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A weight pressed down on me. Suffocating and unyielding, forcing the air from my lungs. I couldn’t breathe… I couldn’t…
Don’t leave me, Principessa. Don’t leave me.
But she was gone.
And the dream—the nightmare—swallowed me whole.
* * *
My eyes peeled open onlyto be met with stark white light. I blinked, pain radiating through my body. My shoulder. Thigh. Torso. Fuck. It took my breath away.
“Tristan?” Someone gasped, emotion clinging to every syllable.
“A-Arianne?”
“Thank God.” She rushed to my side, taking my hand in hers. “I thought… God, you scared me.”
“Where am I? What happened?”
Her brows, knitted with concern glittering in her eyes. “You don’t remember?”
“I—”
One after another the memories slammed into me.
“Alessia, is she—”
“Okay, she’s okay. Thanks to you. God, when we realized you’d both been taken…”
Relief sank into me.
Safe.
She was safe.
I wasn’t a religious man by any means, but I said a silent prayer to God, thanking him for watching over her. For saving her.
“What—”
The door opened and Nicco appeared. “You’re awake.”
I gauged his expression. Did he know?
Know of my betrayal?
I swallowed, wincing at how sore and dry my throat was.
“Here.” Arianne offered me a cup of water. “Little sips.”
When I’d quenched my unbearable thirst, I looked to Nicco and asked, “What happened?”
“We got there just in time by all accounts.” His jaw clenched, a distant look in his eyes.
“Mahoney and his men?”
“Bambolina, give us a second…”
“Nicco, no, I—”
