The drive back from the university was the cruelest part of the day. For a few hours under the Sicilian sun, the air had felt different—lighter, as if the curse of mine had finally lifted. Alessandro had laughed. It wasn't the dark, dry chuckle he usually reserved for irony; it was a real sound, vibrant and young. Watching him in a good mood was like watching a predator turn into a man, and for a brief, delusional moment, I let myself believe the jade-green walls of the harem were just a ...