The storm had passed, leaving behind a strange quiet that clung to the city like mist.
From the balcony, Alessia gripped the cold railing, her heart still pounding.
The fire below had been extinguished, leaving trails of smoke curling into the violet dawn.
But what caught her breath wasn’t the ruins or the glow—it was the two figures she’d seen monts ago on the distant hill.
"Luca," she whispered, pointing. "There... look! Do you see them? A woman in white, and a man beside her... "
But when he turned, the hill was empty.
The smoke had swallowed everything.
Luca’s gaze followed her trembling hand, then returned to her face with quiet amusent. "Alessia," he murmured, brushing a loose strand of hair from her cheek. "You have been dreaming and seeing a lot of strange things lately."
"I saw them," she insisted, voice shaking. "They were real and watching us... "
He chuckled softly, that deep, velvet sound that could lt steel. "Maybe Seriona’s air is too rich for you, you start seeing ghosts before breakfast."
Her chest tightened. "Don’t mock ."
"I’m not." His tone softened, though his eyes carried a flicker of sothing unreadable. "But your daydreaming has to end, amore. You ca here to rest, to get your sanity back, rember?"
She flinched at the word sanity, though he said it tenderly. Luca reached out to her hands leading her back inside the room and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "No more ghosts, No more fire, it’s Just us."
Before she could respond, a knock echoed from the door—three slow, deliberate taps.
Luca’s brow arched. "Who could that be?"
Alessia hesitated, then moved to open it.
Standing there was a woman dressed in layers of crimson lace, her face half-veiled, eyes bright and mischievous beneath heavy lashes.
She held a cake wrapped in a red translucent veil, its scent rich with spice and honey.
"Good morning, Signora Morano," the woman said in a warm, lilting voice. "And you too, young Don Morano. I’m your neighbor from across the west garden. Call Lady Gaga though most here prefer Old Lady G."
Luca’s lips curved faintly. "Lady G, Quite an introduction."
She laughed, her jewelry clinking like wind chis. "One must make an entrance in Seriona, dear. Especially before the Veil Festival. I brought you this.... " she lifted the cake slightly " a traditional welco gift for new arrivals, Red for luck, Veiled for protection."
Alessia accepted the offering with a polite smile. "It’s beautiful... Thank you."
"My pleasure, child." Lady G’s gaze lingered on her before shifting to Luca, eyes narrowing with fond recognition. "And you... you look so much like your father. Sa eyes, sa stubborn mouth."
Luca’s expression changed for just a heartbeat, his charm dimming into sothing cooler. "You knew him?"
"Knew him?" The old woman chuckled darkly. "My dear, every stone in this city rembers Don Alessandro Morano, So with love and so with fear."
The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut.
Then, just as quickly, Lady G’s smile returned, bright and unbothered. "But that’s a story for another evening. For now, you both must attend the festival.
It’s tradition every guest in Seriona wears a veil and joins the revel. Music, masks, secrets. It keeps the city alive."
Luca inclined his head politely. "Perhaps later, My wife.... "
"Oh no, Don Morano." Lady G wagged a jeweled finger. "Not attending would offend the city’s guardians. And we wouldn’t want that, would we?" Her grin deepened, showing a flash of gold tooth. "I’ll have a carriage sent at sundown. Don’t be late."
And with that, she swept down the corridor, her red skirts trailing behind like spilled wine.
Alessia turned to Luca. "What did she an by ’guardians’?"
He exhaled slowly, gaze drifting toward the shuttered window. "Old superstition, Every city has its ghosts. Seriona simply nas hers."
She wanted to ask more, but the distant chi of bells cut through the air—the call of celebration rising from the lower quarters.
*******
By evening, Seriona had transford.
Lanterns lined every bridge and balcony, their violet flas replaced by soft gold. Musicians played along the canals, their lodies hauntingly sweet, carried by the sea breeze.
Won in veils of every color drifted through the streets like living tapestries, laughter mingling with the scent of cinnamon and salt.
Alessia stepped out of their carriage, her golden veil draped over a flowing gown that shimred like liquid sunlight.
The mont she stepped into the plaza, whispers followed.
She could feel their eyes curious, reverent, , sothing else she couldn’t na.
Luca took her hand, guiding her through the crowd. "You look like a queen," he murmured against her ear. "Seriona might crown you before the night ends."
She smiled, warmth spreading through her chest. "You say that to make forget how strange this place feels."
"Maybe," he said, eyes glinting. "Or maybe I an every word."
They reached the central square, where a stage was set for performances—dancers in veils of fla, acrobats twisting above in silken ribbons, and a chorus that sang in a language older than the city itself.
The festival pulsed with beauty and hidden nace.
Alessia sat at a reserved table near the edge of the square, surrounded by petals and soft candlelight.
For a mont, it almost felt normal.
She laughed at the dancers’ playful mimicry, sipped sweet wine, and allowed herself to believe that maybe Luca was right—that she’d been dreaming too much.
But as the night deepened, she realized he was gone.
Her gaze darted across the crowd—first calmly, then sharper. His dark coat, his familiar stance, the faint gleam of his ring—nowhere.
A ripple of unease moved through her.
She rose, lifting the edge of her gown, weaving through the crowd toward the back of the square. A waiter tried to stop her, but she brushed him off.
Then she saw her.
A woman in a long silver veil stood at the shadowed edge of the old town hall, her hand resting lightly on Luca’s chest.
The soft lantern light frad them perfectly—too intimate, too knowing.
Alessia froze.
Luca’s head was bowed, his expression unreadable.
The woman’s voice carried softly through the wind, low and tremulous.
"I fell deeply in love with you after you left..."
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