Starling (90 page)

the technique Seraphina had taught her.

Falco paced back and forth, awaiting his own tray of hard bread
and sour ale. His eyes were bloody and swollen, but his head turned
to follow the guard’s every move. Cass knew he was also thinking
about escaping. She was just glad to see him up and walking around.
There would be no way they could run away if she had to carry him.

When the guard left, Cass and Falco huddled close on either side
of their bars as they ate. Cass ripped her stale bread into small pieces
and consumed every last bite. She was so hungry, the guard could’ve
given her a bowl of dirt and she probably would have choked it
down. The ale tasted better today too.

“We’re going to get out of here,” Cass said. “You know that,
right?”
Falco nodded as he swallowed hard. “Either that or we’re going
to die trying.”
They finished their food and sat there, together. Neither of them
spoke. They didn’t need to. As much as Cass wished Falco had not
been captured while looking for her, she couldn’t deny she felt stronger with him than she would have felt if she’d been alone.
When the guard came to take their empty trays, Piero was with
him. “Just checking to make sure both of you are all right,” he said.
“Bella was worried you might try to kill yourselves in the night.”
“Perhaps you should kill
yourself,
Piero,” Falco said. “Before
Bella does it for you. She’ll dispense with you the moment you’re no
longer useful.”
Piero ignored him. He stood with his arms crossed as the guard
retrieved Falco’s tray.
“Where is Belladonna today?” the guard asked as he secured
Falco’s cell with the padlock.
“She’s attending a function at Palazzo Domacetti.” Piero rolled
his eyes as if he couldn’t imagine anything less worthwhile. “Certain
elements
of the populace have taken to linking Bella’s name to Joseph Dubois, and now that he’s been accused of corruption and conspiracy, she’s trying to make certain the city knows they are not
working together.” He turned to leave.
“No one will believe that,” Cass said. “The truth will come out
eventually.”
Piero paused, resting one hand on the door frame. Then he spun
around. “Signorina Cassandra,” he said. “The truth is, now that the
new spiders are waiting for me down at the quay, tomorrow it will be
your turn to donate to the Order’s noble cause.” He leaned back
against the wall, his curtain of dark hair falling back from his face.
“Would you like me to bring them by for a visit after I retrieve them?
I remember how much you like spiders.”
“Vile little beasts,” Cass spat. “Just like you.”
Piero smiled. “I’ll spend the rest of today extracting their venom.
But I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow, and then we’ll finally be
able to make more working elixir.” He approached the front of her
cell, and Cass stepped back out of his reach. He leaned close, so close
she could smell the metallic scent of blood on him. “I wonder how
much I can draw from you without stopping your frail little heart.”
Falco viciously kicked the bars of his cage. “If you touch her, I
will kill you.”
Piero arched an eyebrow at Falco. “Is that so? You don’t even look
like you could swing a fist right now. Are you planning on
painting
me to death?”