Page 73 of Her Ghostly Embrace
Gia’s power thrummed,roiling in response to her shock. Where the hell had Franco come from? Had he followed her here?
A man Gia recognized ran from the burning building, pulling another along with him. “Everyone’s out!” he shouted.
They’d beeninthe house?
Franco didn’t acknowledge the man’s words. All his attention was on Gia, his eyes glowing orange as they had in all the memories he’d erased.
Gia’s pulse thudded, anger at what he’d done consuming her. “I was a child.” The words tore from her in a snarl.
Franco sauntered closer, Salvator falling into step beside him. “But you aren’t now.”
So, he wasn’t feigning ignorance over what she was talking about. It was all out in the open.
Gia’s vision tunneled. Not even the growing flames consuming the house penetrated her focus. She saw nothing but Franco’s glowing eyes.
Harnessing her power, she slashed a hand through the air.Blood bloomed across Franco’s face as a gash opened from his ear to his chin, splitting his lips.
He smiled a gruesome, lopsided smile as blood covered his teeth and steamed down his neck. His sickening laugh filled the air, and the bleeding slowed to a stop, his mouth knitting back together.
A chill wound through Gia.
Franco wiped his face with the cuff of his suit jacket. “I’m impressed, Gianna. Good for you. I never guessed you’d have such fight in you. Such willpower. Perhaps weakening you was a mistake.”
“You’re a bastard for making her sick along with everything else,” Aurora shouted.
She grabbed Aurora’s hand, holding her firmly in place. Franco wouldn’t get his hands on her. She’d make sure of it.
Franco made a dismissive gesture. “We had to explain the memory loss somehow. But it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. I see now that I may have”—his eyes narrowed—“miscalculated. Come home, Gia. Sit at my side. You are my fiercest enforcer, after all.”
“Gia, please.” Marc had joined them without her noticing. He took a step closer, and Franco held out a hand to stop him.
Gia’s eyes stung, but she didn’t let the pained look in Marc’s face sway her. “How can you stand by him?”
Marc’s posture straightened. “It’s who we are, G. I had to be ready to take over?—”
“Are you an idiot? Take over? Marc, he’s a vampire. There will be no taking over. You’ll grow old and die, and Franco will still be scheming away.”
Marc’s face paled. “Vampire?” He whirled on Franco. “You said it was magic. Vampires aren’t real.”
He didn’t know the truth? Franco had lied to him, too?
Of course, he’d lied. Marc might not have gone along witheverything if he’d known he’d never inherit the kingdom. Wanting the empire for himself wasn’t an excuse for all he’d watched Franco do. Even if Marc hadn’t known everything, he’d known enough. Their mother’s murder. Franco’s control over Gia’s power. He’d been present in more than a few of her erased memories.
“Marc, now is not the time,” Franco snapped. Marc’s face twisted in anger, but Franco didn’t seem to notice. “What do you say, Gianna? Come home and take a place by my side. I should have given it to you when you turned eighteen. Let’s make up for it.”
Gia sent her magic cutting through the air and hit Franco in the chest, slicing through his suit to gouge into his chest. “You killed my mother. I’ll never stand beside you.”
Franco clenched a fist, and more men gathered around him. There were almost a dozen, including Marc and Salvator. All of them had been privy to Franco’s manipulation, present in the nightmares he’d erased. But they were all human. Gia’s magic confirmed it.
Humans weren’t a problem. She could deal with them as she’d done many times before, and this time, she’d be striking against people who had hurther, not Franco’s enemies. All she needed to do was get close enough to rip out Franco’s heart, and if anyone retaliated, she’d flay them open.
Franco’s glowing eyes flared. “Look at me,” he said at the same time as Aurora yelled, “Gia, look away!”
She tugged frantically on Gia’s hand, but Gia’s gaze was locked on Franco, and she couldn’t pry it away.
Ice filled her veins.
“Step away from the young woman and come here,” Franco commanded, his voice silky smooth.
