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The young man stepped forward When he stopped before Raffaele, he folded his hands behind his back and nodded once Raffaele felt the energy shift again, beckoning at hiaze Raffaele forced hi ive for years
The stranger spoke first "You noticedme around the room Why is that?"
"I suppose I was drawn to you," Raffaele replied, turning his eyes down and letting the heat rise to his cheeks again "What is your naer’s voice was soft and deep, silk hiding steel
Raffaele’s eyes shot back up to hiraced prince of Kenettra? Only now, in the diht of the chalinted with a hint of deep red, so deep it looked black A hness?" Raffaele whispered, so startled that he didn’t think to bow again
The youngyour debut night"
The scene evaporates as a knock sounds on the door Raffaele and Enzo look over at it in unison and Raffaele lets out a long breath, pushing the es "Yes?" he calls out
"Raffaele?" a timid voice answers "It’s me"
He folds his hands into his sleeves "Come in"
The door opens, and Violetta steps hesitantly inside Her eyes first meet Raffaele’s, then dart to where Enzo sits with his elbows leaning against his knees "I’e is happening down by the shore I thought you ht want to have a look"
Raffaele listens with a frown So, Violetta has sensed soht, her olive skin ashen, her full lips pulled into a tight line, hair secured behind a Taers with her power alo, all on her own It’d taken her a week to find the words to tell Raffaele what had happened between her and her sister, then another week still before she begged theh her tears to find a way to help Adelina Since then, she has stayed at Raffaele’s side, working with hiht her how to concentrate her ability to sense others’ energy She was a good student A fantastic student
She reminds hiine that he was staring at a younger version of the Queen of the Sealands, before she turned her back Before she was beyond help The thought always saddened him It is my fault, what Adelina has become My fault that it is too late
Raffaele nods at Violetta "I’ll come in a moment Wait for me outside"
As Violetta retreats to the hallway, he finishes bandaging Enzo’s arhts in a row he’s spent like this, weeks that stretched intoin vain to repair Enzo’s wounds But every tiain "Try to sleep," Raffaele tells him
Enzo doesn’t respond His face is drawn, pale froo was it that they had first lost hio, eons, since the last time Raffaele had seen his prince truly alive, the fire in hiive Enzo ht now, to let hi realm, half in the Underworld--hurts those who love him Instead, Raffaele walks to the door and quietly lets hiht is warm, a prelude to Sunland suers in the corridors Raffaele and Violetta walk in silence under the lanterns, passing through the light and the shadows At each door, he can sense the energy of every one of his Daggers staying inside the apartments Michel, who after Ge his Lucent, whose chamber has a ripple of disturbance in it Raffaele can sense that she is still awake, perhaps gazing out of her bedchamber n at the shores Lucent’s bones have continued to hollow, and now she aches constantly, a development that has made her bitter and short-te Lucent to return to Beldain with her, even tried bribing and co her--but Lucent had refused She would re breath After a while, Maeve was forced to lead her soldiers home But the Beldish queen’s letters still arrive weekly, asking about Lucent’s health, so has helped Raffaele knows it will never help, for Lucent’s illness is caused by soy
The last chaed to Leo, the bald boy whoers, who had wielded the power to poison Now the chamber sits empty Leo died a month earlier The doctor told Raffaele that it was because of a lingering lung infection But Raffaele wonders about another possible reason--because Leo’s body had turned on itself, poisoning him from within
What weakness will soon manifest in him?
"I heard about Adelina’s latest conquest," Violetta says when they finally reach the stairway leading out of the palace
Raffaele only nods
Violetta glances at him furtively "Do you think?"