Chapter 20
GAbrIEL
“You didn’t answer me before.” Nico crossed his arms over his chest, that shit-eating grin on his face becoming a permanent feature.
I frowned. “About what?”
“About Emberline.” His pale gaze sharpened. “You’ve been stewing over her since your father announced your sudden betrothal. Surely, he’s not serious?”
Ah yes, the screaming match of yesterday when Marcello—who had clearly lost his fucking mind—informed me he’d agreed to Giovanni’s proposal. No consult with me, the groom, no asking if marriage to a spoiled heiress fit into my godsdamned life plans.
I exhaled slowly, some of the adrenaline draining from my system, my muscles looser than they’d been in days. “Tomorrow night,” I admitted. “The date is already set. Tomorrow, I marry Emberline DiRavello, and effectively… well, I’m effectively fucked.”
“Don’t act like this is a prison sentence,” Nico pursed his lips. “This is only for Dynasty business, not real. Separate lives, happy wives… right?”
“That’s not how the saying goes, Nico.” I stepped over the bodies strewn at our feet.
“And if it is just business, then why does it feel like a prison sentence?” At the edge of the canal, I stared into the water, at the thick fog, curling around my ankles like the night had come alive.
“A sentence I would have preferred to have chosen for myself instead of having my freedom bartered away by the likes of Giovanni DiRavello.”
Except… some part of me was looking forward to this marriage, the same way I looked forward to facing down a foe. There was something about her that fascinated me, which felt just as dangerous as being backed into a corner.
“You’re not bartering your freedom. You’re signing your life away.” Nico slapped me on the back. “Big difference.”
“Nico,” I sighed. “You are seriously the world’s biggest idiot.”
He held up his hands, then dropped them with a sigh. “At least she’s beautiful. I mean… like really gorgeous. And those stuffy manners… make you want to find out what’s under all that prim and proper coldness, but…” His head tilted to the side, suddenly serious.
“She’s hiding something, Gabriel. That wasn’t some sweet little princess staring down Marcello. As for Giovanni… if what that prisoner claimed is true...”
Thank the gods Nico hadn’t been standing on that dais, close enough to recognize the murderous gleam in her eyes and the way she held that knife like a professional assassin.
Because I had.
I was starting to get an idea of what Emberline DiRavello was capable of, and instead of making me cautious, I was curious.
Curious enough to dream about her every fucking night, with my cock in my hand and her name on my lips.
“Then…” I scrubbed my face. “This marriage could be a way for Giovanni to plant her inside our empire. Or… she could be our way inside theirs.”
“How so?” Nico tipped his head.
“Marcello has never trusted Giovanni, but their family controls the purse strings of the Dynasty, and with Enzo gone, Giovanni is effectively in control. We could use this marriage to our advantage, Nico.”
That was Marcello’s strategy, and after my anger cooled down, I found I shared his logic.
Use them while they are using us sort of logic.
We’d been at odds with the DiRavellos for so long, nobody knew how corrupted they really were, and this girl was our window into their world. While I was mourning the loss of my freedom, my sire only saw this as a multi-pronged incursion on a rival family. A family with secrets as old as our own.
Secrets that intrigued me as much as Emberline did.
Of course, if Nico had the slightest idea I thought of her as anything but a mark, I would never hear the fucking end of it.
“Of course, she’s a DiRavello,” Nico mused, ignoring the fact we were surrounded by four corpses and most of the blood that used to be inside them.
“Spoiled and rich and pampered. How much of a threat can she be, really? Too bad she’s nothing but a pawn in her uncle’s games. My guess is, she never saw the double-cross coming.”
“As it turns out, neither did I.” That truth stung more than it should have. I rubbed a hand over my face again, managing to smear blood all over my face.
“Stop being so gloomy.” Nico studied me. “You could do far worse than Emberline DiRavello.”
“You’re not the one signing your life away, Nico,” I snapped, then forced myself to soften my tone. “This whole thing is archaic. A marriage between old foes to settle a feud.”
“What feud?” His ears pricked up, and my heart sank. Now, I’d never hear the fucking end of this. If nothing else, my oldest friend was hopelessly addicted to drama. “There’s a feud between your families? How did I not know of this? Tell me everything.”
“Because it’s a bullshit reason to shove the two of us together into a union neither of us wants.
This is her uncle, grasping for power. Didn’t you hear him plant doubt in Marcello’s mind?
Talking about whispers and gossip? The fucker is a master manipulator, and he manufactured this entire situation… I just don’t know why.”
Or rather, I had my suspicions, which I very much hoped were not correct.
Because if Giovanni had the slightest idea of what I was planning, I was fucked.
“Star-crossed lovers, pushed together by family.” Nico’s mouth twitched. “Sounds romantic. Almost like a play someone famous might have written five hundred years ago.”
“They were divided by family, you idiot. And I’ll remind you, they both died in the end, and this is a fucking disaster.”
“I know.” The humor faded from his eyes. “I know, Gabi, but look at it this way—you’ll give her your name and your protection, and that will be the end of it. Maybe you’ll never have to see her again after tomorrow. There are worse fates.”
“There are better ones.” I glanced around, wondering why we were still here, discussing my upcoming nuptials, as though any of this was normal.
“For the Don’s heir?” He shrugged. “Chances are, you would have ended up in a political marriage, one way or another. At least she seems tractable enough.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t fucking bet on that,” I muttered, remembering those glimpses of sheer savagery that fascinated me more than they should. Overhead, I caught a whisper of sound, like fabric dragging across stone, but when I lifted my gaze… nothing. I was letting my nerves get the better of me.
“You still have me.” He pushed off the wall and clapped a hand on my shoulder, fingers squeezing hard enough to bruise if I’d been human.
“You’ll go into this marriage the same way you go into a fight.
Eyes open. Mind sharp. And if anyone tries to use the girl against you or hurt her to get to you?
” His voice went soft and dangerous. “They’ll find out exactly how protective the Dominico heir and his terrifying best friend can be. ”
I huffed out a laugh despite myself. “Terrifying, huh?”
He flashed his fangs. “Admit it. You’re a little afraid of me.”
“I’ll admit you’re irritating.” I rolled my shoulders. “Pretty much all the time, especially right now.”
“Gods, you’ve always had such high standards.” He glanced past me, down the alley. “Where is Severin? We need to get these bodies moved before dawn.”
Not two seconds later, the Draconi Master himself appeared with five of his soldiers, rolling the bodies up into plastic and materializing them away with the promise to emphasize to the rest of their clan the seriousness of their crimes.
“Sucks to be them,” Nico observed, after Severin vanished.
I looked up at the slice of sky between the rooftops.
In twenty-four hours, Emberline DiRavello would stand beside me in our family’s private chapel on our island, swearing an oath that would taste as bitter on her lips as it would on mine.
Nico nudged me. “Don’t overthink this,” he counseled, like he was a marriage counselor. “You’ll charm her, and she’ll either stab you or kiss you. Either way, I’ll be there to witness the glorious event.” He brandished his cell phone. “Maybe get a video to post online. You could go viral.”
“You’re not invited to my wedding,” I growled.
“Fuck that, my friend. I’m your best man. Just try to stop me.” Nico chuckled as we walked out of the alley together, a pink dawn rising over the basilica, boots echoing over the stones, the same words ringing inside my head…
Duty.
Honor.
Marriage.
“Actually, Nico.” I cracked my knuckles, already second-guessing the words that were about to come out of my mouth. “There is something you could do for me.”