The room fell silent.
“Non farlo, Emilio,” I said. “Fermati.”
Adele whipped his way. “What? Tell me.”
“Fratello, per favore non farlo,” I pleaded.
“Pssss,” he said, brushing me off. “It’s one thing watching you act like a lovesick puppy, but another entirely to let you take the fall for that moronic witchling.”
Adele’s gaze shot back to me. “What is he talking about?”
I should have known he followed me to Jackson Square.
“You’re correct, bella,” Emilio said. “The city is in turmoil because of someone’s ego, but it’s not my brother’s; it’s your petulant little boyfriend’s.”
“What?”
“Much to my chagrin, Niccolò called you, even though it was ridicolo to bring a magicless witch with us out to the swamp. You didn’t pick up.”
“You could have found me—”
“Ohh, he tried.”
I considered knocking him out cold, but a childish, devilish part of me wanted her to know the truth, even if it caused her pain. Especially if it did. That part of me wanted her to forget about the Air witch permanently.
“We arrived at the moon ritual too late to stop it,” Emilio said, “because Niccolò met up with Isaac, who refused to give up your location, even after my brother, my own flesh and blood, resorted to groveling.”
Bastardo. I did not grovel.
“Niccolò even asked him to join us to defeat Callisto. A request he denied, sending the good ole Carter Brothers off to break up the Animarum Praedators on our own. Niccolò thoroughly warned your side. If your own coven member didn’t relay the message—”
She spurted a laugh. “You’re lying. I was with Isaac all night.”
When no one said anything, she looked at me.
“He . . . said you were sleeping.”
The fire in her eyes was replaced with a hollow look.
And a cloak of shame fell upon me.
“Bella, I’m sorry.”
CHAPTER 7
Tell All
The floorboards creaked as I paced in front of the fireplace. The brothel was always drafty, but something felt off about the blue room tonight. I stared up at the pineapple carving above the pocket doors. Adele had once told me that back in the day, hosts would leave a pineapple for guests upon their arrival, and if the guest ever returned to find a second one, it meant the invitation had expired. Of all the places in the city, HQ was where I’d felt most at home. Now, I felt like I’d come home to a second pineapple.
The front door pushed open, and someone rustled through the hallway. My pace quickened.
“Isaac?” Désirée yelled.
My palms broke out in sweat. In here, I meant to say, but the words didn’t form. I have to tell her. I have to tell her everything.
Heavier footsteps followed Dee’s. “Isaac?” Codi yelled.
“Blue room!” I forced the words out.
I hoped by some miracle that Adele would be with them.
When they entered the parlor, the hope snuffed out. She’s probably back at the tearoom with Chatham and just didn’t want to see me.
“What’s wrong, man?” Codi asked. “Why’s Adele at—?”
“I gave the ring to Nicco,” I blurted, scared I would chicken out. “I know it wasn’t mine to give, but after Olsin’s premoni— I wanted Nicco to stay the hell away from her. I didn’t think they’d actually be able to—! Désirée, how the hell did vampires do a location spell?”
They stared at me blankly.
“The Medici used magic?” Dee asked.
“That’s how they found Callis.”
“No way,” Codi said. “Adele must have been with them.”
I shook my head. “She was with me.”
“But she knew you gave them the ring?”
I shook my head again and told them how we’d fallen asleep, and how Nicco wouldn’t stop calling, how scared I was that he was going to kill her, and how I subsequently rendezvoused with him in Jackson Square and told him to fuck off.
“Isaac!” Codi yelped, “what were you thinking?”
“I don’t know . . .” But the truth was, I did. “I was thinking Adele would want to go, and about the night at the convent when we got separated—how she almost died, how you almost died—and I just wanted to keep her safe. I didn’t know how big Callis’s coven was or that they had a magical fortress. Jesus Christ, I didn’t think they’d take Mac! Or that they’d be able to suck down so many spirits and basically become invincible!” The more I rambled, the harder Désirée’s iron-clad stare became until I couldn’t take it any longer. “Dee—”
“Don’t. Even. Talk to me.”
“I’m sorry. I know I screwed up—”
“Screwed up? Screwing up is forgetting your girlfriend’s birthday, or accidentally turning a transmorphic witch into a cat, or summoning the wrong lwa—screwing up is not putting the entire city at risk of magical warfare!”
Horror coated Codi’s usual apple-pie gaze. “My grandfather died protecting Adele from those succubi. If we had known, we could have—”
“I know! It’s my fault.” My voice cracked. “Now I don’t know what to do. I just wanted to protect her.”
“And what about us?” Désirée asked, seething. “Do none of us matter as long as Adele is safe?”
“No, I didn’t think anyone else was in danger! I thought Nicco and Emilio would take care of Callis—they’ve been hunting him all along—this whole thing is because of a stupid feud between their families. Why did we need to be involved?”
“Sébastien almost died,” Codi said. “His sister had a meltdown over the things he was saying. We had to use memory powder on her.”
“If I’d known they were going to D-MORT, if I’d known Sébastien was there, I would have gone with them!”
“And that’s the problem, Isaac!” Désirée’s voice went shrill. “With both you and Adele. If you’d known, you would have just gone. Headfirst into danger. Just like her. We’re stronger together. But you can’t get that through your thick skull. You don’t care about this coven. Nor does she.”
“That’s not true!” I didn’t mean to yell. “I care about this coven more than anything. This coven is all I have!” I paced away as the pain threatened to swallow me whole. “I love you so much, Désirée. You’re my best friend. I’d never want anything to happen to you, or to Codi, or to anyone in your families.” I pinched my eyes tight. My chest felt like it had been scorched with dragon fire.
As the tears came out, a comforting weight pressed around me. “It’s okay, man.” Codi’s arms clamped over my shoulders. “We love you, too.” I couldn’t ever remember being hugged by a man, not in any real way. He felt so . . . strong. “And we’re going to get these bastards.” My anxiety quelled, almost like magic. “We’re going to get Adele back. We’re not going to let anything happen to her. No matter what Olsin said.”