The Carnelian Tyranny: Savino’s Revenge (12 page)

“Aye, my
lord.”

“I have heard much about you from mutual acquaintances in Crocetta. It is an honor to meet you at last,” Tino said. The two of them chatted with each other as Marisa watched in amusement. Eman appeared to be slightly out of his element at Beauriél, but she was glad that he had decided to
come.

She felt a soft tap on her shoulder. Turning to see Lord Domenico appraising the curves of her gown with obvious satisfaction, she smiled at him. “Good evening,
Sire.”

“Your Highness, I am most honored by your invitation to join your family party this evening.” He bowed and kissed her hand, flashing her a devilish
grin.

Just as handsome as ever, Luca was dressed in a formal black tunic and cloak that accentuated his athletic physique. His dark hair had been styled similarly to Darian’s, reminding her of their first meeting when she wondered if the two men were brot
hers.

“Lord Domenico, I am so pleased you could come,” she answered, dazzling him with her s
mile.

“You are the most beautiful royal in the room, I dare say,” he drawled, his eyes twinkling. “Tell me, will there be any other single women here tonight as beautiful as
you?”

“None that shall fall for
your
charms, Luca,” Darian answered, chuckling as he slapped his good friend on the shoulder. “You really must find your own woman and stop bothering
mine.”

“He wasn’t bothering me,” she said. “Were you,
Sire?”

Luca shook his head. “Certainly not. And that is very easy for you to say, Your Highness, since you have already snatched up the most beautiful woman in the ten kingdoms.” His flirtatious eyes held Marisa’s. “Believe me, I know. I have searched them
all.”

“It was she who found me, Luca,” Darian said matter-of-factly. “And it was our parents who made the arrangement several years ago. So you see, the matter is quite out of my h
ands.”

“Did someone mention a beautiful woman over here?” Bruno asked, stepping between Darian and Luca to kiss her hand. He held it for a moment, grinning at her as if they were the only two at the party. Darian took her hand from Bruno’s and held it up, pointing to the emerald and diamond ring on her fi
nger.

“Does this ring not mean anything to you two? In case you are unaware, we are engaged to be mar
ried.”

“Ah, Your Highness, you cannot blame a man for trying,” Bruno answered, grinning as he spotted Matilda. “On to the next beautiful flower.” He made his way through the guests to stand next to
her.

“Indeed,” Luca added. “How can we be expected to ignore such an exotic b
loom?”

Darian squeezed his arm. “I cannot disagree with you there, brother.” He winked at Luca before moving on to chat with the other guests. Marisa smiled at him, suddenly cur
ious.

“Why haven’t you been snatched up by some noblewoman long before now, mi
lord?”

“Snatched up?” His eyes were teasing. “Perhaps because I have never found a woman willing to put up with all of my faults, Your High
ness.”

“Faults, Sire? Surely you don’t have more than the average male. And I have never known you to be lacking in female com
pany.”

“Indeed, no,” he said, lowering his voice. “But what is not commonly known is that, despite my reputation for being something of a lone wolf, I am quite unwilling to settle for lust when what I truly desir
e is…”

“Yes?” She held her br
eath.

Luca looked up at her slowly, his face reddening and his lips parting to form a shy smile. “Love and companion
ship.”

“But I don’t understand,” she said. “In my opinion, the fact that you are searching for true love would only make you
more
desirable to the ladies, milord, not less.” Never had she imagined that this devastatingly handsome man, and with a title no less, would ever have trouble finding
love.

“Most women only see what they wish to see.” He shrugged, watching as Adalina, Matilda and Bruno chatted together. “And the few women that possess the qualities I deem important are usually the same ones who have already prejudged me, believing I am not worthy of their affect
ions.”

She stared at him, stunned by his w
ords.

He gazed at her ring, adding softly, “Or, they have already been spoken
for.”

She touched his forearm, looking earnestly into his
eyes.

“Sire, I don’t know what to say. I must admit that even I have misjudged you. But some woman who is worthy of you
will
see the man you really are and fall head over heels in
love.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. Tell me, are there any more like you at
home?”

She laughed. “No, I’m the only
one.”

“Such a pity.” He grinned, winking at
her.

The cook entered the room and announced that dinner was ready. Luca slipped her hand through the crook of her arm and led her to her place at the head of the t
able.

As Darian eyed them with mock jealousy from the opposite end, Luca winked and hurried to take his seat next to him, nudging his best friend and grinning bro
adly.

The guests around the table chatted cheerfully, remarking on the beautiful tree and how delicious the food smelled. In the middle was a centerpiece of stacked oranges, speared with cloves and surrounded by holly leaves. A rich, holiday scent hung in the air while the candles cast a warm glow onto the faces of the guests. Darian interrupted the joyful banter as he stood to t
oast.

“Here is to my beautiful fiancée who has greatly enriched all of our lives in the way she has opened our eyes to a whole new world of beauty. May every Christmas here be as blessed as this one.
Ap e
irie
.”

“Ap eirie.”
The guests all lifted their goblets into the
air.

Marisa watched the faces of the loved ones gathered around the table, listening quietly to the cheerful chatter filling the room. Her eyes rested on Darian who was laughing at something Lord Domenico had said. She had never felt so blessed; there was nowhere else she would have rather been than right there, celebrating with her family and friends. The happy banter continued during the delicious meal of honey boar and roasted cinnamon ap
ples.

After the dessert plates had been cleared away, the group moved into the living room to admire the decorated tree. Marisa read the Christmas story out loud as everyone listened in awe. She glanced up from her reading a few times and saw Eman smiling and nodding at her. After the story had ended, she closed the book sole
mnly.

“Amen,” Eman
said.

Marisa smiled at him and jumped up to distribute the presents waiting patiently under the tree. She instructed them to open each gift, one at a time so that everyone could see. Everyone was amazed by her creative and thoughtful g
ifts.

She gave Helena, Adalina, Cinzia and Matilda specially-made gold bracelets studded with dark red Carnelian stones. Arrie received a homemade watercolor drawing of the Eiffel Tower and Lord Domenico received one of Crater Lake. She gave her uncle yet another of the gorgeous Rogue Va
lley.

For Celino, she had found a rare antique lamp and she gave Eman a new tea set complete with teapot, cups and saucers. Tino received an English dictionary she had bartered off Celino and Bruno was surprised to receive an antique dagger similar to the one that had belonged to her great-grandfather. She gave Cozimo a bound leather copy of the ancient Carnelian scriptures and Mark was pleased with his custom-made longbow complete with a leather quiver full of ar
rows.

Lastly, she presented Darian with a wooden case that contained an exquisite silver sword. Handcrafted especially for Marisa’s father years ago in Terracina, her uncle had uncovered it from the royal archives chamber where the Fiore and Macario family heirlooms had been stored ever since the shipw
reck.

“I shall carry it with pride.” Darian’s eyes moistened, visibly moved by the priceless
gift.

“I know you will,” she answered, kissing him so
ftly.

After all the gifts had been opened, Marisa sat down at the piano to play a few Christmas carols. Everyone enjoyed listening as she joined Mark and her uncle by singing along. Arrie sang along to a few of the songs that he had learned from his time on earth. She sang her most beautiful rendition of O Holy Night and, when it was over, she kissed each guest before finally settling down in a chair next to Da
rian.

“When will you sing me a Crocine song?” Darian whispered softly, stroking her
hand.

“After you sing one in English,” she answered sm
ugly.

Alessio threw more wood onto the fire and Cinzia poured more eggnog for whoever wanted it. The room was lively as the guests chatted happily, enjoying one another’s com
pany.

Suddenly, Eman rose from his chair and approached Marisa, sinking down on one knee. The chatter in the room stopped as he unfastened the amulet from around his neck and held it out to
her.

“Your Highness, I too have a gift. Although I do not have much to give you in the way of worldly possessions, what I do have, I offer to you with all my h
eart.”

Gazing into his dark brown eyes, she saw the solemnness in them. She took the oval-shaped jewel from him, examining its intricate network of silver flourishes and admiring the rich purple color of the gem. It looked antique, and she suspected that it was probably some kind of heir
loom.

“Oh, Eman, it’s so beautiful, but I can’t take this from
you.”

“Please, Your Highness, I beg you to wear it in my h
onor.”

Marisa hesitated, glancing around at the faces quietly observing them. She couldn’t take the most valuable possession the poor man owned, but she didn’t want to offend him, ei
ther.

At last, she removed the ruby necklace she had received from Darian and set it gently on the table. Then she took the amulet from Eman, placing it ceremoniously around her
neck.

Eman smiled, touching the stone gently. “Guard it well, my child, for it shall guard your
life.”

Her smile faded. “What do you
mean?”

“This gemstone was cut from a shard of the Ambrogia stone. Its light from within shall cloak you from evil eyes whenever you wear it. Those with an impure heart shall be blinded from your pres
ence.”

“Thank you.” She paused, struck by his words. “I’ll wear it with p
ride.”

His hands clasped hers with a sense of urgency. “Do not lose hope, milady, whatever happens. Always pray, always trust and always remain faithful, even when you think all hope is
gone.”

“I
will.”

“Promise me,” he ple
aded.

“I will, I promise.” She leaned over, hugging him tightly. “Thank you for your friend
ship.”

“You shall make a worthy queen,” he whispered softly against her ear. He released her to stand, bowing to the other guests. “And now, I must return home, but I wish you all a most blessed evening. And remember, Your Highness, never lose hope.” He quickly left the
room.

Jumping up, she hurried to see him to the door, but, by the time she entered the vestibule, the front door was already closing behind him. She opened it and peered into the n
ight.

He was
gone.

CHAPTER 13

VEXATION

The night air was crisp as she strolled over to the small command box on the opposite side of the driveway. The guard stepped out to meet her.
“Your Royal Highness,” he said, nodding respectf
ully.

“Good evening, sir. Did you just see the man who came out the front door? The one wearing a large
hat?”

He looked at her with a quizzical expression. “I do not know who you are referring to, Your Highness. Nobody has come through that door since my shift began. Are you certain he did not exit through the back
door?”

“I saw him go out here, on the front
side.”

“Do you need assistance in locating
him?”

“Uh, no—no. Carry on,
sir.”

“As you wish, Your Highness. Have a lovely eve
ning.”

“Thank you. Good n
ight.”

She walked back toward the front door, puzzled by Eman’s sudden disappearance. When she returned to her guests, they were still talking over near the fireplace, ignorant of Eman’s abrupt disappearance. She sat down beside Darian, slipping her hand into his and absently stroking the amulet around her
neck.

A few hours later, it began to snow lightly and Alessio suggested that Tino, Bruno, and Lord Domenico leave with the ladies before it began to accumulate. Tino and Bruno helped the women into the carriages before stepping in themselves. Luca mounted his horse and escorted them back to Croc
etta.

After most of the guests had gone, Arrie, Mark, Alessio and Marisa went back into the living room, lingering near the fire just a little while longer. Darian disappeared upstairs, but returned within minutes holding a large, wrapped gift. He set it down on the floor in front of
her.

“I have one more gift for you,” Darian said mysteriously as Alessio and Mark smiled knowi
ngly.

She stared at the gift, wondering what it could be. She removed the fabric and opened the lid of the box, squealing with delight as a small puppy dog with a long snout and large, brown eyes looked up at her with a frightened expression. As soon as she began to stroke his soft brown fur, he wagged his short tail wildly and licked her
face.

“Oh, Darian, he’s so beautiful!” she exclaimed as the pup jumped into her lap. “What a perfect
gift!”

“I thought that you could use a little company out
here.”

Mark petted him gently. “What are you going to call
him?”

She thought about it for a moment. “I think I’ll call him Jackson.” She turned to Darian. “Thank you. I love
him.”

“You are welcome, my
love.”

“It was a nice party, Risa.” Alessio said. “Well
done.”

“Yeah, we’ll have to make it an annual tradition after the wedding,” Mark said. “When are you going to tie the knot an
yway?”

She shifted uncomfortably. “We don’t know yet. Darian and I haven’t settled on a date
yet.”

“But it’ll be soon, r
ight?”

There was a moment of awkward sil
ence.

“Mark, it’s not that simple. We’ve only known each other for a few months.” She buried her face in Jackson’s soft
fur.

“Well, yeah, but I thought you loved each o
ther.”

“We love each other very much,” Darian assured him. “What your sister means to say is that she first needs to adjust to life as a queen before she can focus on being a
wife.”

Alessio cornered her with his eyes. “So when
are
you two getting mar
ried?”

Marisa shru
gged.

His face became stern. “It’s gonna take months to prepare for a royal wedding. You two need to fix the date as soon as poss
ible.”

“I
know.”

“Believe me, Alessio, there is nothing I want more,” Darian added in an irritated voice. “But your niece has her own opinion on the subject, and I am finding it difficult to convince her other
wise.”

She stared at the floor, saying not
hing.

“I thought you two would be getting married sooner rather than later. Especially since he cannot become king unless he marries you. Are my assumptions w
rong?”

“Darian knows that I love him,” she answered, sidestepping the question. “But I’m just having a hard time with this whole marriage t
hing.”

“What marriage
thing?
” Alessio’s eyes narrowed at
her.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said defensively, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. “I realize that it’s perfectly normal to marry young in Carnelia, but I’m only eighteen. Back in Jacksonville, most girls my age don’t even have serious boyfriends yet. I just don’t see what the big rush is for us to get mar
ried.”

“You are not most girls!” Alessio said, raising his voice. “You are the Supreme Ruler of Carnelia, and you must consider your th
rone!”

“I know that, Uncle Al. I just need some
time.”

“Time?” Alessio’s face turned red. “Years ago, your parents wisely chose this exceptional young man to be your future husband and king. Eighteen years later and miracle of miracles—it turns out you both actually love each other! What’s not to unders
tand?”

Darian crossed his arms, averting his
gaze.

“Please don’t get mad at me! Look—you’ve all known about this for years, but I haven’t! Six months ago, I thought I’d be attending college, not settling down.” Hot tears stung her eyes. “Would you be pushing me to get married if we were back in Jacksonv
ille?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, we are not in Jacksonv
ille!”

There was another awkward sil
ence.

Arrie pulled Marisa aside, his tone serious. “Your Highness, nobody is forcing you to do anything you do not wish to do. However, you must understand that your primary duty is to marry as soon as possible in order to produce royal heirs and secure the Fiore dyn
asty.”

Her lip quivered as she covered her face with her hands. How could she explain to these men the conflict in her soul? She loved Darian more than anyone, but the idea of marriage was so frightening to her. It meant loving a man on a level so deep that if anything ever happened to him, her life would be over. But wasn’t that how she was already feeling about him? Why was she so fearful of the commit
ment?

Darian clenched his jaw. “Her Highness and I will talk about this privately at another time. But now I think that we should return to the castle before the snow gets too
deep.”

Alessio and Mark bid them goodnight and retreated upstairs to bed. Arrie nodded hastily to her before exiting through the front door to walk to the waiting carr
iage.

“Do you even want to marry me?” Darian asked her sadly when they were a
lone.

“You know I do. I can’t imagine my life without you!” Her heart wrenched in pain. She’d never seen him so melancholy and devoid of hope; it was so unlike
him.

“Then I do not understand your reaso
ning.”

“I just wish you could try to see things from my perspec
tive…”

“Believe me, I am trying very hard to see things from your perspec
tive—”

“Listen to me,” she pleaded. “I’ve had a lot to absorb and so many adjustments to make in such a short time that, sometimes, I feel like I’m going to burst. Everything has just been dumped on me, and I’m feeling very overwhelmed right now. And to top it all off, now I have to worry about the bounties on all of our heads. You of all people should understand the challenges I’m fa
cing.”

“Why can we not face them toge
ther?”

She smoothed down her dress, averting his gaze. “We should postpone this discussion for some other day when we’re not so tired. I’ll see you in the morning,
okay?”

Darian nodded, pecking her cheek gently. “Good n
ight.”

“Night, Da
rian.”

He opened the door and hurried out to the carriage where Arrie waited. As it drove off into the night, a shiver of guilt rippled down her spine. She never wanted to hurt anyone, least of all Darian. But she needed more time to adjust to the expectations being piled on top of
her.

She closed the front door and blew out the candles in the vestibule as she made her way back to the living room. The house seemed so quiet and empty compared to earlier in the evening. Jackson’s little legs moved quickly as he ran over to where she sat, his tail wagging back and f
orth.

Scooping him up into her arms, she sat thoughtfully for a moment, waiting for him to settle down into her lap. She spotted the gold choker on the table that Darian had given her and picked it up, admiring the way the rubies sparkled in the firelight. The man of her dreams wanted to marry her as soon as possible, so what
was
she waiting for? She couldn’t justify her reasons to herself, let alone anyone
else.

She laid the ruby choker back down on the table and glanced down at Eman’s amulet still around her neck. The dark purple stone dimmed and glowed, as if it was lit from the inside. She lifted her mother’s ring up next to it and noticed that the two stones pulsated together in perfect unity. Eman had said that the stone in the amulet had been cut from an Ambrogia shard, the same type of stone in her mother’s ring. She made a mental note to ask Darian about it in the mor
ning.

Feeling exhausted, she extinguished the flames of the oil lamps on the tree and blew out the last of the candles. She trudged up the stairs with Jackson prancing and bobbing behind her, still full of energy. The jewel around her neck pulsated with its lavender glow, illuminating the hallway all the way down to her bed
room.