Page 27 of Massimo

Unease creeps through me as I run through every interaction I've had with Nova.

Last night, I didn't tell her to put my jacket on and use it for warmth. When I had brought her water, I only tossed it at her. And I never explicitly told her to eat; I'm not sure if Jerome or Gabe ever did, either.

Because that's usually implied when someone brings you food, even if you're a captive.

I shift as my unease grows into dread and horror that I've been so fucking wrong this whole time.

When I shift, my shoes scuff the stone floor, and the noise makes Nova lift her head. She's so pale. She tries to push away.

No, I realize she's trying to push up, to stand.

Jerome looks at me over his shoulder but grabs her when she nearly falls. "Easy, Miss Nova, just rest."

She shakes her head and her limp hair tangles around her face. "Rather… Feet."

Alarm courses through me. She's been down here for three days without eating. But how long has it been since she ate before?

And she's hardly slept, yet she's strong enough to try to stand with Jerome's help.

Her body shakes, and her eyes are unfocused. "Always face a monster… On…your feet."

My entire body jerks.

Her soft brown eyes land on me, but I don't think she sees me. She's battling cold, exhaustion, dehydration, and starvation from the looks of it.

If she hasn't eaten for more than three days… With how small she is, the threshold for it severely affecting her would be magnified.

"Nova… Why haven't you eaten anything?" I ask, somehow knowing the answer, but I need to hear it from her.

"You didn't tell me I could." Her eyes shift, becoming more unfocused, like she's seeing something only she can see. She shudders. "Lessons. So many hard-learned lessons." A tear trails down her cheek. "I learned…" Her head swings, looking around. "In a room similar to this." She shakes, and her head falls forward. "It…was…much colder."

Jerome makes a noise of distress as he holds her steady. "Your father?"

"Mancini," she hisses. "The snake that Massimo hates." She looks at Jerome. "Massimo… Hates me, too. Thinks I'm strong… Hiding. I am hiding. But I can't fight."

Her head lolls to me as a another tear trails down her cheek. "Don't fight the monsters, princess. Because the monsters always win."

I catch her as she collapses into unconsciousness.

Chapter 14

Massimo

IcradleNova'ssmallbody in my arms.

I've been so wrong, even though I've been right.

Novawashiding herself from me, but not for the reasons I thought. She was hiding her true self to protect herself from a monster.

If I had only handled this differently from the start, instead of assuming she deserved my hate and was the image of her father… Instead of being so monstrously gleeful that I had a Mancini—any Mancini—to pay for the sins against my family…

Don't fight the monsters, princess. Because the monsters always win.

Did her father tell her that? Was that one of the 'so many hard-learned lessons'she'd been forced to learn?

In all the whispers about the Mancini Princess, there was never anything about abuse. But that's just like Mancini—it would tarnish his projected image of her as the perfect princess custom-made for the mafia world.

She's unconscious and shaking. I wrap myself around her, trying to give her my warmth. I don't deserve to hold her in my arms, not after acting like a beast. But if anyone tried to take her from me at this moment, I know I'd rip them to shreds.

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