Ruby Fever (Hidden Legacy, #6)(45)

“You started a war, which my House will have to fight. You made us bleed.”

“You left me no choice.”

“Oh, that’s good. I’ll remember that phrase for when your family comes looking for you.”

Patricia stepped forward. “Catalina . . .”

Black wings tore out of my back, the tips of my feathers bright red. I hissed at her. Patricia stumbled back and jerked the phone to her ear. “We need you in the armory! Right now!”

I turned toward Konstantin. He stared at me, open-mouthed. Alarm flickered in his eyes.

“Now, your Royal Highness . . .” My voice wasn’t the beguiling song of a siren. This was the voice of a monster, harsh and suffused with power and menace. “Tell me again how it was all my fault.”

Alessandro sprinted into the armory, picked me up, and carried me toward the door.

“Put me down!” I snarled into his face.

“No. Not until you’re yourself again.”

How dare he? I hissed at him.

“My point exactly.” He carried me outside and called over his shoulder. “That door stays shut. Nobody goes in unless I’m with them.”

“Put me down!” Struggling against him was like trying to stop a train.

He kept carrying me up the driveway past the Bus. We caught up with Arabella.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

I hissed at her.

“Your sister is a bit upset,” Alessandro told her.

I beat my wings, but my feathers had no substance.

He kept going, through the main house, past the kitchen, the living room, out the back door. The pool glinted in front of us, reflecting the moonlight. He took another step and jumped. Water washed over us and closed over my head.

I sank like a stone into the cool depths.

He let go and I clawed blindly, kicking and flailing, until my brain finally realized my feet touched the bottom of the pool. I straightened and realized I was standing in four feet of water.

The water drained from my hair, hot, almost boiling. The rage drained down with it.

I took a long shuddering breath.

The sky above me was studded with stars, their light cold and soothing. I let myself fall on my back. The water picked me up and cradled me, soft and gentle. I floated as the last traces of heat and anger washed away, dissolving. The wounds on my legs burned.

“How did you know?” I whispered.

“Linus told me. He said that if you ever get out of control when your wings turn black, salt water would help.”

“I hate him.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“He didn’t even have the guts to tell me in person. He left a recording on a USB.”

I pulled the USB out of my pocket and showed it to him.

“That probably shouldn’t be in the water.” He plucked it from my fingers and placed it on the coping.

“He’s my grandfather and I hate him. You knew he was my grandfather and I hate you too.”

“You don’t mean that either.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It wasn’t my place to tell.”

The stars winked at us.

“You can’t kill Konstantin, Catalina. You would bring the entire weight of the Russian Imperium down on our House.”

“My mother almost died.”

“I know. You still can’t kill him. If you do, everything that happened today will be a pleasant memory compared to what follows. The Imperium trained Arkan. They taught him everything he knows before they turned him loose. They have others like him.”

Alessandro . . . The source of my fear and worry. Now he was trying to keep me from killing the man who hurt us. I had to nip this in the bud. I let my legs sink, swung myself upright, and turned to him.

He was in the water up to his chest. His skin glistened. His wet brown hair clung to his head in short locks, and his eyes were molten honey.

Oh . . .

Oh wow.

Mine.

We looked at each other across the water. I smiled at him. He blinked, his eyes stunned.

I sank a little. My hair swirled around me. I tilted my head and turned slowly. He reached for me, but I kicked away, floating just out of his grasp.

Come away from the wall, Alessandro. Swim through the water to me. We can stay here together forever, just us, the water, and the stars. You will be mine, all mine. Only mine.

He shook his head. “Now I know why so many sailors drowned.”

I laughed softly.

Alessandro studied my face. His gaze slid over my eyes, my mouth . . . I had to lure him in.

I submerged, letting the water float my hair, brushed it back, and resurfaced. He reached for me again, but I slid away. Little amber lights swirled in his eyes.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “Still full of homicidal rage?”

“I’m going to kill Konstantin,” I told him. “And then I will kill Arkan. You will help me kill Konstantin, won’t you?”

“No.”

“Alessandro . . . You know you want to.”

“No. We are not killing Konstantin.”

“Why do you have to be so unreasonable?”

“I’m the only reasonable person in this pool. This isn’t you. Not the real you.”

I leaned back and looked at the moon. “You keep saying that. ‘It’s not like you, Catalina. You don’t mean that, Catalina. This isn’t you, Catalina.’ This is me. The real me. The one who loves you. I would do anything for you, Alessandro. Stay here with me.”