“Let my sister go.” Cara advanced determinedly.
The vampyre spat at her feet. “My orders were to limit the mess. Stay where you are or I’ll kill you.”
“No.” Raven gripped Max by his shirt. “I’ll go with you. Leave her alone.”
Max grinned.
He opened his mouth to voice a retort but Cara caught him in the side of the head with the cane.
Momentarily stunned, he released Raven and she pitched forward, slamming against the wall.
“Cara, get out of here!”
Her sister kept swinging the cane at the vampyre, striking him where she could, but Max just batted the cane away, his face split into a broad grin. When he’d tired of Cara, he backhanded her and she crashed to the ground, blood spurting from her nose. She grew still.
“No!” Raven cried, crawling toward her sister.
Max interrupted her movement and picked her up by the waist.
“I belong to the Prince of Florence.” Still struggling, she showed him the bracelet William had given her. “I’m his pet.”
“I know who you are,” he snarled. “Shut your mouth or I’ll kill the other one, too.”
Raven’s gaze darted over to Cara. She wasn’t moving and neither was Dan.
Perhaps the vampyre could sense Dan was already dead.
Raven grew quiet.
As Max carried her through the back door and into the alley, she turned to him.
“Where are you taking me?”
He shook her like a cat shakes a kitten. “Silence.” He brought his nose to her neck and inhaled deeply. “I’m taking you somewhere private enough for revenge. Then I’m going to find out exactly what kind of pet you are.”
He laughed at her show of fear and tucked her under his arm, grabbing hold of the side of the building as he prepared to climb.
Chapter Forty-five
“What news from Switzerland?” The Prince stood at the Piazzale Michelangelo after sunset with Gregor, his assistant.
The younger vampyre bowed. “On your orders, I went to Cologny and met with the family who sold your illustrations to the Americans. I told them I was an Interpol agent assigned to investigate the robbery.”
“What have you to report?”
Gregor produced a small valise and handed it to his ruler. “The family provided me with notes and pages from a diary that was kept by one of their ancestors—the man who purchased the illustrations in the nineteenth century.”
The Prince tucked the valise under his arm. “And the person who sold them?”
Gregor cleared his throat. “He was described as Italian. He sold the illustrations for much less than they were worth, saying that they had belonged to his family, who’d fallen on hard times.”
The Prince’s eyebrows drew together. “Did this Italian have a name?”
“The gentleman insisted he remain anonymous.” At this, Gregor pointed to the valise. “But the diary describes the man. He wore old clothes, spoke Italian fluently, and had pale skin.”
“A vampyre?”
“The family did not identify him as such, but the description suggests it. The man who purchased the illustrations was warned that he should keep the transaction secret and never make them public, or he would risk some kind of curse.”
“Subterfuge, of course.” The Prince looked off into space for a moment. “It’s possible whoever stole the illustrations from me enlisted the aid of the Italian to sell them.”
“Possible, my lord, but there is more to report.”
The Prince’s eyes moved to his assistant. “Proceed.”
“It seems, my lord, that the recipient described the man as young, with dark, curly hair that fell to his shoulders.”
The Prince moved abruptly to the stone railing. “Thousands of vampyres answered to that description at one time. And we all appear young to some degree.”
Gregor shifted his weight uncomfortably. “Yes, but this individual claimed to be related to the Medici.”
The Prince turned his head, pinning Gregor to the spot with his gaze.
“Are you certain?”
“It’s in the diary, my lord. It’s penned in French but translating it was easy enough.”
“So the shadow reveals himself,” the Prince muttered, turning to survey his city once again. “Rather than exposing himself as a worthy adversary, he shows he is a petty thief and a coward. Have you mentioned your journey to anyone?”
Gregor shook his head vigorously. “No, my lord.”
“Have you spoken about your findings to anyone else?” The Prince’s tone was deceptively calm.
“I serve only you, my prince.”
“Good. You have done well, Gregor. Your service shall be rewarded. I am elevating you to the Consilium.”
Gregor’s nervous expression lightened into a smile. “Thank you, my lord.”
“Last century, a shadow fell over my principality. Tonight that shadow shall be extinguished. Come, Sir Gregor. I shall have need of you at the Consilium meeting.”
The assistant bowed low and the two vampyres vaulted the stone railing, running in the direction of the Arno.
Chapter Forty-six
Maximilian’s feet were still on the ground when something wet splashed over him and his prisoner. He howled in pain and released her, leaving her to hurtle to the ground.
Raven landed hard on her backside, pain radiating from her tailbone up her spine. The impact of her fall was so great she just sat there, stunned.