The Brightest Embers. Jeaniene Frost

have to. This whole thing is silly.”

      “Ivy.” The smile wiped from his face as he came over to me. “It doesn’t matter,” he said, taking my hands. “Silly or serious, if something is bothering you, I want to be there. Whatever it is, we’ll face it together.”

      I squeezed his hands, once again wondering why I’d tried to hide this from him in the first place. “You’re right.”

      Now he smiled, and it warmed me more than the bright day outside. “Let’s see, we didn’t spend much time in Saint Peter’s Basilica before, and it is one of the main attractions here.”

      “Not there,” I said. The basilica felt more like an incredibly elaborate museum than a church. “Saint Stephen’s of the Abyssinians.”

      That reminded me of a more antique version of the church my parents had occasionally taken Jasmine and me to when we were kids. After everything that had happened, I longed to feel the same sort of normalcy I’d felt back then.

      “I don’t think that’s open to the public,” Adrian pointed out. “Unless you want to break in, you might have to pick another one.”

      I gave him an arch look. “I have a way around that. You’ll have to dress up to make it work, though.”

      He chuckled and went to get dressed. When he came out ten minutes later, he wore cream-colored pants, a matching open jacket and a pale blue shirt that made his eyes appear an even more vivid shade of sapphire. Combined with his golden hair, six-six height and face that looked half-angel instead of half-demon, he was so stunning, there was no chance of him going unnoticed.

      “I might have to make you wait outside, or you’ll ruin my plans to blend in,” I said, giving him an admiring stare.

      He came over and tipped the brim of my hat back. “You’re the one everyone will look at,” he said, and bent to give me a deep kiss.

      I broke it off when I found myself thinking about abandoning my plan in favor of spending the day in bed with him. “Behave,” I told him, wiping a smear of my lipstick from his mouth even as it curled into a smirk.

      “Who, me?” he asked with mock innocence. “Always.”

      Right. Behaving wasn’t in his DNA, let alone his personality. Still, he could be incentivized. “You’ll be glad later if you do,” I said in my most suggestive voice.

      Now his grin was every shade of wicked.

      It didn’t take long for us to reach the small chapel. Saint Stephen’s of the Abyssinians might be closed to regular public foot traffic, but it could be rented out for private weddings. Late summer in Rome was apparently a popular time for them, and today had more than one nuptial on the docket. My plan was simple: pretend to be one of the many guests so I could sneak in. When a thick cluster of guests approached the chapel, I grabbed Adrian’s arm, pasted a smile on my face and followed them inside.

      Adrian let me choose our seats, and I picked ones in the back. As I sat down, I found myself tensing. If any of my fears were founded, now would be the time for something awful to happen. Yet as the minutes ticked by, nothing did.

      “See?” Adrian murmured, gently squeezing my hand. “You’re fine, Ivy.”

      Now I felt even sillier for letting my lingering guilt make me so paranoid. “Let’s go, before someone notices that we don’t belong here,” I whispered.

      We left the church. It had been a sunny, beautiful day ten minutes ago, and now that I’d left my irrational fears behind, it seemed even brighter and lovelier. Adrian and I were enjoying a leisurely stroll back toward our villa when I realized that I’d have to find a bathroom sooner rather than later. My previously bunched-up nerves must have given me an upset stomach.

      “I need a bathroom,” I told Adrian. “Have you seen one?”

      Thankfully, he had, and I almost ran inside it. A short time later, I was washing my hands when the bathroom mirror began to ripple in a frightening way.

      I hadn’t broken the mirror when I’d entered because we were on hallowed ground, but it wasn’t too late to fix my mistake. I grabbed the nearest trash can, about to bash it into the mirror, when an all-too-familiar voice said, “Don’t!” Then it went on to say, “I believe we’re long overdue for a chat, Davidian.”

      I paused in midswing. Demetrius, Adrian’s biological father and my arch nemesis, had never wanted to chat before. He’d tried to kill me more times than I could count and held my sister hostage as bait, but one-on-one conversation? That was new. Still, it was daylight and I was on holy ground, so if Demetrius did try to cross over in another attempt to kill me, he would fry as soon as he left the mirror. The thought of seeing him burning and screaming appealed to me so much, I lowered the trash can.

      “What did you want to talk about, Daddy-in-law?”

       CHAPTER THIRTEEN

      DEMETRIUS’S FULL APPEARANCE became visible in the mirror, so I caught it when he winced, as if being reminded of our new familial tie had caused him actual pain. I’d hoped it would. It certainly stung me a lot.

      “Never call me that again,” he bit out.

      “Believe me,” I said, glaring at him. “I find it mutually repellant.”

      Demetrius was one of those demons who looked like a regular person. He had unremarkable features, black hair, pale skin and a wide mouth, so Adrian must have gotten his gorgeous golden looks from his mother. A closer inspection revealed that a writhing mass of darkness clung to Demetrius’s outline. His shadows had once been far larger and more impressive, and they weren’t Demetrius’s only trick. He was also a shape-shifter.

      The first time I’d seen him, Demetrius had morphed into a huge dark cloud with flesh-ripping claws and teeth. That form had been beyond terrifying, which was why he’d chosen it. Demetrius was as cruel as he was inventive.

      “What, no congratulations on the happy news?” I continued to needle him. “It’s a shame you missed the wedding. It was thrown together last-minute, but still, it was beautiful—”

      “Speak softer, before Adrian hears you and storms in here,” Demetrius snarled.

      He’d revealed a lot with that statement. While Demetrius could have guessed that Adrian was with me in general, he shouldn’t have known that Adrian was close enough to possibly overhear us. Unless...

      “You have minions watching us right now, don’t you?” I said, trying not to show how much that freaked me out.

      Demetrius rolled his coal-black eyes. “Of course I do.”

      I casually crossed my arms behind my back so my hands were hidden from his view. Demetrius had never seen my staff tattoo, but he was well acquainted with my slingshot. I’d decimated his formerly immense shadows with it, and the last thing I wanted was Demetrius seeing that it was missing. Then he’d know that I’d lost my only deadly form of defense against him.

      “If you’ve got minions tailing us, why haven’t you used them to try to kill me?” The danger I’d unknowingly put everyone in made my stomach roil, but I managed to ask the question as if the answer only mildly interested me.

      Demetrius smiled, and the sight of it sent chills rippling over my skin. I’d never known that a smile could be a messenger of evil before I’d met Demetrius.

      “Because at this particular moment in time, I’m not trying to kill you.”

      “You’re not, huh?” I said while getting my rattled nerves back under control. It couldn’t be because he’d had a change of heart—Demetrius hated me. That was clear in his burning ebony gaze. But he must have something else up his sleeve. “I don’t imagine we have long before Adrian figures out that something else is going on besides me having digestive issues,