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“I don’t care about any of that. To me, there is only Cora. Everyone else and everything else is meaningless. There’s only her.”

My heart fluttered so violently, I felt it would burst from my chest.

An incredulous laugh escaped Basilio as he watched Zeno hold out a hand to me. “You’re actually serious, aren’t you?”

Once he had helped me up, Zeno glanced over his shoulder and replied, “Of course. When it comes to her, I always am.”

Basilio’s voice took on a hint of panic. For the first time, he addressed me. “I’ll pay you, Cora. However much Zeno is paying you, I’ll double it.” Zeno pulled me gently but firmly past Basilio, who continued to speak to me rapid fire. “You don’t understand what you’re doing to the Medici name, what you’re doing to my cousin. How could you? How could a commoner understand what a travesty this union is?”

When Zeno threw open the door, Basilio’s voice was quickly eclipsed by the mass that had aggregated around the small room. Zeno squared his shoulders and pushed through the crowd roughly, eyes fixed on the exit across the ballroom.

I was surrounded by horrified gasps and whispers of confusion.

“We’re done here,” he announced, not stopping. “Everyone go home.”

The people around us got even louder. Although I could pick out some sentences, the voices and sentiments overlapped. Finally, Serafina emerged from among them, burning even brighter than before, and blocked our path.

“What do you mean, go home?” she exclaimed. “Are you seriously going to kick us out—all of us—after we’ve gone out of our way to come to this farce?”

Zeno glowered at her. “It seems,” he sneered, “you’ve retained some basic comprehension skills. Congratulations. Now move aside.”

She didn’t move but directed her yelling elsewhere. “What is the meaning of this, Basilio? You told me Zeno was going to takemeas abeniaminaonce he talked to you!”

The crowd, now an aggregate of cursing, gasping, and laughing, quickly enveloped the interloper. Basilio shoved in beside Zeno. “I—I didn’t realize just how senseless he’d be.”

“You made a fool of me! You lethimmake a fool of me again!” Hot, fat tears rolled down Serafina’s face, which was now contorted beyond recognition. She addressed me for the first time, jabbing her finger in front of my nose. “You! What makes you think you’re better than me?”

I didn’t respond. My surroundings felt far away, and it seemed like I was watching everything unfold around me on a screen.

“Can’t you talk?” she demanded. “What do you even want with Zeno?”

My chest felt tightened and I broke out into a cold sweat. I could see and feel the blood vessels in my eyes pulsing, my fingers going numb. I knew what was coming.

So I ran. I shoved through people, ignoring all the yelps and protests. Darkness and dizziness creeped into my vision, a familiar sense of dread clawing at my rib cage.

“Please, I can’t—”

Someone stepped on the train of my dress, which tore off in a clump behind me. The final word,breathe, was cut off when my chin hit the floor.

I vaguely heard peals of laughter beyond the ringing in my ears. Once I felt blood rush from my split lips, it was too late—my breath escaped me entirely. I gasped hard, but my breath was shallow. I tried again with the same result, over and over, until I was hyperventilating. I curled up into a ball on the tile.

“Everyone out!” Zeno roared.

A pair of powerful hands reached under me and scooped me into the air. My body fell limp into his arms, and then everything washed away.

Chapter 29: E lucevan le stelle

“Breathe in, two-three-four, hold, two-three-four, out, two-three-four . . .”

Despite how the words blurred behind the screen of screaming in my ears, an instinctual response began. It took several seconds and several attempts, but my breathing evened and slowed. The tingling faded from my fingers, and I could finally feel the beads between them.

One-two-three-four, inhale, turn a bead. One-two-three-four, hold my breath.

The blackness finally disintegrated, and the air felt heavy again.

“Tell me five things you can see.”

I flickered my gaze around. “The sky. Stars. Your face. My hair. The tops of trees.”