Page 64 of Fire and Silk
Mico’s mouth parts. No words come for a second. The disbelief carves straight through him. He shakes his head like maybe she’s speaking in a dream.
I almost laugh, but I don’t. I tuck it away, where it sweetens the edge of my grin.
Mico finds his voice, but it frays on the edges. “You can’t be serious. He’s playing you. Lira, hetookyou. You almost died in his house. You think this means anything to him?”
“I just want to hear him out,” she repeats.
Her voice is softer, but not unsure.
I smile and extend my hand to her, open and steady.
“It would be my honor to show you all you can be.”
Mico steps toward her, hand reaching as if he could still pull her back.
But Matteo is already moving.
He steps between them before Mico can reach her. No flourish. No threat. Just presence.
Mico freezes.
His eyes burn through me. If fury were a blade, I’d be bled through the ribs.
I don’t blink.
I turn to her again.
“Come with me,” I say.
Lira stands there, caught in the breath between decision and regret. Her eyes bounce more between the two of us.
She turns to Mico. He doesn’t speak . He only looks at her like the ground beneath his feet has turned to glass.
Her voice is barely audible, more breath than sound. “I just want to hear him out.”
Then she turns back to me.
My hand is still out.
She takes it.
Her fingers are cold.
Her grip is light.
But she doesn’t let go.
And I don’t stop smiling.
Chapter Eleven - Lira
Dantès Estate, Outer Gardens
His hand is warm when I take it.
Firmer than I expected. Not demanding. Not soft. Just… there. Waiting.
Behind me, I hear Mico calling out again. His voice carries across the courtyard—low, urgent, unraveling. “Lira, please. You don’t have to do this.”
