Starling (50 page)

didn’t mean to get carried away, but I thought you were dead.” He
took hold of her lacy sleeve. “Come with me. Let’s find a place where
we can talk.”

The way he said
talk
made Cass’s insides melt again. She berated
herself for being so weak, but she let him lead her away. She had to
warn him about Belladonna and the true purpose of the Order. He
hadn’t listened in the past. Now she would make him believe her.

He towed her down the servants’ stairs, through the kitchen, and
finally out a door that exited into a lush courtyard garden shaped like
a U. The cool night breeze tickled her damp skin, and her slippers
sank slightly into the moist ground. She had left her chopines by the
front door—her shoes would be ruined. She didn’t care. She was glad
to be outside, away from the crush of people.

As soon as the door fell shut, Falco pinned her back against the
wall of Palazzo Domacetti, his body tight against hers, his mouth
tracing the contours of her face. “Cass,” he murmured. “
Dio mio,
I
thought I would never see you again.” His lips found hers easily.

Her brain threatened to stop working. The rest of the world began
to disappear. It was only her and Falco tucked inside a glass bottle
while the rest of Venice continued throwing parties and stealing
blood and killing people. With Falco, she could be safe. With Falco,
she could just be.

No. She couldn’t. Not any longer. “Stop.” She turned her face
away. Slipping out from between him and the wall, Cass walked
along a path of stepping-stones toward a bronze fountain at the back
of the garden. Beyond the fountain was a wrought-iron fence, and
beyond the fence was an alley. She rested one hand on the iron bars,
feeling a bit like the caged bird Falco had once accused her of being.

He took her hand and led her back to the edge of the fountain.
Sitting beside her, he pressed his leg against her hip. “What is it?” he
asked.

“We came out here to
talk,
remember?” she said.
“We can talk later.” He squeezed her hand, his fingers massaging
the middle of her palm.
Mannaggia.
Why did every single touch
have to make her want things? “When you’re not dressed like that,”
he added.
Cass sighed. She tugged at the neckline of her bodice. “You are
impossible,” she said, scooting slightly away from him. “What are
you even doing here?”
“Madalena found me at Villa Briani just after you left Florence.
She told me of your insane plan to rescue your fiancé.”
“And so what are you doing at this party? Here at the command
of your
lovely
patroness, I suppose?”
Falco glanced around before he spoke. “I’m beginning to think
you were right not to trust her. I went looking for—”
“Really?” Cass didn’t let him finish. “But the last time I saw you,
the two of you looked so
close.
”
“Cass.” Falco’s eyes widened. “That was not what it looked like.”
“It
looked like
you would do anything to keep your position at
Villa Briani,” Cass said.
Falco shook his head. “Not anything. You have to believe me.
When I saw you here tonight, it was like I had crawled out of my own
grave and been reborn. No other woman makes me feel as you do.”
He reached for her again.
Cass leaned away. “How did you know it was me?” she asked.
“I didn’t. But I heard one of the other girls chatting about how the