Revelations

SEVENTY-EIGHT

Reaching the outer doorway, Ezio found the lever by the lintel and pulled it. Obediently, the green door slid down into the ground. And there was Sofia, reading a book, waiting for him.

As he emerged, she smiled at him and stood, and came to him and took his hand.

“You came back,” she said, unable to disguise the sheer relief in her voice.

“I promised I would.”

“Have you found what you sought?”

“I have found-enough.”

She hesitated. “I thought-”

“What?”

“I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Sometimes our worst premonitions are the least reliable.”

She looked at him. “I must be mad. I think I like you even when you’re being pompous.” She paused. “What do we do now?”

Ezio smiled. “We go home,” he said.