Page 36 of Reign Of Triumph
Serafina
“Move, Serafina. We’ve got to go,” Danilo says, grabbing my arm, making me drop the dish I was putting away. It smashes to the floor, but Danilo has me running through the hall. Vincenzo drags my mother with him.
“They’ve blocked the front,” Vincenzo says. “The best hope is to make it to the forest at the back.”
“You have to leave me. I won’t make it. Take my Fi and go,” my mother says, pleading with Vincenzo.
“No! I won’t leave without you,” I cry out. I grab my mother’s hand. “We go together.”
“Figlia mia, I will slow you down,” she says.
“Stop! We don’t have time for this,” Danilo shouts. He looks to Vincenzo. “Out the side, around to the shed, then we make a run for the tree line.”
Vincenzo agrees.
Danilo takes hold of my hand and leads me to the side of the house. I hear gunshots, and they’re getting closer to the house. We have to get out of here. First, it’s Danilo and me, while Vincenzo covers us, then Mom and Vincenzo follow much more slowly behind us. This gives us cover, but the shouting voices are getting closer, and that means we need to make a run for it.
Danilo and I hit the edge of the trees when bullets come flying in our direction. We’ve been spotted. I’m shouting and urging Mom to hurry when I see her fall. Without a thought, Vincenzo hauls her over his shoulder and continues to run while Danilo holds them off.
Danilo leads us deep into the trees until we reach a rustic cabin that I didn’t even know was on the property. We go inside, and Vincenzo lays my mother down on the rug. The cabin is so small that we huddle together while Danilo and Vincenzo barricade us in with the few pieces of furniture. I sit by my mother and see that she didn’t trip. She’s been shot.
“Oh my God!” I gasp. “Mom!”
Danilo grasps me by the shoulders and whips me around. “You need to stay quiet. They can’t find us. If they do, we’re all dead.”
“Mom—”
“Vincenzo will do all he can, and we’ll get her help as soon as possible,” he responds. “Go help him. But be quiet. Okay?”
“Okay.” I need to get ahold of myself.
“Hold this right here, Serafina,” Vincenza says in a suppressed voice. He places my hands on Mom’s stomach as he moves around, opening drawers and coming back with a blanket to put over her. He takes off his light jacket and rolls it to put under her head.
Mom covers my hand with her own. “It’s fine, Fi. It’s going to be all right,” she whispers. “I’m tired of being here without my Egidio. I miss him so much.”
“Don’t say that. I need you with me. I can’t do this alone,” I say. “You’re going to be okay. Help is coming.”
“You’re not alone, cara. You have Eros. He loves you. He may not say it in words, but I feel it in my heart,” Mom says, her voice fading, her breathing becoming shallower.
“Please, Mom. Please,” I beg her.
“They’re coming,” Danilo exclaims, raising his gun and taking aim out of the small window to one side, while Vincenzo does the same on the other side. The air is so thick, and then suddenly, everything is quiet.
It all happens at once. Mom’s hand drops, letting me go, her eyes close, and she breathes her last breath. Meanwhile, Eros calls my name from outside. Danilo begins to move the obstacles barricading us in while Vincenzo helps us.
I’m caught between wanting to run into Eros’s arms and not wanting to let go of my mother. Eros makes the decision. His arms envelop me as he sits on the floor and pulls me onto his lap.
I bury my face in his neck. “She’s gone. Mom’s gone.”
Eros
I’ve lost three men. Families have lost their sons, husbands, and fathers. I’m used to enduring the pain of loss. I mourned the death of my sister. Men I grew close to in battle have died beside me, and it gutted me to see it all happen before my eyes. But nothing compares to the pain I’m feeling in this moment, listening to the agonizing tears that Serafina is shedding for her mother.
While I carry Serafina back to the house, Danilo picks up Vera and carries her body behind us. Along the way, we pass the bodies of the enemy that have been gunned down. Nero has already started the cleanup, and when he sees Vera limp in Danilo’s arms, he knows that she’s gone. Serafina is too far gone with grief to notice what’s happening around us.
“Call my mother,” I say as we walk past Nero, then continue on to the house. I take Serafina to our room and sit in the armchair near the window, keeping her on my lap. Her tears seem endless. They could fill an ocean.
“Sh-she’s gone. Mom’s gone. What am I going to do?” she sputters through her crying.
