Rain poured down harder, hammering the broken yard like war drums. Romano's men froze at the sudden intrusion, guns raised but hands uncertain. No one had expected her.
Aria stood in the headlights of the car, rain soaking through her dress, hair plastered to her cheeks. Her grip on the gun shook, but her eyes blazed like fire. She didn't look like a frightened wife. She looked like a storm given flesh.
Romano laughed, clapping his hands slowly, mockingly. "Oh, this is beautiful. The queen comes to join the king on his knees."
His men chuckled, weapons still aimed at Luca's surviving soldiers. Some shifted uneasily, none wanted to be the first to pull the trigger with Romano watching.
Aria's heart hammered so loud she thought they could hear it. She could see Luca in the mud, pale, blood streaming down his chest. Enzo knelt beside him, pressing down hard, his face twisted in desperation.
Her throat tightened. He's dying.
She raised the gun higher, forcing her hands steady. "Get away from him."
Romano tilted his head, amused. "And if we don't? You'll shoot? Little Aria with her shaking hands?"
The men laughed again, but Aria's eyes didn't waver. Her whole body trembled, not from fear but from rage. "Try me."
For the first time, Romano's smile faltered. A small flicker of curiosity lit his face.
"Then do it," he said softly, stepping closer. His chest bared itself as a challenge. "Shoot me, Aria. End this war. Prove you're not just his pretty doll."
The gun trembled. Her finger hovered over the trigger.
Luca coughed, blood spilling from his lips. His eyes opened just enough to see her, and his broken whisper reached her ears even through the storm. "Don't…"
Her chest cracked open. She wanted to run to him, to cradle his face, to stop the bleeding. But Romano stood between them, grinning, daring her.
"Shoot," Romano urged. "Or drop the gun and kneel. Either way, you lose."
The circle of soldiers tightened. The rain hissed on metal, boots splashing closer.
Aria's vision blurred with tears. The world felt too heavy. Romano was right, her hands weren't made for guns. But she thought of the twins. She thought of Luca dying alone in the dirt.
And something inside her broke.
She pulled the trigger.
The gunshot cracked like lightning, louder than the storm. One of Romano's men screamed and dropped, clutching his shoulder. Blood sprayed the mud.
Silence fell for half a heartbeat.
Then chaos.
Romano's grin twisted into fury. "Kill her!"
Guns roared. Bullets tore through the air. Aria dove behind the hood of her car, heart pounding, the gun hot in her hand. She fired blindly back, each shot echoing in her bones.
Enzo dragged Luca further into cover, screaming orders. De Rossi men returned fire with the last of their strength. The yard became a hell of smoke, sparks, and screams.
Aria gasped, clutching the gun so tight her knuckles turned white. She peeked out just long enough to see Romano striding toward her through the storm, untouched, like death itself.
"You should've stayed in your castle," he shouted over the thunder. "Now you'll die with him!"
She aimed, fired again. The bullet grazed his arm. He barely flinched, laughing. "Good. That fire suits you."
Luca's world faded in and out. Pain dragged him under, but every time he closed his eyes he forced them open again—because he could see her.
Aria.
Fighting.
Standing in the storm with a gun in her hand.
His lips formed her name, though no sound came out. His queen. His light. And she was about to be swallowed by the dark.
He tried to rise, but his body refused. Blood gushed faster. His strength was bleeding into the mud.
Still, his mind screamed the same thing over and over: Don't let Romano touch her. Don't let her die.
Aria fired until the gun clicked empty. Her chest heaved, her ears ringing. Hands scrambling, she tried to reload, but the magazine slipped from her wet fingers.
Romano stepped closer, his shadow looming over her. His men circled, guns aimed, ready to end it with one command.
She looked up at him, rain mixing with her tears, mud staining her knees. Her heart raced so fast she thought it might burst.
Romano crouched in front of her, close enough for her to see the hunger in his eyes. "You have spirit, I'll give you that. But spirit doesn't win wars. Power does. And I have it all."
He reached for her wrist, twisting it until the gun clattered to the ground. Pain shot up her arm, but she didn't cry out. She stared him in the eye, defiance burning in her.
Romano leaned in, his lips near her ear. "I'll take your sons. I'll bury Luca. And you… you'll kneel at my side."
Aria's whole body shook. Fear, rage, heartbreak..., it all boiled over. She spat in his face.
Romano froze, then wiped the spit slowly with the back of his hand. His smile was gone now. His voice turned to ice. "Wrong choice."
He stood, raising his gun, pointing it at her head.
Time slowed.
Luca's vision sharpened, rage pulling him from the darkness. He saw Romano aim at Aria. He saw her close her eyes, lips whispering his name.
And something inside him roared.
With the last of his strength, Luca lifted his gun from the mud. His finger pulled the trigger.
The shot rang out.
Romano's gun flew from his hand, knocked away. He stumbled back, shock flashing across his face.
Every head turned.
Luca lay in the mud, bleeding out, but his eyes burned with fire. "Don't… touch her."
Romano's shock twisted into fury. He screamed at his men, "Finish him!"
Aria lunged for the dropped gun at her feet, hands slick with rain. She raised it, standing between Luca and the storm of soldiers charging forward.
Her heart pounded. Her hands shook. But she didn't move.
She wasn't running. Not tonight.
"Come closer," she whispered. Her voice cracked, but her aim did not.
The soldiers hesitated, waiting for Romano's order.
Romano's eyes narrowed, his chest heaving with rage. He raised his arm to command the kill.
And then...
The ground shook.
A deafening explosion ripped through the yard, fire lighting the storm. Containers toppled, men thrown screaming into the mud.
Romano staggered, eyes wide in shock, as smoke swallowed the night.
Aria blinked through the fire and chaos, gun still in her hands.
From the smoke, figures emerged. Dark coats, heavy rifles, moving like ghosts.
Another army.
The balance of power shifted in one breath.
Aria's heart raced as realization struck her.
Someone else had just entered the war.