Grace and Fury (Grace and Fury #1)(65)

Nomi hurried to her room. She didn’t know how long Angeline would be. She turned the letter over to break the seal, only to find it already broken.

Had Asa read the letter?

A whisper of apprehension swept through her, but she shook it off. She hadn’t asked him not to read it, and she was sure Renzo had followed her lead and concealed his identity.

She opened the letter with shaking hands.

Renzo had written her bits of the story about the moon and the man she fell in love with. But some of the details were wrong. She pieced together his message, her hands trembling so hard she could barely read the words.

He was here, in Bellaqua. He would help. He just needed her to tell him what to do.

And he had signed it with a simple R.

Nomi sank onto the bed, the letter crumpled into her arms, and wept.

In relief. In terror.

The Heir’s birthday was in two days.





Asa was waiting for her when she slipped onto the terrace. There were no words, at first. Only hungry hands and mouths and heat and silence. Nomi clung to him as if, somehow, he could ward off the memory of his brother.

You are who I choose, she thought as he brushed feather-light kisses along her jaw.

This is what I want, she thought as his hands tightened on her waist.

And yet, Malachi wouldn’t leave her.

Asa pulled back. “Nomi?”

For a moment, she rested against his chest, her arms tight around him, and breathed.

When she felt steadier, she put a little distance between them.

“You saw my cousin’s message,” she said. “He’s staying at the Fiore. I’ll write to him and explain what we need—”

Asa shook his head. “Father has me running errands all over the city for Malachi’s birthday. I can go to him myself and explain our plan.”

The thought of Asa and Renzo face-to-face made her more nervous than it should have.

“Tell me the plan again,” she said. She’d run it through her mind a thousand times, but she wanted to hear him say it. She wanted to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

Asa smoothed his hands down her arms, the thin silk of her dressing gown the only thing between his skin and hers. “After the ceremony, my father will retire to an antechamber off the ballroom to rest. The room is private, with easy access from the ballroom if you know where to look. That’s where the ruse should take place. We don’t want a guard seeing our man and interfering too soon. You and I have promised your cousin that he will come to no harm. We will keep that promise.”

“And his exit?” Nomi asked. She wished she could go to Bellaqua with Asa and see Renzo herself. The knowledge that her brother was so close, just beyond the canal, was maddening. She missed him so much.

Asa gestured toward the railing. “The ballroom opens onto a patio. He can just walk off into the night. No one will ever know he was there.”

“What about a mask? And… and a weapon?” Nomi hated the thought of Renzo entering the palazzo with a weapon, but to make the illusion work, he had to have something.

Asa nodded. “I’ll make sure he has what he needs. I’ve got an invitation for him as well so he won’t be questioned when he arrives.” He kissed the top of her head. “And you, flower, are you ready for your next task?”

“I’ve written the letter, but Malachi has not requested my presence in his chambers yet. I don’t know—”

“He will,” Asa interrupted, with a smile. “He will want to meet with each of his Graces once more before the big day. I’ll suggest he invite you to his chambers for a game of Saints and Sailors. All you have to do is hide the letter somewhere in his room.”

She nodded her head against his chest. She was so tired. It felt as if she hadn’t gotten a full night of sleep since she’d arrived at the palazzo.

“I’m sorry you have to risk yourself,” Asa went on. “If my handwriting was less recognizable, I could do this part for us.”

Nomi straightened so she could see his expression. “It’s our plan. We must both accept the risks.”

“And it will be worth it, in the end,” he replied, the mischievous gleam back in his eyes. “We are going to remake this country.”

“And save Serina,” she added.

“And save Serina.” Asa caressed her cheek. “You’ll be free too. Of my brother, and all the obligations he has for you.”

Nomi told herself that this was right. There was nothing else to say. But she couldn’t entirely dismiss her tiny, niggling doubts.

“Asa, your brother put a book in my room. As a test to see if I could read.”

Asa stilled, his whole body tensing. “Did you tell him you could?”

“No,” she said. “Of course not.”

“Good.” But he didn’t relax.

“I thought you’d left it,” she said. “It was about the history of Viridia. About—about Viridia’s queens.”

When he looked at her, the moonlight illuminated a sudden intensity in his eyes. The expression made him look like his brother. “Malachi is manipulating you, Nomi. He’s trying to get into your confidence so he can use the things you love against you.”

Nomi’s breath froze in her throat.

“Don’t trust him,” Asa continued urgently. “He’ll punish you, just like Father punished Serina. He’s done it before, Nomi.”