Page 55 of Heir of Darkness

For twenty-four hoursLuna had been unable to take her eyes off the ring that still sat in the little black box. It stared back at her, glittering when the light hit it. She hadn’t even bothered to take it out, too afraid it would somehow slip onto her ring finger as if it had some kind of magical powers.

Actually, maybe it did. The moment she put it on, it transformed her from Luna Kingsley to Luna (almost) Vitali. The thought sent a nauseous wave over her.

“It’s not going to disappear if you keep glaring at it,” Blair told her.

“I’m not glaring at it,” she said. “I’m just looking.”

“That’s all you’ve been doing. Do you not like it or something?” Cecilia asked. “I think Valerio would be willing to buy you another one if you wanted.”

Luna shook her head and closed the box. They were waiting for Gianna to get there, all wanting to take advantage of Valerio driving Luna to school. She hoped he didn’t mind the additional guests on their ride. It had been raining all night and had yet to stop, so the ground was covered in mud and none of the girls felt like going to class soaking wet.

“The ring is beautiful, magnificent. I mean, the diamond is huge. Who wouldn’t want it?” Luna said.

“Then what’s the problem?” Blair asked.

“The moment I put this ring on, everyone knows I am engaged. It’s like a flag is getting waved and that’s all anyone will know about me when they look at me,” Luna huffed.

“Why does that bother you so much?” Cecilia asked. “I’m sure everyone already knows you guys are engaged. I mean, news spreads like wildfire on campus.”

“Not to mention you signed the contract yourself. You had to have known this was coming,” Blair said.

They were both right. Of course they were. “I know.” Luna sighed. “But we just had our first real date. It’s like we’re skipping a million steps and rushing into marriage when we should be getting to know each other.”

Before either of them could respond, the door opened, and a huffing Gianna entered, shaking off her umbrella. “Your fiancé is an asshole. He parked across the street, claiming he couldn’t get into the garage, so I had to walk in the rain.”

“That sounds like a legit problem,” Luna said.

“Well it would be if he hadn’t driven into the garage as soon as I got out,” Gianna said, crossing her arms. “I don’t understand how I’m related to that freak.”

“Hey, that’s Luna’s future husband you’re talking about,” Cecilia said, laughing, only to stop when Luna shot her a glare.

“Can we stop using those types of words?” she asked.

“What’s the issue?” Gianna asked. “Was the date bad?”

“No,” Luna said, keeping it short. Her mind flashed the images of that date. It wasn’t bad at all.

“He gave herthering,” Blair said.

“What?” Gianna screeched. “Let me see!”

She extended it to her, watching as Gianna opened it in a hurry. “Now this is a ring,” she said, her eyes practically glowing. She took it out of the box, going to put it on her finger.

Luna snatched it from her. “You can’t put it on.”

“Why? You won’t,” Gianna said. “I want to see how a rock that size would look on my finger.”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s my ring,” she said, placing it back into the box and closing it.

“Oh, so now you want it.” Blair gave a pointed stare.

“Just because I’m hesitant to wear it doesn’t mean it doesn’t belong to me now,” Luna told her, crossing her arms.

“Well, the date must have been really good since he gave you his mother’s ring,” Gianna said. “She kept it on lock and key when she was still alive, never wanting Cesare to get his hands on it.”

Luna’s eyes widened. “This is his mother’s ring?”

“Not her wedding ring. It was passed down from her grandfather, so Valerio’s great-great grandfather,” Gianna said.

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