Page 76 of Devoted

“This was all for you, tesoro.” Dante curled up beside me, threading his fingers through my hair, working out the knots. “An apology, remember? Now go to sleep; we’ll both be right here when you wake up.”

I woke in the dreamworld, breath stalling in my lungs when a murky shape materialized out of the mist, impossibly tall, broad enough to part the shifting fog like a leviathan breaching the surface of churning ocean tides.

Then the illusion broke, vapor clearing to reveal it was only Nico striding toward me, and my chest tightened.

“There you are. I’ve been waiting,” he said quietly, extending his hand for me to take. “I thought you’d never fall asleep.”

Loneliness echoed in his voice, tinged with a bitterness that tugged at my heart, but I slid my hand into his, skin sliding against skin before I let him lead me deeper into the mists, my nightgown wrapping tighter around my calves with every step, wondering where we were going.

“I’ve ruined everything,” he finally said, a muscle clenching in the side of his jaw. “I shouldn’t have kept the truth from them all this time. I was afraid of losing the only two friends I have, yet that’s exactly what happened.”

“They could have accepted the truth with a little more grace,” I pointed out. “You have more than proven yourself a good friend, Nico. Give them time; they will come to see that, and when they do, they’ll forgive you.”

“Ever the optimist,” he sighed, as if that were a bad thing.

The mists thickened around us, Nico’s dark, inky shadows twining with the pale tendrils as if they were dancing.

“Everyone has secrets, Nico, even me. Yours are just… bigger than most.” I bumped my elbow into his side. “If that asshole was my father, I wouldn’t have told anyone, either.”

“Have your feelings changed toward me?” he asked in a low voice. “Because if they have, I understand. The truth is, his blood runs in my veins and short of draining myself dry and starting over, I can’t change that fact.”

“Nothing has changed except I understand you a bit better now.”

We kept walking, the air ripe with tension as something towering big took form in front of us. A building. No… a castle. A castle that would be an impossibility in the real world, but here…here delicate spires rose over my head, and two immense doors swung open as if they were welcoming me home.

“This is a dream. This has to be a dream,” I muttered, stumbling over my own feet as Nico tugged me forward until my bare toes sank into a soft, wool carpet the color of sapphires.

Towering walnut bookshelves climbed three stories toward a painted ceiling where constellations shimmered in gold leaf, velvet draperies the color of garnets pooled around leaded-glass windows that overlooked a dark sky twinkling with stars. Carved fireplaces crackled happily in every room we passed, mantels crowded with priceless clocks and ancient elegant bronzes, chairs made for relaxing positioned in front of the flames, the leather invitingly soft.

The air carried the familiar scent of old paper, beeswax, and cigar smoke. Tears burned hot in my eyes—this place smelled exactly like my father’s old study.

Like home.

We passed a fantastical conservatory overflowing with roses and lemon trees, the sweet scent of citrus blossoms heavy in the air, and white marble bathing chambers with steaming, deep copper tubs where warm, fluffy towels and shelves of fragrant oils waited to be used.

Nico’s hand trembled when he pushed open the final door, revealing a vaulted bedroom of pure, sensual indulgence. The bed was big enough for ten people, covered in embroidered velvet so rich, it absorbed all the light, layered with mountains of down pillows. A dressing table with a gilt mirror took up half a wall and a long writing desk the other half, stacks of gold-embossed books waiting to be read.

Every last detail bore the quiet weight of thoughtful selection—hand-knotted tapestries, rich, detailed paintings, centuries-old manuscripts, carved furniture polished to a mirror shine—every last detail chosen specifically… for me.

Wracked by shivers, I pulled in a shaky breath and turned to Nico, shifting his weight back and forth on his feet.

“You did all this for me?” I asked softly, my chest tight, not trusting my own voice. “It’s too much, Nico. Far too much.”

“Last time was… not a mistake exactly, but I was rough, and you deserve so much more, Emberline.” He shut his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, his gaze was clear.

Focused.

“I was wrong about you. You are no princess.” He carefully tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, tracing his fingers down the side of my throat to press the flat of his palm over my thudding heart. “You are a queen, and you deserve to be treated like one. I’m a Draconi soldier, Emberline. I’m not a mafia Don or a Dominico heir. Out in the real world, I have nothing to offer you, except my name. And that…” He shook his head. “The name I was born with is a blight on the world, and the other I bear… well, Draconi is a designation, not a name.”

“Nico, you don’t have to…”

“Let me finish. In here, I can give you the world. Anything you want. So… I understand if your feelings have changed, I understand if you’ll never look at me the same way, but this is yours, no matter what. A place to keep you safe, where the nightmares can’t find you.”

His words settled into places I didn’t think could hurt.

But they did hurt—not for me, but for him.

For the boy who had to die in order to live. For the son who never knew what it was like to have a father who loved him. For the male who wore a smirk to hide the pain etched into him with fists and cruelty.