😘

The next day after the incident, Amara was sitting in the school canteen playing around with the food on her plate dejectedly. Aurora and Andrea who were seated across from her didn't comment on her mood but they kept throwing frequent glances at her.

She glanced over their shoulder to where Allister was sitting along with all the other senior boys. They all were laughing and joking amongst themselves, making Amara glare petulantly at her older cousin, the early morning admonishment from her Nonno still on her mind.

Predictably, he had been quite displeased to hear that she had injured herself for something as insignificant as a frisbee and that she had gone into the woods alone. He had even threatened to put guards around her at all times to prevent such incidents from happening again which had led Amara to plead him against following through with it.

Amara had felt really guilty after talking to him. She could hear from his voice that her Nonno was worried about her, just like he always was whenever he had to leave for his lengthy business trips. Amara already felt bad for making him worry and she was glad that her grandpa Sean didn't know about this.

But that's where Allister had come in. Her diabolic cousin had spoken to her grandma Patricia when she had called the house and told her all about how she had almost gotten lost in the woods which had led to another worried albeit stern conversation.

Amara was brought out from her musings when Serena sat down across from her.

"Hi", Serena muttered in a sullen voice to them while Amara only offered a weak smile in return.

"Is everything alright?", Aurora asked them carefully, causing Serena to glare at her.

"Off course not",she snapped. "My father returned from his business trip yesterday night and he was told about what I did, he wasn't quite happy with it", she said as a way of explanation.

"I received a call from Nonno as well", Amara admitted.

Andrea and Aurora's expressions turned sympathetic at once.

"I'm sure they must not have shouted at you both though, you are lucky. If it were your brothers who had broken some rules then they would have gone hard on them", Andrea tried to cheer them up.

Amara knew what Andrea spoke was true. Her Nonno never raised his voice while addressing her, no matter how displeased he was.

"Where are Sofia and Emma? ", she asked looking around, just realizing that the two girls were missing since the morning.

Their eyes widened slightly at her question,"Uh, you didn't know?", Aurora asked her.

Amara stared at her in bemusement, "Didn't know what?"

"Sofia is around the school somewhere, trying to hide from Valerio while Emma is serving her detention right now", she told them in a hushed tone.

"Why is she hiding from Valerio?", Amara questioned in confusion at the same time as Serena asked, "Detention?".

"Well...it's slightly our fault",Andrea spoke guiltily. "Valerio and Allister caught up with us yesterday, they questioned us about what had happened and we told them how it was Emma's idea and how they both kind of goaded you to join in as well."

"So predictably Valerio caught up with Emma this morning. Gave her a month's detention to assist the helpers in looking after the restricted zone of the lake", Aurora informed them, shuddering.

"There is a betting pool going around the boys table right now about who is going to catch up with Sofia first, Valerio or Allister", Andrea said, her voice tinged with slight disapproval.

Amara winced internally. She felt bad for them. No one liked to come on the elite boys radar, it tended to be their worst mistake.

"What are you staring at?"

Amara jumped slightly at Serena's loud voice.

She was glaring slightly at a group of older students who had been staring at their table and whispering to each other, presumably talking about something that would get them in trouble.

But they were already in trouble now. Serena's voice had been loud, carrying towards the table where all the elite boys were seated having their food. At her loud complain, their heads whipped towards Amara's table and Amara saw Valerio glare darkly at the group of the older students who at once looked away when they realized that they were under the scrutiny of the elite boys.

"They are staring because of yesterday. Everyone in the school knows about what happened, the rumour mill spread very fast. They knows that the four of you ventured in the woods alone ,got lost and were rescued by Valerio, Allister and Sebastino", Andrea explained.

Amara flushed brightly when the entire elite gang of boys turned their way again, this time with wicked humour plain on their faces.

"Oh my God. Look at their smug faces, they all look like those wolves who got the canary, I'm sure they have found a new thing to tease us about", Serena muttered, trying to hide herself.

"Wolves? Isn't it supposed to be the cat who got the canary?",Aurora asked baffled.

"Wolves cannot be tamed, can they? Just like how these boys cannot!", Serena deadpanned.

******

Amara was currently in the girls locker room having been exempted from the gym class and was busy putting away her things when she heard the low click of the locker room door being shut.

Startled, she turned around only to see Valerio standing across from her, leaning casually against the closed door.

"Hi",she murmured, not knowing how to talk to him after yesterday. She felt embarrassed for troubling him so much.

"What are you doing here? Did you not tell the coach about your injury?", he questioned her, sounding quite displeased.

"I did. He exempted me from today's routine so I was just packing away my things",she explained.

Valerio nodded, satisfied. "Is your foot alright now?", he asked her.

"Yes", Amara replied back but before Valerio could say anything else she blurted out, "I'm sorry."

Valerio frowned at her in confusion.

"Why are you apologising?".

Amara's cheeks pinked at her silliness, "I'm sorry for yesterday and for all the trouble that you probably had to go into. Damien said something about a security system and how you had to disable it and then for coming after me too", she said shyly.

Valerio stared at her intensely for a few minutes before shaking his head,"You don't need to apologise Amara. Ich werde immer für dich kommen", he said the last sentence in what she assumed was German. He always liked to tease her by saying things in languages she didn't understand.

"Yes, I do",she insisted, ignoring him,"You always help me whenever I need it."

"Amara ", he began, "You can always come to me for any help that you need at anytime. I will never hesitate to help you no matter how small the problem is ", Valerio stated sincerely.

"Infact I need you to tell me if there is any problem, even the slightest."

Amara blinked up at him in confusion.

"Promise me", he demanded suddenly.

For a reason unknown to her, Amara's heart jumped at his unexpected demand. She didn't understand why Valerio was asking her this. She didn't like troubling others with her problems.

"Why are you saying that?",she asked him in confusion.

"Just promise me. It would help me put my mind to peace."

Amara figured that Valerio was still angry about yesterday. He had been like this as long as she could remember, protective over her and always willing to help. So against her better judgment Amara nodded her head hesitantly, agreeing with his demand.

"Say it", he demanded. "Speak the words." As if speaking them out loud would somehow make them more sacred, binding.

"I promise", she whispered.

Unbeknownst to her, with these words she had sealed her fate.

*******

Amara gasped and jolted up on her bed, cold sweat tricked down the back of her neck as the heavy words continued to resound in her head.

She took deep breaths for a few minutes, trying to get a control on her racing heart. But no matter what, the strange dream kept coming back to her as if it was supposed to hold a deep meaning, the value of which she wasn't quite able to grasp.

"I'm just exhausted", she muttered to herself. Amara rubbed her eyes tiredly and checked the time on the table clock by her bedside.

"Not even midnight yet", she murmured as she got down from her bed and moved towards the the large glass windows.

She pulled the thick curtains aside and was not surprised to see more than the usual number of guards patrolling the compound gates, it had been almost two days since this new development and the reason behind it - the Giovanni and Riccardi fallout.

Amara didn't know the exact details behind what had happened, but whatever it was, it had been enough to raise red flags from both the sides.

She shook her head to get the thoughts out of it, she didn't want to think about such stressful matters. Allister and Damien had tried their best not to let the issues affect their own house atmosphere, keeping the dinner conversation light, teasing her about how Nonno and her grandpa Sean were soon going to put a detailed guard around her if she continued to keep up with her little adventures.

She was brought out from her musings when she felt her stomach growl. The dinner had been going relatively well until the boys had been called away for a very important issue which had made even Amara lose her appetite and she had called it an early night, her dinner only half finished.

She was paying the price now though as her stomach growled again. Deciding to go to the kitchen, Amara walked towards the door of her room and opened it only to jump back in surprise when she saw two guards stationed outside.

"What is going on?", Amara thought to herself nervously. Guards were not allowed to enter the family quarters at night unless it was extremely necessary, then why did she have two guards stationed outside her room?

"Miss? Did you need anything?",One of the guard who had noticed the door opening, asked her, without glancing her way.

"Uh no. I'm just going down to the kitchen", she murmured.

"We can order the maids to get you whatever you want here Ms. Amara", the other guard spoke.

"No, I'd like to go down myself. Thank you", Amara declined politely and walked towards where the kitchen was.

She felt a little conscious of herself as she walked pass a few guards patrolling the corridors, all of whom at the sight of her turned rigid, lowering their eyes and not looking at her again which made her realize that she had forgotten to wear her robe over the nightdress before walking out.

Amara was about to turn around the corner which would lead her to the kitchen when she heard loud voices.

She stood there for a few seconds, indecisive, but as the volume kept increasing she involuntarily felt herself walk towards the source.

She rounded up the corner and walked towards the large staircase that would lead her to the lower floor of the manor but was halted in her tracks when she looked down to see two men being dragged by the Romero security guards, their hands cuffed and a blindfold over their eyes.

"Undo their blindfolds",she heard Allister's authoritative voice order and she looked around in the crowd of men, searching for him and found him walking towards the security guards from the other part of the manor followed by Damien and several Romero employees.

"What were you doing on Romero territory ?Which family do you serve?", Allister asked them in a hard voice.

When he got no answer he punched the man straight on his face, "Don't make me repeat myself ",he snarled lowly .

Amara felt sick as she saw the man spit blood from his mouth,"Riccardi family", he confessed.

"What were you doing on Romero territory? Every employee under the Riccardi jurisdiction knows that they can't step on the land which shelters the Giovanni family until the negotiations are completed."

"It's obvious, isn't it? We came here for Georgio Giovanni ",the man snarled. "He dared to commission an attack on the Riccardi's, he dared to attack the heir of the Valentini family. He has to die for this ",he swore loudly making Amara jump.

The man next to him looked at Allister calmly. "I have a message for the Romero heir from lady Alessandra Riccardi" he spoke and Allister nodded at him giving him the permission to continue.

Amara recognised the name of Gino's aunt, she was supposed to be joining their school as a professor soon.

"This dispute of the Riccardi and the Giovanni families does not include the Romero's. You are allied with the Valentini family as well. Our fight is not with the Romero's and we will bring no harm to your family but for that you will have to withdraw your support from the Giovanni's ",the man said.

"And if I refuse? ", Allister asked, chuckling darkly.

The man straightened his back as he looked Allister in the eyes,"Then prepare yourselves for a war which is not even your's to fight because now we will not back off, Not after they have spilled the Valentini blood, the blood which is sacred to us."

Allister stared at him boldly, before shrugging nonchalantly. "I will prepare myself for war then",he answered in a dark voice.

Amara could only watch silently, frozen at her spot ,partially hidden behind a pillar, as one of the older guard stepped forward with a gun in his hand, aiming it threateningly at the man's head who had relayed the message.

"Any last words?",Allister asked him coldly.

The man smiled grimly, "Blood of one heir for the blood of another", he proclaimed.

Amara saw the Romero guard bring the gun closer to the Riccardi guard's head and a scream involuntarily left her mouth causing every head present in the entryway to whip towards her, shock on a few of the untrained faces.

Amara saw Allister say something to Damien quickly causing Damien to nod in agreement before he turned and started running towards her, ascending two steps at a time, panicked, her breathing hitched and she turned and ran back to her room at full speed.

Entering the room, she rushed towards the washroom where she emptied her stomach, dry heaving on the floor. She felt someone rub her back gently and turned her head slightly to see Damien by her side, glancing at her worriedly.

"It's alright", Damien said rubbing her back soothingly. "Do you feel well now?",he asked her and Amara nodded weakly.

"Come, let's get you to bed",he said, picking her up and taking her back outside.

"What are you doing up Amara? You should be sleeping . Were you feeling unwell?", Damien asked her as he placed his hand on her forehead taking in her temperature.

"Not a fever", he muttered.

"Damien what was that?",Amara asked him in a small voice.

"Drink some water",he ordered ignoring her question as he poured a glass of cold water and handed it to Amara who drank it dutifully.

"Damien?",she asked him again.

"It is getting late Amara, you should sleep. I'll be right here to keep an eye on you",Damien whispered tiredly to her as he moved to stand against the windows with his back facing her.

"Damien what's going on?",Amara asked him again, his tired and pale disposition making dread pool in her stomach.

"Did you come to know what exactly caused the fallout between the two families?",Damien asked her after some time and Amara replied in negative.

"They have had issues going on since long and finally the two sides snapped. Yesterday evening the Giovanni family took Gino and Klaus' uncle as hostage. In retaliation this morning, the Riccardi's kidnapped Emma's cousin brother, whose father is the Giovanni boss's second in command ", Damien explained.

Amara listened intently as he went on speaking.

"But this was not really a major problem. Both the sides had their own hostages ,not a big deal. This was something that our family and the Valentini family were looking into peacefully without risking any war."

Amara knew this off course. She had known that the Riccardi's were one of the oldest Valentini allies and so the Valentini organisation was keeping tabs on the situation.

Damien went on,"Father and Nonno were off course keeping tabs on everything that is happening here through Allister, and everything was almost set. Valerio and Allister are the acting heads of both the families right now, Valerio is probably getting the instructions from Don Vitiello in the same way how Allister is being briefed by father. They both had spoken to our respective allies and the negotiation terms were set for the release of the hostages and for a conference to deal with the aftermath ...."

"Amara", Damien turned towards her , "We got the news some time back .... The Giovanni forces attacked the Riccardi mansion. Georgio Giovanni had meant to double cross the Riccardi's but...."

"But what Damien?",Amara asked him forcefully.

She had never seen Damien like this before. No matter how sweet he was when it came to her, it did not change the fact that Damien was one of the Romero heirs. He was strong for his age, already respected by the Romero employees just like how Allister was. But now he looked nervous and tensed and it was making her anxiety spike.

"But he miscalculated", he said smiling grimly." He did not know that the Valentini's were providing the security to the Riccardi hostage. Valerio was present at their home as well. It's him, they injured Valerio in the attack", Damien said solemnly.

Amara felt the breath knock out of her at the unexpected revelation. The Riccardi man's words which had no meaning before now weighed a tonne.

"What? ",she gasped.

"Yes, the news is solid. This has messed everything up", he said running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"This is what led the Giovanni's to relocate their base to our house for the time being", Damien informed her.

"Is-is he okay though? Damien, please tell me what you know. Is Val fine? How badly is he injured?", Amara asked him, her eyes wet with tears she was trying hard to control.