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He looks over his shoulder at me, and then he turns back to the window. He places his elbows on his knees and sighs. “Go back to sleep, amore. It’s early.”

“I will… with you back in this bed with me.”

He doesn’t say anything. I can tell that his shoulders are weighed down by the weight reality carries. I hate seeing him like this. So lost, so vulnerable… so human. This man moves like he is invincible, but for the first time, I see him falter.

The sheets pool around my waist as I reach out and press a hand against his back. His muscles tense for a split second before he exhales, relaxing just slightly beneath my touch.

“You didn’t sleep,” I murmur. It’s not a question. I felt him stirring the entire night.

Matteo turns his head slightly, but not enough for me to see his face. “I got enough sleep to make it through the day.”

I hesitate, then run my fingers lightly along his spine. “Talk to me.”

A bitter laugh escapes his lips, but it lacks humor. “You want me to tell you that everything will be fine?” He finally turns to look at me, his dark eyes filled with something unreadable. “Because I won’t lie to you, amore mio. This war? It’s going to be brutal, and there is a chance that we won’t make it out the other side.”

A shiver runs down my spine.

I swallow, pushing past the unease curling in my stomach. “Whatever’s coming—I want to face it with you. I want to help. I know that I can’t do much, but I want to be able to ease this burden you have chosen to carry on your own.”

Matteo’s expression shifts, something dangerous flashing in his gaze. “All you need to do is stay alive.”

I sit up straighter. “You don’t get to shut me out of this war. Not when it’s coming for both of us.”

His jaw tightens. “Maria?—”

“No,” I cut him off. “I’m done being kept in the dark. I’m done being the woman who sits at home, waiting to see if her husband will come back in one piece.” I meet his gaze, unwavering. “Giacomo is coming after me. He wants to end my life, and that makes me a part of this. And as a part of this, it means I get to play a role in how we both save my life.”

Matteo watches me carefully, his silence heavy.

Then, finally, he exhales, dragging a hand through his hair. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, Maria.”

“I don’t care.”

His dark eyes burn into mine, filled with something raw, something lethal.

“If I let you get too close, you could die. And if that happens—everything I’m fighting for would mean nothing.”

“And if you go into this alone, you will die. So if you’re stepping into the line of fire—I’m stepping with you.”

“I can’t lose you, Maria.”

“Then don’t make me watch you walk into hell without me. Because losing you would destroy me just the same.”

Matteo studies me for a long moment, his sharp eyes scanning my face as if searching for hesitation, for fear. But he won’t find either. I have already made up my mind. I know what I want, and I know who I want.

Finally, he exhales, running a hand down his face before he leans back against the headboard. His movements are slow, deliberate, and controlled, except for his hands. His fingers twitch slightly, like they want to curl into fists, but he’s forcing himself to stay composed.

“There are ways and laws of how war is fought in this world. Giacomo knows that he can’t just outright come and start a war with me. There needs to be grounds for it, or else the rest of the families will see him as a radical and look to try and end him.”

This is all news to me.

“What he has done is grounds for me to retaliate. He came after you, and he has been deep within my territory,” he says, his voice quieter now but no less dangerous. “The other families are waiting to see how it all unfolds. Some will side with us—the ones who know that Giacomo is a psychotic bastard. Some won’t—those who want to see my empire crumble to the ground.”

“And what happens if they don’t choose a side and allow Giacomo to keep running a rampage?” I ask.

Matteo’s jaw tightens. “Then the city will burn, and it could all be reduced to nothing but ash.”

A cold chill runs through me, but I refuse to let it show. “And Daniele?”