Judging by the racing of my heart and the weakness in my limbs, some time had passed, though the poison hadn’t progressed enough for the cramps to have started. Instead, it was fear for Marcello and the children that hooked into my gut and twisted.

I hauled myself into a sitting position, too quickly. Everything swam and listed. I sagged back to the floor and stared at the ceiling, panting.

The door opened.

“Hello, Amalia,” Ignazio said.

I considered lunging for his throat, but the man with the scarred chin and his brutish friends waited in the hall behind him. Better to let him underestimate me. I tried again to sit, letting him see the struggle. This time, I stayed upright.

“Hello, traitor.”

He waved his hirelings back and closed the door, giving us privacy. “Is that any way to address your cousin?”

I glared. My throat was too dry to waste more words on him.

He sighed. “All right. Is that any way to address the man who can save your life?”

From his coat, he drew out a flask. My heart leaped despite myself, but when he crossed the room and proffered it to me, it didn’t smell like anise.

“It’s wine,” he said. “You need to drink something. Take it.”

“How do I know it’s not drugged?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “What need do I have to poison you?”

I took the flask. It was a weak and unrefined red, but a powerful thirst compelled me to swallow some anyway. Besides, it bought me time to think. I had to find out what had become of Marcello and the children.

“The cramps haven’t started yet, I take it?” he asked.

I shook my head, still drinking.

“They will soon enough.” He watched my face closely. “After that, it’s a painful descent into hallucinations, unconsciousness, and death.”

He was out of slapping reach. I set the flask down. “Are you here only to taunt me? I can’t bear to think any Cornaro could sink to that level.”

“No. I’m here to give you another chance. Please, Amalia. I don’t want you to die. There’s still time to mix the elixir if you agree to cooperate with me.”

Hope lurched in my chest. If he wanted my help, maybe Marcello and the children had gotten free somehow. “Why should I cooperate with you?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t seem to have many other options, do you?” He glanced past me to the portcullis winch. “Were you hoping to free Lieutenant Verdi? You won’t have much luck without these.” From within his doublet, he drew out a golden chain hung with rune-marked stones, dangling it in front of me as if taunting a cat.