“We weren’t followed,” he said, answering a question that hadn’t even occurred to her. They rounded a corner and came to a stop in front of the once-grand palazzo. All the windows were dark. Nico, his mother, and aunt had no doubt been asleep for hours. “No one knows where I live. Not even the signore. And no one would ever assume I was daft enough to live here.”

Lottie’s heart twisted in her chest. “It’s your parents’ house, isn’t it?”

Alec nodded, but he still did not look at her. She would have given anything to know what he was thinking of: His mother’s death? His father’s unstoppable descent into madness? But then, such thoughts must never be far from him. Alec had chosen to live among those ghosts.

“Come,” he said. Lottie followed in silence as he entered the house. In the entryway he lit a single candle and led them up the winding staircase toward his flat. In the daytime, the palazzo’s faded grandeur could still be seen. But now the single flickering candle threw strange shadows against the high walls that only seemed to emphasize the many years of neglect and decay.

Alec came home to this every night, Lottie thought with a shiver as she followed him into the flat. The window shutters had been left open, and the main room was illuminated by the silvery moonlight. Alec paused to light a small candelabra. “It’s rather medieval now, but someday I hope to have electricity,” he said with an apologetic smile. Then he led her toward the bedroom with the desk. The one that contained so many secrets.

Alec entered the room and placed the candelabra on a bedside table. Then he turned to face her. “Get some rest. If you need anything, I’ll be right outside.” He gestured toward the threadbare sofa in the main room.

Lottie’s heart twisted again. Alec wouldn’t even sleep in the other bedroom that still housed his mother’s things. She sat down on the bed and grazed a finger against the worn coverlet. “You must have so many memories here,” she murmured and glanced up shyly. Alec’s face was hard, but his eyes burned witch black in the candlelight.

“Too many,” he said in a low voice. “Sleep well. You have a long journey ahead of you tomorrow.” He turned to leave but Lottie came to her feet. She pressed a trembling hand tightly against her abdomen.

“Alec. Wait.”

She had spoken his name so rarely these last days that it felt like casting a spell, an invocation for a power far greater than any she possessed. Alec immediately stopped before the doorway. His entire frame tensed. He turned halfway toward her. Just enough for a shard of moonlight to illuminate his strong profile. “You’re scared?”