“It wasn’t bad, actually. They live in this place on the hill in Ukraine. There were orchards and woods everywhere. Villages. We’d go to town every Saturday and go through the market. Radomil would always buy me something. He is a nice guy.” Desandra leaned forward. “Really good in bed. I mean really, really good. I didn’t go out much. We were busy. You know.”

Yes, yes, we got it. You had lots of nookie. “And his family?”

“They are okay. His sister, Ivanna, is nice, and she and his brother are pretty much the brains. Radomil . . . He isn’t stupid. He’s just . . . He thinks in simple ways. He doesn’t worry himself about politics. I pretty much knew after a month that he would never be in charge.”

“What’s his beast?” I asked.

“He’s a lynx. Their whole family is.”

“What happened to their parents?” Andrea asked.

“Dead.” Desandra shrugged. “Killed a few years ago when they were fighting for their territory. It’s Radomil, his two brothers, and two sisters. Oh and their grandfather. He’s really old. He walks with a cane and half of the time doesn’t know where he is. I liked living there. They didn’t really involve me much, but I was so young, I didn’t care.”

“So why did you break up?” I prompted.

“My father canceled my marriage. I only lived with Radomil for five months. Kral came and got me.”

“Didn’t Radomil fight for you?” Andrea asked. I could see it in her face. If someone tried to take Raphael away from her, she would kill anything that stood in her way to keep him.

Desandra shook her head. “He didn’t want me to leave, but his brother talked him out of it. Three years later I married Gerardo. I was with him for two years.”

“Did you like him?”

Desandra was looking at her hands, her face tired. “Yes. I liked him. But it doesn’t matter now.”

“I know it sucks, but if you tell me, it might help me understand what’s going on better.”

Another sigh. “Isabella and her husband rule the Belve Ravennati. Gerardo and Ignazio have some power but not really enough to do anything major without their parents signing off on a dotted line. Isabella never liked me. With Radomil’s family it was laid-back, but with the Belve Ravennati it’s always very serious. Everything is important and it’s all about duty and looking after the family’s interests.”

Desandra stuck a finger in her mouth and imitated retching. Charming.