Homecoming

ARYA’S POV His hands were like iron around my throat and I clawed at them desperately, my nails scraping against his skin. "Die, Vitale!" he snarled, but his eyes weren't focused on me. Black spots danced across my vision. My lungs screamed for air that wouldn't come. "Giovanni!" I tried to gasp, but no sound came out. He was crying. Even as he choked me, tears streamed down his face, and his lips were forming words I could barely hear through the roaring in my ears. "Mama... Papa... they killed them... killed everyone..." I still couldn’t understand what he was saying and my vision was going dark. My struggles were getting weaker. With the last of my strength, I reached up and cupped his face in my hands, my touch gentle despite the terror coursing through me. "Giovanni," I mouthed, there was no air left to make any sound. "It's me." His eyes flickered, confusion breaking through the nightmare haze. "It's me," I tried again, my hands trembling against his cheeks. "Arya.” For a horrib