Page 119 of Be Still My Unbeating Heart

“She didn’t do it for Enzo,” Bastian said, his gaze going to Whitby. “She did it for herself. Because she couldn’t handle theone thing every human being has to go through at some point in their life: the pain of losing the ones you love.”

“Silenzio!” Arianna snapped. “It was the only way to save him, and it’sworking!”

“Blood,” Enzo said suddenly. He had been caught up in Arianna’s embrace the entire time they talked and seemed drained and exhausted, barely conscious of what was going on around him. But he had stirred now, and he drew back from Arianna, frowning at her.

“I don’t want it,” he said. “I don’t want any more.”

Arianna cupped his chin with her free hand. “It’s all to make you better, amore. It’s helping you.”

Enzo’s brow furrowed at her.

“What did you do?” he asked, gaining some lucidity. “What did you do, Ari?”

“I’m saving you, amore mio. You’re going to be okay.”

Enzo looked at De Luca, who reached a hand toward his brother.

“Come here,” De Luca said.

“No,” Arianna spat. She seized Enzo’s arm, holding him back. “You don’t get to take him away from me. You don’t have the right. You were going to let him die.”

De Luca gritted his teeth and his fists curled at his sides. He looked from Arianna to Enzo to the glinting mezzaluna in her hand, its long, menacing blade catching the low light.

Bastian sensed De Luca wanted to charge her, disarm her and cuff her, and drag her back to town. But Arianna was strong. Four victims had succumbed to her, after all. And she was armed. They had to be careful.

Bastian felt the cold of the cave stealing into his bones, and his joints creaked as he shifted his weight. He was running out of time. With the water slowly but steadily filling the space—it was up to Bastian’s ankles now—it seemed like they all were.

Matteo hadn’t moved from where he lay on the rocky ground. If the water rose any farther, he’d drown. If he was even still alive.

De Luca’s focus was on Arianna.

“Did Enzo see you attacking Salvador? Is that why he was out of bed last night?”

Arianna stroked Enzo’s face. “He thought it was a dream. He saw me from the window of the spare room and I told him to go back to bed. Isn’t that right, Enzo?”

Enzo blinked at her. He looked like a confused child.

“You killed Salvador?” he asked.

“The mayor,” Bastian broke in, still trying to piece together what Arianna had done. “How did you get her body into my apartment?”

Arianna rolled her eyes. “She walked in herself. Never leave a fool like Lombardi guarding a place you want to protect. A small distraction—say a contained fire down the street—and he’ll abandon his post in a breath. Then all I had to do was convince the mayor that you wanted to talk to her. It didn’t take much; the woman was broken by her husband being taken by the council. I almost felt bad.Almost.”

Her callous tone set Bastian’s stomach swirling. He had met plenty of monsters in his time, but none as cold and unrepentant as Arianna.

Beside him, De Luca’s body was rigid with tension. He trembled so hard that Bastian instinctively wanted to reach out and soothe him, prevent him from doing something rash. But he knew it wouldn’t help. De Luca’s anger was justified.

They had to subdue Arianna. Save Enzo and, if they could, Matteo.

How quick was Arianna? If Bastian flew at her now, would she have time to raise the mezzaluna? Would she use it on herself—or worse, on Enzo—if it meant avoiding capture?

He frowned as he saw movement behind Arianna. Something else floating in the dark. It almost looked like a face. A placid face made of stone.

The statue.

Sofia di Vernazza hovered at Arianna’s back. For a moment, Bastian thought the statue had come to life, as if Sofia were angry at Arianna for using her name as an excuse to murder innocent people and came alive to punish her.

Then Bastian heard a soft whisper, and he looked at Whitby on the other side of the cave. Her eyes flashed with magical green fire as she whispered to herself, focusing on the statue. Bastian almost laughed in relieved delight at her initiative, but he didn’t want to break her concentration or alert Arianna. He looked back and saw that the statue was just over Arianna’s shoulder now, hovering eerily.