The fact that your display of power to Amara gave me this brilliant idea?” he asked.
“No,” I countered. “To the fact that I can control fire. It can’t hurt me.”
Cassio fake pouted for a second before crowing in glee. “Maybe not, but the same cannot be said of your beloved.” He shook the contents of the vial. “I throw this on him and light a match, and you will have a hard time saving him from the damage.”
I stood in place, unsure of my best options for attack. At this point, I hoped our other players in this game had done their jobs.
Cassio, emboldened by my hesitation, shook the dagger at me. “And if I stab you with the poison, then there’s nothing that will save you. The two of you will burn and become another legend to be spread amongst the tourists of Perdaggia.”
Movement across the floor caught my eye, and I relaxed a little. A tiny mouse scampered into the space behind Cassio.
I held up my hand, conveying a silent message to the animal, but Luke’s former friend misinterpreted my meaning. “It is too late to beg, witch.”
Shaking my head, I tightened my hold on Luke as my fiancé succumbed to the effects of death cap poison.
“It is time to accept your fate,” Cassio added.
With Luke collapsing to the floor, I stood straighter and held up both of my hands. “I couldn’t agree more. Now!” I shouted, releasing a spell to freeze Isabella’s killer in place.
The little mouse shifted into the figure of Fiametta. She placed her hands in front of her and added her own magic to mine to bind Cassio. She called out Claudio’s name, and the young man opened the door.
“What is this?” Cassio grunted, struggling against the magical hold. “Young Morandi, these witches are attacking me,” he accused.
Claudio pointed to his ears. “I have heard everything. My uncle has already returned to the castle to inform the authorities and Master Luca’s parents. It is over.”
“No!” shouted Cassio, trying to move but finding it impossible with our spell.
Luke rolled over and grimaced. He laughed through his pain. “How tragic. You lost my sister’s affections to a witch and now you will lose again. It is your disregard for them that brings about your downfall.” As soon as he finished his last insult, he curled into himself and moaned in agony.
“There is no proof of what I did to your sister. If I am punished at all, I will outlast as I always have,” Cassio promised. “And I will make it my life’s mission to bring misery to all of you and the generations that come after.”
The same sickening cold power from before rose in my body. Emotions that did not belong to me clouded my vision. Blind rage filled every crevice inside my body, and the spell I cast to hold Cassio dissipated.
“Ruby, I do not know if I can hold him by myself,” Fiametta shouted through gritted teeth.
Strange words came out of my mouth, but I understood the language even though it wasn’t mine. “Cassio, your ego will be your doom.”
Isabella’s spirit filled me, and I felt her access my fiery magic. Flames ignited in my upturned palms. I wanted to order Claudio to get Luke out of the room, but I could not control my own body. The angry ghost made me take halted steps closer to the man who killed her.
“Isa?” Cassio asked, his arrogance contorted into a little wonder.
“I lost everything because of you,” my voice uttered.
Fia and Claudio both shouted something, but I could not hear them. The spirit inside of me focused solely on her killer.
“You would not return my love,” Cassio responded.
I snorted. “Love? You admired me in secret. Never declared your feelings because you did not possess the heart to fight for us if anyone stood against the relationship. I owed you nothing and you took everything,” Isabella repeated, using me.
“If I could not have you, I would not let you live your life with that witch,” Cassio defended. “Better for you to die than to taint yourself with him.”
Fiametta shrieked and doubled her efforts. Claudio was caught between watching me and wanting to protect her.
Flames licked over my skin, too hot and wild. “If I cannot go to Heaven, then you will join me in Hell,” I promised, my body poised to embrace the man who took my life.
Strong arms wrapped around me, holding me back from my attack. I screeched in protest and kicked to break free, the stench of burning flesh filling my nostrils.
“Isabella,” Luke grunted into my ear, struggling to restrain me. “Let Ruby Mae go. I will make sure Cassio is punished for what he did. Be at peace.”
The fire that did no damage to my skin licked over his. Cassio used the moment of distraction to break free from Fia’s spell. At the same time, guards from the castle broke into the room and detained the man, keeping him from escaping the justice he had earned so long ago.
My body stopped fighting Luke’s hold. Fia walked over to me and spoke. “I am Fiametta Salvatori Gasparotto, Paolo’s descendent. He is waiting for you on the other side, Isabella. Go to him.”
I sighed in relief, and tears that did not belong to me streamed down my face. “At last,” I uttered. “Thank you.”
The spirit of Isabella de Rossi lifted out of my body, and I came back to myself, regaining control. Breaking free of Luke, I willed the fire crackling over his body
