Chapter 4: A Hole Where Her Heart Was

He fell asleep at midnight with his shoes on, and I was waiting for him inside it.

One moment there was the black ceiling of the castle bedroom, and the next I was standing in my own front hall.

It was the hall of the Duranti estate, with every light out and the sky gray behind the windows.

Alessio stood at the foot of the stairs in his overcoat. He was looking at me.

For the first time since I died, someone was looking at me.

"Rosalia," he said. He started toward me with his arms open. "I am home. I am sorry. I am home."

I stepped back.

I stepped back again, and he came on, and I kept backing away until my shoulders touched the wall.

"Do not touch me," I said.

He stopped.

My voice sounded loud and strange in the empty hall. It was the first time anyone had heard it.

"You can hear me," I said.

"Of course I can hear you." He held out both hands. "What happened to your dress?"

I looked down.

There was a hole in the front of it, just under the left breast. The edges were black, and the blood had dried a long time ago.

He stared at it. His face changed.

"No," he said. "No, that is not real."

"Where were you last night?"

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