Carpathian 00 - The Scarletti Curse

Giovanni's voice brushed seductively at the walls of her mind, turning her heart over. It was frightening how he could do that. It was not simply his voice that disturbed her in her mind, although that was intimate and comforting at times. It was also the way he could so easily melt her bones and heat her blood and make her feel things she was terrified of feeling.
    He made her vulnerable and out of control. Nicoletta twisted her fingers together nervously. His voice came again, inviting laughter this time. Are they teasing you about our wedding night? Deliberately trying to frighten you with the details? You are safe with me, cara, completely safe.
    Was she safe with him? Would she ever be safe again once she was tied to him? Nicoletta didn't know.
    She could feel only the terrible dread in her heart, the foreboding, the sense of something malevolent crouching in wait like the gargoyles perched atop the palazzo. Waiting. Watching. Biding their time.
    "Nicoletta, you have gone very pale," Maria Pia said. "Are you ill, bambina?"
    Before Nicoletta could voice her fears, Ketsia rushed over to her, arms filled with crowns of flowers for the young women to don. "You look so beautiful, Nicoletta, the most beautiful bride ever!"
    Nicoletta managed a small smile as she looked at the child. Ketsia's face was filled with joy and excitement, her eyes sparkling in anticipation. The women were all in their finest gowns, clean and fresh with flowers in their hair. Ketsia flung out her arms in her exuberance. "Everyone is so beautiful today."
    Nicoletta's smile touched her eyes. Who could resist Ketsia's genuine joy?
    Ketsia touched the wedding gown timidly. She had never seen anything like it. "You look like a princess, Nicoletta," she said in awe.
    Nicoletta held up the long skirts of her dress to reveal her bare feet. "I have forgotten something important." Her delicate eyebrow arched, and her long lashes fluttered. "Do you think you could help me find my sandals?"

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    Ketsia giggled, her young voice lifting Nicoletta's spirits considerably. "You have beautiful shoes now, Nicoletta. You must wear them when you are wed to the Don."
    "I was thinking that my gown is long enough that no one will know I am barefoot, Ketsia."
    Ketsia shook her head decisively. "Don Scarletti will know. He told Sophie and me to make certain you remembered your shoes. I think he will inspect to make sure they are on your feet."
    Nicoletta did her best to look serious. "So you think it will be of great importance to him?"
    "Oh, yes, Nicoletta. The don pays attention to every detail. He would surely notice."
    Nicoletta wanted the comfort of Giovanni's voice. It made her uneasy that she needed to hear him, to feel his touch brushing at the walls of her mind.
    Maria Pia was watching her closely. Nicoletta made an effort to smile at her, to hide the uneasy feeling that once again gripped her. She glanced up at the sky, at the dark clouds drifting in from the sea, at the trees swaying gently in the breeze. Suddenly she froze, her heart nearly stopping as she spotted the raven sitting high in the branches some distance away, its round, beady eyes watching her. Sunlight gleamed off the shiny feathers of its back, and when it saw it had her attention, it opened its beak and uttered a single squawk of warning.
    Nicoletta's heart began to beat hard and fast. She had known, without the presence of the bird, that trouble was looming over her, a dark, sinister premonition she couldn't overcome. No matter how hard she tried to join in the merriment surrounding her, that shadow deep within her portended danger.
    "He is coming, he is coming!" The announcement resounded from every corner of the villaggio. "Don Scarletti is coming!"
    Laughter and voices were raised all around Nicoletta, a panic of excitement. The villagers rushed from all directions to join the wedding party as it began to make its way toward the cathedral.
    Maria Pia gasped and tugged at Nicoletta's arm. "Presto bambina! He cannot see you. It is bad luck."
    She quickly crossed herself and blessed Nicoletta before dragging her toward the covered coach that would transport them to the cathedral.
    Ketsia ran beside them. "Her shoes, Signorina Sigmora! She must have her shoes!"
    "I have them, Ketsia," Maria Pia reassured the girl. "I was taking no chances this time. You look quite wonderful today in your new gown."
    Nicoletta really