Born in Blood Collection Volume 1 - Cora Reilly Page 0,230

day and all the blood I’d seen.

I glared at my reflection. Mother had chosen the dress for me because I’d refused to go shopping with her for my engagement party. It was a surprisingly nice dress, which didn’t make me look like a tramp. I still shuddered when I remembered the slutty dress they’d chosen for Aria when she’d gotten engaged to Luca.

My dress was dark green, my favorite color. I was surprised Mother knew that much about me, or maybe Lily had helped secretly. The skirt was flared and reached my knees. Definitely modest. Maybe Father thought I was bad girl enough and didn’t need a slutty outfit to emphasize that further.

“I don’t know why they bother,” I said. “They know I don’t want to celebrate my engagement to Matteo. I don’t want to marry him.”

“It’s tradition.”

Lily was wringing her hands nervously in her lap. Pushing my own feelings aside, I walked toward her and sat down. She didn’t even look up but her lower lip was trembling.

“Hey, are you okay?”

She gave a small shake of her head. “I know it’s stupid but I’m kind of scared.”

“Of Luca, Matteo, and Romero?”

“I’m sorry.”

I wrapped my arm around her. “Why are you apologizing? It’s perfectly natural for you to be afraid of them after what you saw in September.”

She shuddered. “I can’t get it out of my head. I dream about it almost every night.”

Two months since that day, and almost every night she woke me with her screams before she slipped into my bed. “They would never hurt you, Lily. We are girls, they will always want to protect us from harm.” It was laughable that I was singing their praises, but I would have done anything to calm Lily down.

“I know.” She took a deep breath. “I hope I don’t freak out like last time. Father would be so mad if I made a scene.”

I kissed her cheek. “You won’t. I’ll be at your side. And Aria will be there too. Everything will be okay.”

Someone knocked at the door but before I could reply, Fabi poked his head in, his eyes darting between Lily and me. “Are you having a girl talk?”

“Yes,” Lily said at the same time as I said, “No.”

Fabi narrowed his eyes and slipped into the room. He looked too cute in his tuxedo. “Father sent me to tell you everyone’s waiting.” He straightened his shoulders, his little chin lifting a little higher. Fabi had turned ten a couple of days ago and in a few years, he would already start his initiation process. I was glad that I probably wouldn’t get the chance to see my sweet, good-natured brother become a killer.

“You ready?” I asked Lily, who nodded quickly but her eyes told a different story. I understood her only too well.

Fabi tugged at his collar, which looked tight even from afar. “Lily is supposed to come with me, so you can enter alone.”

Lily stiffened beside me. She had clung to me when we’d first stepped foot into the mansion this morning. I wasn’t sure why Luca and Matteo had insisted on celebrating in New York, and worse in the very place where Lily had seen Romero and Matteo torture a Russian, but it was too late now. So far we’d managed to avoid them all. I hadn’t even seen Aria yet.

“No. I don’t care what Father wants. Lily and I will go down together.”

Fabi gnawed on his lip. “Father will be angry.”

I stood, pulling Lily with me. “He’ll get over it.” He wouldn’t make a scene in front of New York. He’d wait with his punishment until we were back in Chicago. Lily, Fabi, and I headed downstairs together and Lily’s grip on my hand tightened with every step we took. As we passed the front hall her eyes darted to the back where the entrance to the basement was. She shivered. Voices were coming from the living room and we headed toward the door, our shoes clicking on the marble floor; a floor that had been slick with blood two months ago. I tried to forget what I’d seen that day. I needed to focus on today if I didn’t want things to end badly.

It wasn’t a big celebration, but the most important members of the New York Famiglia and the Outfit had been invited. I was determined to be on my best behavior today. I didn’t want Father to think I was thinking of ways to escape and up the number of