Page 98 of A Madness of Crows

“What the hell wasthat?”

I breathe in as shouts come from the corridor. Someone pounds on the door, the sound of feet running. My hands grip his arm. “They’re here.”

They came. And if they came—

“He did it.” I stare at Stefano, my eyes prickling. “Luc. He got her out.”

Because that is the only reason they would risk a direct assault.

Stefan glances over my shoulder. “He’s starting to come around.”

“Good.” He watches as I use a steak knife to tear a part of the burning tablecloth into strips, binding Salvatore’s hands behind the chair. I stuff another chunk into his mouth. “I want him awake.”

Understanding lingers there. Fury, too, as he watches his uncle. “So then, Caterina Corvo. Orders?”

My lips twitch, even I focus on our current situation, thinking it through. “Iliana and the girls downstairs are the priority. Staff, too. Our side might not know they’re there. How many men are here?”

His eyes flare. “Around two hundred. My mother is safest in her room until it’s over. This is going to be messy, Cat.”

My heart twists at that. I hope they brought the fucking cavalry. “Weapons, then.”

He nods. “They took mine, but there’s a storeroom down the hall. I’ll break in.”

Nodding, I turn back to Salvatore. “Take your time.”

“Bar the door behind me.” He nods. “There might be a few outside.”

And we have no weapons. I glance down to the steak knife on the table, the bloodied shards of mirror. “Then we’re making do.”

It feels good to hold a knife again, even if it’s nothing close to the sets I used to wear. I snag two, one for each hand as Stefano moves to the door.

At my nod, he pulls it open.

Only one. He rushes in with panicked eyes. “Sir. There’s an attack…,”

His voice trails off as he gets a look at the scene around us, and I throw the knife in my hand without thought. Exhilaration sings in my blood at the sensation.

Fucking hell.

Don’t get too excited, Caterina.

Stefano rubs a hand over his face as the guard stumbles back. He wraps an arm around his throat, tightening as they struggle until the man’s legs stop kicking.

Stefan drops him, his eyebrows dipping. “That’s asteak knife. It’s not sharp enough—,”

“I get it,” I hiss back at him. “I just – it’s been a while.”

Stabbing will work just as well, even if it doesn’t quite feel the same. I glance down at the jagged edge with a new thought as Stefan crosses to the door. “I’ll be back.”

I push the door closed behind him, dragging a chair and jamming it beneath the handle to slow anyone trying to enter.

And then I turn back to my husband. On the floor beside him, Cecile still gurgles, her labored, rapid breathing signaling that she’s running out of time.

Salvatore looks more aware now, at least. Ice blue eyes glare at me, his face still slack.

Adrenaline surges, pumping my blood with fizzing exhilaration.

It ends tonight.