Chapter 46: Love reckoning
The anger in Alessia’s chest burned hotter than fire, searing through her lungs until it clawed its way out of her lips.
"How did you find us here?" she demanded, her voice breaking in both fury and grief.
Her trembling finger pointed toward the fallen creature, her new little magpie, lying still on the grass, feathers dark with blood.
Her throat tightened, tears spilling fast, blurring Luca’s face until all she could see was a shadow of the man she once trusted. "And why did you kill it? Why, Luca? That bird was mine. I hate you... "
Her sobs cracked like glass, raw and jagged, her hands shaking violently as if her very soul had been ripped apart.
To her, in that moment, Luca Morano was no longer the man she loved in secret, the man who could undo her with a single look. He was the devil himself, the feared ruler of shadows, the man whispered about with dread in every corner of the mafia world.
Luca didn’t flinch. His eyes, cold and unreadable, locked on hers with that unnerving intensity that always made her heart quake.
He stepped closer, his voice low, almost resigned.
"I didn’t mean to. Neither did I know you were here," he said, words heavy, as though each carried a burden he couldn’t put down. "But if my bullet struck the bird... then perhaps it was destiny."
"Destiny"? . That word tasted like poison in Alessia’s mouth.
Her fury rose again, but before the storm could escape, Luca moved.
He closed the space between them, his hand catching her wrist, and his mouth descended on hers in a kiss that stole the very breath from her lungs.
Alessia froze. Shock roared in her veins. She tried to push him back, to scream, to hit him yet her body betrayed her.
Somewhere between her defiance and his dominance, she melted.
Because this.... this was what her body wanted.
Her lips parted against his, not willingly, but inevitably, as though every nerve inside her had been waiting for this fire.
His mouth was hot, rough, commanding, tasting of gunpowder and danger.
The faintest graze of his teeth sent shivers down her spine.
Luca’s arm snaked around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. The world tilted, her knees weak, as his kiss deepened, fierce and consuming. His hand slid up her back, anchoring her in a storm she could no longer resist. He devoured her, kissed her like she was the last breath he would ever take.
Alessia’s heart pounded painfully, her fists pressing weakly against his chest, but they didn’t push him away. They clutched his shirt, holding him closer, betraying the fury of her words with the truth of her longing.
His lips moved over hers with urgency, claiming and commanding, until she was gasping against him, drowning in the chaos of him.
Her mind screamed to stop, but her body burned with need.
It was passion. It was war.
It was Luca and it terrified her.
At last, when air became a desperate need, Luca tore his lips from hers, his forehead pressing against hers, his breath ragged. "Don’t fight me, Alessia. You feel it too, You always have."
That single whisper snapped her back to herself.
Her eyes flew open, and the brutal reminder surged in her chest like a knife. She shoved against him, this time with strength born from anguish. "No"
Luca staggered back, confusion shadowing his face. "What.... ?"
"You sent me away," Alessia cried, tears burning down her cheeks. "You... you’re getting married to another woman. A mafia princess. Do you hear yourself? We shouldn’t be doing this"
Luca’s jaw clenched, his chest heaving, words forming on his tongue but Alessia’s gaze dropped to the lifeless magpie on the ground.
The final shudder left its body. Its small chest stilled.
It was gone..
She turned to Luca with devastation hardening into steel. "See what you caused?" Her voice broke, hollow with grief.
Something flickered in his eyes, it was guilt, sharp and unguarded.
He crouched slightly, looking at the still bird before returning his gaze to her, heavy as lead. "Will you ever forgive me?" His tone was not pleading, not begging, Luca Morano didn’t beg. It was something worse. It was a man stripped bare of excuses.
"Don’t have the wrong impression about me, Alessia," he continued, his voice a quiet thunder. "My hands have never spilled the wrong blood, not even by a mistake, Never."
But Alessia shook her head fiercely, anger boiling. "I will never forgive you, Luca."
For a moment, silence crashed between them like a wave.
Then Luca stepped closer, the storm returning to his eyes. "You have to," he murmured, pulling a gun from his side and pressing it into her trembling hands.
His voice dropped lower, dangerous. "Or would you rather take revenge for your magpie, Alessia? Pull the trigger."
The cold steel burned in her palm, heavier than it should have been, heavier than any revenge.
Her heart raced, her breath uneven, but her finger didn’t move. Not because she forgave him.. no, forgiveness was miles away but because the thought of hurting him carved her soul in half.
Her hand fell limp, the gun slipping to the grass.
Luca’s gaze lingered on her, unreadable, yet she swore she saw relief flash in his eyes.
But before words could stitch or shatter the fragile moment, far from them, another story was unraveling.
*****
Across the hills, Princess Elowen stood, her gown brushing against the damp earth as she reached the final rise.
Her emerald eyes scanned the land below, a grim expression hardening her delicate features.
The trail of blood she had followed ended abruptly at the river’s edge.
The water moved lazily, glinting under the pale sun, as though mocking her search.
She frowned deeply. "So... this is it."
Her voice carried low, thoughtful. "Does this mean someone diverted the blood trail, made it flow toward the river to mislead us? Or... was it Donato himself, injured, carried to the other direction, while the other person came here to just jump into a river?"
The river whispered no answers, its current curling and folding like secrets.
Elowen’s breath caught as another possibility slashed her mind. "Could it be Enzo? Did he wound Donato and jump into the river, only to let himself drown? And if so... and the water spit back his dead body back to virenkai?"
She was still speaking her thoughts aloud when her eyes caught something glinting in the soil.
it was a coin.
Elowen crouched, fingers brushing the earth until she lifted the small object into her palm.
It was cold, heavy and marked with symbols she knew too well.
Her breath tightened. "The Atlans..."
The sigil on the coin gleamed like a warning. Her lips pressed thin. "This coin is theirs. It can only mean one thing... they were here."
Her body tensed with certainty. "This exact spot. This is where they met. The Atlans and Enzo stood here. Perhaps even Donato, before he..." Her voice trailed, the weight of silence saying what her lips could not.
She closed her fist around the coin. "There’s nothing left to trace here. The end of this mountain and the river below took whatever truth existed.
Maybe an animal dragged Donato’s body away or maybe someone claimed it."
She straightened, her voice turning firm, decisive. "But one thing is sure. This was no accident. This was a meeting ground."
Turning to her guard, her eyes hardened with resolve. "We return at once. My father will summon the Atlans. If they were here, they owe us answers. And now we have proof. Their coin."
Her gaze dropped to the item in her hand once more, her stomach coiling with unease.
The Atlans never left their symbols behind... unless they wanted someone to find them.
Was it a warning? Or a trap?.....
Either way, it was war.
Elowen lifted her chin, commanding. "We will go back. Gather the men. If the Atlans think they can play us like pawns, they’ll learn soon enough we are not so easily broken."
The hills grew quiet behind her as she turned toward home, but the river whispered, carrying its secrets downstream. Somewhere in its depths, perhaps a body stirred. Or perhaps only shadows.
*****
Daisy’s nap was light, the kind where dreams tangled with reality.
But the steady vibration on her phone snapped her awake. Blinking, she reached for her phone. The sender’s name made her sit up instantly.
It was Romeo.
Her thumb hesitated before opening the message. The words spilled across the screen, leaving her breathless.
"I’m done, Daisy. I can’t work with Seraphina anymore. Could you believe she’s still after the Morano family? She even sent a magpie to steal Mrs. Bianchi’s small box. That damned woman struck a deal with a man, Lorenzo, I think.
He demanded the box as part of their bargain. I’m furious. The CCTV camera I installed on the bird showed it being shot down. I’m finished. But I need your advice. Can I really walk away? You know I swore a blood oath never to quit. If I break it, they’ll come for me. Maybe I should just elope, disappear before it’s too late. Can we meet to talk more?"
Daisy’s hand trembled as she reread the message. Her chest tightened with anger and disbelief.
"So I was right... that magpie wasn’t ordinary at all." She whispered, shaking her head. "And Alessia... she refused to believe it."
The thought of her best friend, still fragile and torn apart by grief, sent urgency coursing through her. She couldn’t waste a second.
Romeo’s warning meant danger was closing in on all of them, and Alessia had to know.
Throwing off her blanket, Daisy pulled on a dress with quick, uneven movements. Her mind raced. If Seraphina was using magpies now, if Lorenzo was truly in the shadows... then the game had changed.
"I need to see Alessia. She has to hear this," Daisy muttered, grabbing her keys and hurrying out.
****
Still , at the garden, the air was heavy with silence. The sun dipped low, painting the hedges in hues of gold and shadow.
Luca stood across from Alessia, his expression unreadable, a storm brewing beneath his dark eyes.
In his hand gleamed a pistol, cold and final.
"I killed your magpie, not by intentions Alessia," he said quietly, his voice rough with something between guilt and defiance. "If you want revenge... take it.... Here."
He pressed the gun into her palm.
Her heart pounded so violently it hurt. Her sweet, lovely pet and loyal magpie her last fragile piece of innocence was gone, and Luca’s hands were stained with it.
Her fingers tightened around the weapon.
His gaze never wavered. He stood tall, broad chest rising and falling slowly, as though daring her, as though begging her to decide.
Alessia’s breath came in shaky waves. The world around her blurred the roses, the grass, the faint rustle of wind.
There was only him. Only this moment.
Tears streaked her cheeks, but her grip did not falter.
"Revenge?" she whispered, her voice breaking.
Luca nodded once.
And Alessia raised the gun.
Her finger curled around the trigger.
And she pulled....