Starling (127 page)

But how could she open it?
She reached out to touch the top petal. It receded beneath her

fingers with a click, but the door didn’t budge. She pressed each petal
in turn. Nothing happened. Studying the symbol, Cass realized the
entire alphabet was represented on the six petals. The room was
locked with some sort of code. She pressed the petals that spelled out
D-U-B-O-I-S. She heard a soft click, but the door didn’t open. She
tried again, spelling out
Eternal Rose.
Another click, but still no
luck.

Cass heard a series of shouts from the hallway, but she resisted the
urge to step away from the wooden panel. Their entire mission
hinged on her being able to open this door. If Luca and Rowan managed to catch and secure Dubois without killing him, they could
force him to open the door to the secret room. But in case they
couldn’t, she would continue trying to figure it out on her own.

She examined the door again. What sort of word would someone
like Dubois use? She tried
science
and
power
and
immortality.
The
door didn’t open.

Suddenly a voice spoke from the shadows. “Stop.”
Cass whirled around, her candle in one hand, the other in her
pocket, fingers twisting around her dagger’s hilt. Feliciana stood before her, looking radiant. Her hair had grown long enough to lie flat,
and her skin glowed in the dim light. Cass’s jaw dropped slightly and
she took a step back, not because of how Feliciana looked, but because of what she was holding.
A kitchen knife, pointed at Cass’s chest.

Cass struggled to reconcile what she was seeing with any possible
reality. Feliciana, threatening her with a dagger? Did that mean she
was
more
than just a servant here? Was she working for the Order?
Had she really led Cass into a trap for Piero, as Belladonna had
claimed? “Are you one of them now?” Cass asked. “Did he promise
you immortality?”

Feliciana ignored the questions. “You always find a way to have
exactly what you wish, regardless of the cost.” The knife trembled in
her hand. “One man wasn’t enough for you? You had to sacrifice my
sister so you could have two?”

with rage.
“What? No. I—” But the look on Cass’s face told Feliciana every
thing she needed to know.
“Unbelievable. Yet another dead because he did your bidding.
And now you’ve got your thugs killing
more
innocents just because
of some bizarre obsession with a book?”
“No one is getting killed,” Cass said, hoping it was true. She was
half tempted to throw Feliciana’s words right back in her face. How
dare she act so high and mighty if she had joined up with the Order
of the Eternal Rose? But Cass didn’t know how long it had been since
the guests fled the party. Soldiers might be arriving any minute. Time
was running out. “Look, I don’t know what he promised you, but
there will be no elixir. Dubois is a killer. The book proves it. Put the
knife down and help me open this panel. I’ll read it to you myself.”
Feliciana stepped sideways so that she stood between Cass and
the wooden panel. She didn’t put her knife down. “I’m not working
for the Order, Cass,” she huffed. “You think they’d involve a common servant in their quest for immortality?”
“So Piero Basso just happened to find us on a deserted canal?”
Cass cast a quick look back over her shoulder. Where were Rowan
and his men? She didn’t want to go blade to blade with Feliciana. No
matter what her former handmaid had done, Cass wasn’t willing to
shed her blood. If the others came, they could subdue Feliciana
without injuring her. “He took me and left you?” Cass asked.
“I knew they were after you so I talked loudly and made sure they
knew I was going to meet you. I wanted you to suffer like I’ve been
suffering, even if I had to suffer with you.” Her voice cracked again.
“I don’t know why Piero didn’t take me too. I guess I don’t have your