Starling (124 page)

But when Rowan and his men showed up at Palazzo Dolce that
night, battle-hardened and dressed in black, she could no longer
deny that she was terrified of what they were about to do. She didn’t
just fear for her own life, but for the courtesans’ lives as well. And for
Luca.
Flavia answered the door and ushered Rowan and the others into
the portego where Luca received them.
“Signorina,” Rowan said as he approached Cass. “Is there somewhere we can talk privately?”
Octavia appeared in the doorway that led to the back of the
house. “My office.” She gestured sharply. “This way.”
Luca and Rowan followed Cass and Octavia back to the small
sitting room Octavia used for her office. Octavia sat behind her desk,
and Cass and Luca took seats in the chairs in front of it. Rowan
leaned against the wall, his fingers unconsciously fiddling with the
hilt of his sword.
“Tonight you’ll go with the other women to Palazzo Dubois as
planned,” Luca started. “When you arrive, mingle an appropriate
amount of time and then separate from the festivities and begin
searching for the book. The men and I will arrive just before midnight, early enough that the festivities will still be in full swing. Some
of us will find Dubois and hold him. Others will keep his security
forces occupied. The guests will be free to leave.”
“What of the servants?” Cass asked.
“We’ll have to work around them,” Luca said.
Rowan produced a dagger from his boot and twirled the handle
in his right palm. “Or stab them,” he suggested with a raised eyebrow.
“No!” Cass said. “No one gets hurt unless they attack us first.
Your goal is to subdue Joseph Dubois and keep his men busy while I
find the book. That is all.”
“Right,” Luca said. He gave Rowan a meaningful look. “Those
are the terms for which you are being paid.”
Rowan smiled slightly. “You nobles are so lacking in humor. Of
course I’d never let my men kill servants.” He winked. “You never
know when you might need their assistance.”
“What if one of them recognizes you?” Cass asked Luca. “The
Senate . . .”
“Do not worry about anyone being recognized,” Rowan said.
“We’ll be wearing masks. Your signore will be unidentifiable, perhaps even by you.”
Cass doubted that very seriously, but the idea of Luca covering
his face comforted her somewhat. He had been out of the city for so
long that surely everyone assumed he was either dead or gone for
good, but still, it was better to be safe.

As Cass sat in the gondola with Arabella, Seraphina, and Flavia, she
replayed Rowan’s words in her head. She hoped he was trustworthy.
Without Luca by her side, her guilt was threatening to drown her.
Everyone she loved except for him had died because they cared
about her. She had spent so much time and effort trying to stop the
Order from creating their terrifying elixir, one that contained heaven
knew what poisons, what powers. And yet, all along,
she
was the
sickness.

Deadly venom.
“Are you nervous?” Seraphina tucked an unruly lock of honeycolored hair under her hat as she studied Cass curiously.