I winced as they screamed, but I knew none of them would hesitate to kill me…or worse. Blessedly, Cook also sent two maids up with loaves of bread and cold water for each of us to take hurried gulps and bites.I hadn’t even realized I was hungry. Or how tired I was, until I’d stopped for a moment. The siege had been going on for more than four hours.We’d probably killed a hundred or more men outside. Eight of ours were down, leaving us with twenty-seven fighting men, plus Mom, Dad, me and Lia. The bad news was that Lia had been right…the men behind the first waves were stronger, less sick. They came at us, faster, more powerful by the hour. If their attack continued, unabated, I figured we could stand for another hour, maybe two if we were lucky.I wracked my mind for a way out. If nothing else, I had to stall for time. To give Marcello and Luca time to return to us, with aid. Or at the worst, put off that horrible thought that Captain Pezzati had given Lia—that we’d try to fight our way out.I knew that we’d all perish in that scenario.
