She opened her eyes. “That isn’t true.”
“This is the way the myth is always told. Psyche will not heed the warnings of Cupid and so she injures them both.”
“Did you warn me not to fall in love with you?” Raven reproached him.
“I told you the story of Allegra. That should have been warning enough.”
“I’m not going to fling myself off a bell tower, William. I’m just flinging my heart overboard, hoping you’ll want it.”
“I want it,” he hissed. “I want you. I will elevate you to consort. You will be a princess among my people. I will shower you with gifts, whatever you desire.”
Raven gave him an empty look.
“Your love would have been gift enough.”
He didn’t have a response for that. He looked around the room, desperate for something, anything that could persuade her.
“I care for you. Didn’t our evening at Teatro demonstrate that?”
“Yes, you loved me with your body.” She gazed at him sadly. “But not with your heart.”
“My heart is part of my body,” he whispered.
“Then love me.”
William met her eyes, then turned away.
He strode to the closet, withdrawing an armful of clothes.
“If you want to go, go. But know this.” He walked to the door. “You are the one who is ending what we shared. Not Aoibhe. Not another woman. And certainly not me.”
He opened the door and entered the hall, slamming the door behind him. The paintings and light fixtures rattled on the walls.
Raven sank onto the divan, burying her face in her hands.
Less than thirty minutes later, Marco was driving her home. She left the sketches on the bed and the bracelet on William’s nightstand.
Chapter Fifty-one
Raven grieved silently and privately.
It would have been embarrassing to confess the explanation for her sadness—that she’d had her universe expanded in a short period of time, tasted passion and affection, and fallen in love only to discover her love would never be reciprocated.
She tried to take consolation in the fact that she’d progressed from thinking that love was not for her to hoping that, someday, it might be. Even if the dream was never realized, the prospect remained.
She tried listening to music.
The first time “White Blank Page” by Mumford and Sons played on her laptop, she switched it off. Then she listened to it several times.
It was while listening to this song that she came to the momentous conclusion that what William believed about the nature of feeding and addiction was wrong.
She craved the experience. She craved him. But her desires for him, sexual and otherwise, were not enough to overthrow her reason. They were not enough to impel her to cast aside hope and crawl back to him.
She took this as an indication that she was stronger than she thought.
She threw herself into her work, volunteering for any and all overtime offered by Professor Urbano. She went on a few day trips with Patrick and Gina, visiting Lucca, Siena, and Pisa.
There were evenings when she thought she saw a dark figure moving in the shadows across the street. Or when she was sure he’d been in her apartment, while she was sleeping.
“You’re the shadow on my wall,” she whispered to the darkness one evening. But the darkness was always silent.
There were no signs of hunters, no more bodies found in the street or down by the river. Whatever battle the principality had waged, it seemed to have won.
Raven found herself relieved the Prince was safe. But beyond that recognition, she did not allow her mind to go.
Instead, she focused on work, on her friends, and on bringing flowers to Angelo’s favorite spot by the Ponte Santa Trinita, hoping that death had brought him peace.
Chapter Fifty-two
The Prince stood high atop the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, staring down at the Uffizi Gallery. Tourists and locals congregated, sharing conversations and holding hands. Music could be heard in the distance. A few couples danced in the Piazza Signoria.
As his gaze flitted from figure to figure but failed to see the person he was looking for, his mood darkened. He tried to convince himself his longing was temporary—the result of sex and pleasure. But not even his coldest, harshest application of rationality could persuade him that he was unchanged by her.
“You’re brooding.” Aoibhe’s voice sounded at his elbow.
He’d scented her a moment or two earlier. Despite her advanced age and skill, he’d heard her land on the tower’s roof. He didn’t turn around, confident as he was in his assessment of her loyalty and threat level, especially now that he had saved her life.
“I never brood.” The Prince’s voice was cool as he continued to search in vain.