Chapter 59
EMBERLINE
Ifound Gabriel and Dante in the dining room, seated at the long table across from Emilia.
Dante was bent over a bowl of soup, ripples of heat still rising from his shoulders, shoveling spoonfuls into his mouth with the single-minded focus of a starving male, Gabriel and Emilia watching him intently like they’d watch a sporting event.
They’d both seen healers; that much was apparent by the pink, healing scars, and Dante had some sort of… black blanket wound around his waist. A monk’s robe, I realized.
“How is the Demente girl?” Emilia leaned in with her hands folded, a slight frown creasing her lips. “Is she any better?”
“She’ll be better after some time passes, but she lost everyone today.
” I dropped into the empty chair beside Gabriel.
He handed me his glass without me asking, and I drank the rest of his wine, rich and sweet.
By the time I set the glass down, heaviness was settling into my bones, dulling some of last night’s horrors, which was exactly what I needed.
“Good,” Emilia said with a secret smile. “Always so very clever, that one.”
“That’s what I told her.”
A priest set food in front of me—bread, soft cheese, olives, sliced meat—and I started eating with the same single-mindedness as my husband before reminding myself I’d get sick if I didn’t slow down.
“I’ve given Emilia a full account.” Gabriel nodded his thanks as they cleared the plates in front of him, taking Dante’s bowl away as he was scraping the bottom. “So, she’s caught up on Blackwood and Giovanni.” He paused, looking at me. “We told her about Luca.”
My shoulder sagged, well aware Luca’s fate rested firmly on my refusal to let Severin take him to the fortress.
I’d been so concerned about being separated from my brother, I’d never stopped to look at the bigger picture.
If I had, I might have made the connection between his odd behavior and Blackwood sooner.
Emilia studied Gabriel for a long moment. “You are sure there were no survivors?”
“None that we saw. We were the only ones loaded onto the boat, and there was nothing but bodies left behind. The Drax killed everything in their path.”
“My priests are on their way there as we speak. They will make sure every victim receives a proper cremation. Pyres will be built, and we will stay until the last fire goes out.”
Gabriel leaned forward and put his head in his hands. “Thank you. That’s… generous, Emilia.”
“It is the purpose of our Order to see to the rituals of our people.” Fury sparked in her expression. “I am quite sure Giovanni would have preferred to leave the bodies to rot where they lay. An abomination to our species and to our beliefs, that one.”
“I’ll tell Valeria first thing tomorrow,” I murmured. “She tried so hard to save them. It will mean a lot for her to know they were sent off properly to the Underworld.”
“Speaking of an abomination to our species, where are Paolo and Vincenzo?” Dante interrupted, and I kicked him under the table. Gods, we’d just gotten here, and already he was stirring the pot.
“Never one to beat around the bush, are you?” She reached for her wine, and I didn’t blame her one bit. I was ready to chug the entire bottle and fall face-first into the nearest bed. “My betrayers remain in their cells, where they will stay until I decide otherwise.”
“Good.” Dante plucked a piece of salami off my plate. “Because if we’re going to come up with a plan of attack, there can’t be any chance of information leaking out.”
I dug my fingers into my husband’s knee, hard enough he grunted. “What my husband means is…”
“Oh, I know perfectly well what he means. Their cells are soundproofed. They cannot hear a word we say, and my former heirs,”—her lips twisted—“can shout until dawn, and it will make no difference to anyone.” She said it with such calm practicality, even Dante seemed satisfied. “You have my word on that.”
Gabriel nodded somberly. He looked even more exhausted than any of us—circles under his eyes, the freshly-healed gash on his forehead, lines bracketing his mouth—but tonight’s failure would weigh heavy on his conscience.
“Thank you, Emilia. We’re all just a little,”—he glared at his brother—“on edge right now.”
“They are all aware the boat did not arrive on time. They’re searching for you, even now.” She smiled, her fangs gleaming. “Giovanni, I am told, is beside himself. Blackwood is… displeased that he failed to secure your transport to Venice. I expect your uncle has some explaining to do.”
I was dying to ask Emilia how she knew so much, so fast, when I remembered.
The spy in Blackwood’s operation.
Romulus. Or at least, I thought it was Romulus. And I wondered who this male was to elicit such undying trust from both sides.
“So…” She leaned back in her chair, sipping her wine. “What do you intend to do, now that you are free?”
I set my glass down. “We’re going to do what we should have done two days ago. What I should have done years ago, when I had the chance.”
She arched an eyebrow. “And what, pray tell, is that, piccola?”
Now that all our other options were exhausted, the ending to our story seemed so… inevitable.
“I’m killing my uncle. And when I’m finished with him, I’m going after Blackwood.” I steadily held her dark stare. “I restrained myself before because of old loyalties and because of Luca. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Your brother’s involvement was… unexpected.” She ran her finger around the rim of her glass, the crystal humming beneath her touch. “Both of us are equally to blame for his fate, I’m afraid. I did not foresee him being used as Blackwood’s pawn.”
She gazed past me, eyes going hazy, as if she was weighing all our fates in her hand and deciding which way she wanted the bones to fall.
“Giovanni has been a plague on this Dynasty for centuries,” she agreed, getting comfortable in her chair. “And while Blackwood is a vile excuse for a vampire… we cannot kill him.” She leveled a stern look at me. “And by we, I mean you, Emberline Dominico. Lord Blackwood cannot die.”
She flashed those teeth again in a vicious smile. “At least… not yet.”
And that’s when I knew for sure. Emilia could see the future. And I was a little more inclined to believe Blackwood’s fate would eventually come.
“For now, Cesare Blackwood is Rome’s problem.
The more pressing issue is they possess the real Basin.
And your brother, who, it turns out, is a very talented mind reader.
Something no one thought to mention.” She waved her hand in the air.
“But Luca is a problem for tomorrow. My spies report he is currently inside your family palazzo, so for the moment, he is safe.”
A burst of adrenaline shot through me, along with a crazy urge to race across the rooftops and check for myself.
“If we can’t kill Blackwood, let’s get him out of the city. Since he controls the Drax, he’s the bigger threat at the moment.” Gabriel’s tone was the one he used when he wasn’t about to entertain any arguments. “Send him back to Rome where he belongs. Once he’s gone, we focus on Giovanni.”
“If Blackwood took Luca to Rome,” Dante mused, “he’d be away from the fighting. Away from your uncle, who would use him as bait, or worse, as a shield.”
I shook my head. “No, my brother’s not going to Rome, especially not with fucking Blackwood. That male is a psychopath. There’s no way to watch over Luca in Rome, no way to monitor his safety.” I thought of that black rot creeping up the side of my brother’s face. “His health.”
“There is merit to the idea. Luca would be safer in Rome, with Blackwood, than here, with Giovanni, actively fighting a war.” Gabriel leaned forward.
“He needs your brother, Emberline. He needs Luca’s ability to mind-read.
Your brother would be far safer as Blackwood’s weapon than as your uncle’s pawn. ”
I dug my fingers into my temples, rubbing. “Logically, I know you’re right. It’s just…”
I thought back to how Blackwood had tormented Nico, his own son, and the vile things he’d said, and my heart began to race.
“They’re both monsters. Luca’s not safe with either of them.”
“While you have valid concerns, piccola, the fact remains, your brother will be safer in Rome.” Emilia set down her glass.
“Let me worry about keeping Luca safe. And getting Blackwood out of Venice. I believe I have the solution to both of those problems. I can even ensure he leaves voluntarily—believing the choice is entirely his own.”
She glanced toward the archway that led deeper into the temple and lowered her voice.
“There are plans in motion you are not yet aware of. Pieces that have been in play far longer than tonight.”
“What pieces?” Dante growled. “Emilia, if you’ve been holding out on us…”
“You really should learn to control that temper of yours,” she hissed. “One of these days, Dante Dominico, it will get you into trouble. But…” She took a breath. “Not tonight. Sleep first. You’ll be clearer in the morning and hopefully in a better,”—she glared at my husband—“mood.”
“Tell me one thing, Emilia.” I stopped her just before she went through the door, banking on the fact she had seen the future and, secondly, was willing to tell me the truth. “Will we win this fight?”
“I didn’t bring all of you this far,”—she looked down at us, her head held as high as any queen’s—“to lose to the likes of Giovanni DiRavello.”
She swept out of the room, and one of her warrior priests appeared in the doorway, waiting to show us to our chambers. Dante offered me his hand, palm up. I laced my fingers through his.
“You are going to get us in trouble,” I scolded. “You need to behave.”
“I’ll take that under advisement,” he said, then added quietly, “Emilia’s holding something back, and we’re in too deep for surprises. If she’s working against us, we need to know before we walk into a trap.”
“I can’t argue with that logic, but we can trust her, Dante.
For once, I think we’re all fighting for the same thing.
” I leaned into his shoulder as we followed our guide down a maze of hallways, knowing that somewhere, across the lagoon, Nico was sinking a stolen boat in deep water and my uncle was—hopefully—paying for his failures.
That, at least, made me smile as Dante, Gabriel, and I were shown into our bedchamber for the night.
Tomorrow, we’d make Giovanni pay.
But tonight, we were together, and for now, that was enough.