I gave him a look that I hoped promised a slow, torturous death and it must have worked. He shot to his feet and hastily escorted me into the corridor. I tolerated his hand on my bare arm until we were out of sight, then shrugged him off.

Sleeveless bodice or not, I didn’t appreciate the liberty he’d taken with touching my skin.

“Is something wrong, Emilia?”

“I cannot believe you told my mother I was here with someone last night,” I hissed. “What I do, and who I spend my time with, doesn’t concern you.”

Antonio’s jaw tightened. “Your sister was murdered here and a month later, I find you in the same chamber with someone I’ve never seen and whose name you refuse to give. Forgive me if I wanted to check to make sure you were all right.”

“If you were that worried, you could have easily waited in the monastery and walked me home. You didn’t have to show up at my house before dawn.”

He closed his eyes, leaving me to wonder what exactly was going on in his head. He had to know how much trouble he could have caused. No one was that naïve. Finally, when he looked at me again, the fight seemed to leave him.

His voice was quiet when he said, “Another girl was murdered after we spoke last night. And . . . and I couldn’t stop worrying it was you. After what happened with Vittoria, I had to be sure it wasn’t. I apologize for any trouble—I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. We were too late. Someone must have discovered the identity of the witch Wrath had planned to meet later. But how?

My mind spun. Wrath said he was the only prince who knew about the potential brides, but that didn’t mean other princes didn’t have ways of figuring that out. Spies were utilized in human royal courts—the same likely held true in the demon world. I thought about the invisible Umbra demons who worked for Greed. If he’d sent one after me and it attacked Nonna, it was probable one of them was also passing the names of potential brides along to him.

I still hadn’t quite figured out why he wanted the witches dead, though. Maybe it was just to ensure the devil didn’t break the curse and never left Hell.

Antonio reached over and tucked a loose wave behind my ear, his fingers lingering a moment too long. A few weeks ago my heart would have fluttered madly in my chest. Now I couldn’t help but remember how easily one could be torn from a person.

“Do you know who it was?” I asked. Antonio stepped back, looking a bit dazed as he dropped his hand. When he still didn’t answer, I clarified, “The girl from last night?”