Chapter 42
DANTE
The attention of the crowd fell on me like a spotlight, and I let a lazy smile slide over my face like armor.
“Friends,” Rocco’s voice boomed through the ballroom, “allies, enemies who pretend otherwise… welcome to my little mountain escape. Tonight is about unity, survival, and reminding Don Marcello of our enduring loyalty and support.”
A faint smattering of applause and uneasy laughter rippled around us.
Rocco gave my shoulder a little shake as Valeria pressed closer. “We have a new player on the board. Tonight, I welcome Dante Dominico into the fold; he’s helping me with a pesky problem involving a mortal arms dealer, soon to be out of business.”
I sharpened my smile. “You left out the part where you blackmailed me.”
More laughter, meaner this time.
“Semantics,” Rocco demurred, and again, everyone laughed on cue.
“And of course,” Rocco held out his hand and beckoned, “we must toast his… astonishing bride. Emberline, my dear, come closer so everyone can see your stunning gown.”
The room hummed with delighted cruelty, a symphony of jealous smiles hidden behind raised glasses of blood wine, of malicious whispers parading as flattery as Emberline drifted through the crowd, her bare shoulders glowing in the candlelight.
She looked fragile, vulnerable. Breakable.
This was what I despised about the Dynasty.
Not my sire’s depravities, but the rot at the very core of us, the corruption of self that came with immortality. This bored, casual cruelty, and I especially hated having this ugliness anywhere near my wife.
My gaze snapped behind Emberline.
To where Gabriel trailed behind her, Nico at his side. Both males flanking her like two loyal knights, and I couldn’t stop myself from lurching forward, jealousy burning a hole in my heart.
Valeria yanked me back. My wife’s gaze narrowed on where Valeria’s hand lay on my chest, to the length of her body pressed against mine, and Emberline didn’t so much as flinch.
She stepped forward, chin high, expression smooth. Vampires parted ways for her—fangs down, searching for signs of weakness.
For a fraction of a second, her gaze locked with mine.
Too fast almost to see, hurt flashed across her face, a near-invisible tremor in her lips, the way her throat bobbed with emotion when she swallowed. Something inside of me shattered. Broke into a million pieces, all of them with her name written on them.
And that’s when I knew… this wasn’t pretend.
Not any longer.
I wanted to drag Valeria’s hand off my chest, shove her away, and plant my body between Emberline and every monster inside this castle. To shield her from their corruption, their endless thirst, their fucking greed.
But that was a stupid impulse. Not part of the plan.
So, I stayed where I was.
Hating myself.
Hating this fucking plan, this fake marriage, everyone in this fucking room.
I should never have involved Emberline in my vengeance. Never married her, never kissed her, because now everything was complicated, and seeing the hurt on her face was going to fucking break me as the Overseer’s whip had never managed to break me.
Servants appeared with silver trays, crystal flutes gleaming. One stopped in front of her; another in front of me. I took a glass, gritting my teeth when Valeria’s fingers drifted lower, sliding along my waistband, making sure my wife saw.
Every part of me was frozen and unfeeling, pinned down beneath her dark, empty stare, my soul slowly withering away beneath her disappointment.
“To new alliances and old ones,” Rocco called, raising his drink. “To the secrets we keep and the lies we tell ourselves. And to the hope that Emberline doesn’t poison Dante in his sleep tonight. Young love is such a fragile thing, after all.”
Laughter again, wicked and anticipatory.
Emberline’s attention stayed on me like a brand, but I didn’t dare look at her. Not with Valeria pressed to my side. Not with Marcello and Rocco watching, searching for an opening they could exploit.
Valeria’s breath tickled my ear, and I wanted to fucking puke.
“She’s prettier than I remember,” she whined. “I thought Enzo’s daughter would be soft, like him. Like that brother of hers. Luca’s going to get eaten alive.”
“My wife is not soft,” I snarled without thinking.
Valeria’s fingers dug in deeper. “No, she isn’t.
Still, she’s a DiRavello. A pointless bloodline, good only for social connections and money laundering,” she went on, oblivious to my fraying temper.
“I’ll bet she just lies there with her eyes closed,” she hummed, turning that predatory stare on me. “Doesn’t make a sound, does she?”
My hands shook with rage. I wanted to torch this entire fucking castle, then sweep my wife out of here, so we could watch it burn down together.
“One more fucking word about my wife and that will be the last thing you ever say,” I hissed, fury hitting me like a sledgehammer. “I’ve put up with your bullshit long enough, and my patience is at an end.”
Her lips parted, but whatever she saw in my face had her keeping her poisonous mouth shut.
Good fucking thing because she would never disrespect my wife again.
Satisfied with his spectacle, Rocco threw up his hands, the music swelled, and the crowd kicked back into motion—couples moving toward the dance floor, some to the shadows, where they writhed together in a hedonistic display.
Through it all, Gabriel and Nico stuck close to my wife, jealousy racing through me again and again in an ugly, never-ending loop.
Good, some bitter part of me thought as I guzzled my wine down too fast. Let them guard her while I play the Dynasty’s favorite villain and Rocco’s favorite patsy.
Was this his game?
Pitting me against my own wife, or was he after something else? Emilia DiSangue’s eyes kept finding me over the crowd, lips pinched together in disgust at my blatant display of infidelity.
She liked Emberline. Was pissed on her behalf.
Losing her support would be a blow to my plans. I wished I was better at these careless games, wished I hadn’t spent fifty years rotting in a pit, fighting to survive, something none of these pampered creatures could comprehend.
But there were others who didn’t share her sentiment. Rocco, for one, who looked absolutely delighted when his daughter dragged me toward the middle of the room.
“You don’t have to be so grumpy. At least dance with me,” Valeria pouted. “For old times’ sake.”
“Old times are long gone,” I hissed, sidestepping her grasping claws. “Don’t turn us into a spectacle; they’re already staring.”
I should find Emberline and get the fuck out of here. Whatever allies we’d hoped to make tonight… nothing was worth this.
She just laughed. “Which is exactly the point, lover. Why do you think Father went to all the trouble to throw such a lavish party? Your marriage is a farce. Putting you two on display only speeds up the inevitable.” She batted her eyelashes at me. “Something I’m all too happy to help with.”
“What are you after, Valeria?” My hands were clenched so tightly, I thought my knuckles might split. “Or should I ask… what does Rocco want?”
Her expression turned calculating, “The truth is, now that you’re back, father wonders if the Demente family might benefit from an arrangement between us.”
“Explain what you mean.”
“You’re wasted, joined to the DiRavellos. Enzo is dead, the son is…” Her gaze went to the other side of the room. “He’s weak. You should be paired with a strong family, not a dying one. You should be mine.”
She reached for me, and I caged her wrists, stopping her cold.
“No. You will never touch me again.” Violence shimmered around me like a halo, the kind of violence I’d worked hard to control, but right now, it was a song in my veins, begging to be released.
The kind of violence that would leave this room painted in blood.
And these monsters knew it. Silence rippled outward through the crowd, along with the sour stench of fear.
“You and I share no past, we have no future.” Every word was a threat, every word had her flinching away. “I do not want to ever see you again.”
Across the room, Emberline watched us with a drink in her hand. She was a queen carved out of the night—unbothered, unamused, untouched by the spectacle, still flanked by Gabriel and Nico.
Except… her knuckles were white on the glass.
And a small, vicious part of me liked that.
Satisfaction was petty and ugly, yet some selfish, damaged part of me basked in the knowledge that I could make Emberline DiRavello—with all her poise and power—feel something as base as jealousy.
That she cared, despite herself.
That, like me, she was a slave to this thing between us.
“But… my father… he wants…” Valeria’s wide eyes were shocked, bereft of the careless cruelty from before.
“Now listen carefully,” I enunciated every word, cold, quiet rage drenching every cell of my being. “If my wife enters a room, you will leave immediately. You will never speak to Emberline, you will not so much as look at her. Tell me you understand.”
“I…” She licked her lips, chest heaving. “I understand, Dante.”
I left her there, intending to find my wife and get the fuck out of this place.
To explain, beg her forgiveness, erase that look of hurt from her beautiful face. But when I looked to the last spot I’d seen Emberline… my wife was gone.
Cold seeped into my chest, the fear icy and immediate.
“Where is she?” I demanded when I reached Nico and Gabriel, loitering near the windows, both of them watching me with matching frowns.
To his credit, Gabriel didn’t pretend he didn’t know who I meant. “She went to get some air,” he looked me up and down, disgusted. “Tired of watching you flaunt your old lover in her face. I knew you were a selfish bastard, but I have to ask… why steal her away, just to make her miserable?”
I ignored him, panic constricting my chest. “Where did she go?”
Nico’s cold gaze flicked over me. “She’s safe enough here. Rocco wouldn’t dare lay a finger on your wife, not until you take care of this arms dealer for him.” His lip curled. “Yes, Gabriel filled me in on your little assignment.”
“I’m going to find my wife,” I snapped.
Nico blocked me with a cool smile. “She doesn’t want to see you, and right now, I’m inclined to honor her wishes more than I’m willing to indulge your whims. Whatever the fuck you’re up to, I don’t like you playing games that hurt Ember.”
I lifted my brow, barely able to focus through the rage. “So, it’s Ember now, is it?”
Nico widened his stance, his slow smile practically daring me to throw the first punch.
“Yes, it is, and if you weren’t a soulless fuck, you’d thank me for watching over her while you let your skanky ex-girlfriend rub up against you like a fucking cat in heat.
Whatever the fuck you’re doing, asshole, I hope you have an endgame. ”
Ember is my endgame, I wanted to scream.
If, by some stroke of luck, we’re both still standing at the end of this… Emberline DiRavello was my endgame.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Nico sent me a withering glare. “Fine. Stay the fuck here. Make Rocco think you’re still his favorite chew toy. I’ll bring her back in one piece.”
He walked away, and Gabriel rounded on me. “You are such a piece of work. Twisting her up in knots like that. Almost makes me regret springing you from The Fossa.”
A quick scan of the vicinity proved we were alone, only a few guests watching, too far away to hear my brother practically shout our secret to the sky, thank fuck.
“Almost?” The word lodged behind my teeth.
“Almost,” he said with a shrug. “Stop hurting her, or you’ll have me to deal with. And I’m not the little brother you left behind fifty years ago.”
Seconds stretched to minutes.
All the while, my attention kept snagging on the dark corners where corridors bled into shadow, feeling my wife’s absence like a missing limb.
Where the fuck was she? Why had I played along with Valeria, convincing myself that it was somehow part of our plan? I’d hurt my wife enough to send her running.
And Emberline didn’t run, not from anything.
“Fuck this,” I muttered to my brother. “I’m going to…” Just then, Nico walked in with Emberline, his hand cupping her elbow. I was already moving, rushing toward her like a frantic husband, shoving vampires out of my way.
Fuck what the rest of these bloodsuckers thought.
She looked… shaken. Skin a shade too pale, mouth pinched tight, eyes glistening with tears. Something had happened, someone had scared her, possibly threatened her. I was going to fucking kill whoever hurt her.
Our gazes collided.
For a heartbeat, everything else fell away.
Then my hands were on her, skating over her freezing skin, her arms, cupping her chin so I could peer into her eyes, see the silver tears clinging to her dark lashes.
“What happened? Who did this to you?”
“I’m fine,” she muttered, moving away from me… closer to Nico.
Rage thundered inside me, but then I saw… that was betrayal in her hollowed-out gaze. Hurt. That sharp, cool calculation she wore like armor was cracking, jealousy and humiliation bleeding through.
Fuck, I did this.
I hurt her.
An apology clawed up my throat. I needed to tell her how much I…
“Ah, there you are, my friend.” Rocco stepped between us, his eyes dancing with malice. “My daughter was reminding me of our long history together.” He clapped his hands again, and the entire ballroom pivoted, their full attention swinging back to the spectacle he curated.
I’m sorry, I mouthed as he launched into yet another speech.
And Ember… wasn’t even looking at me. She smiled up at Nico, his arm around her waist as the two of them were swallowed up by the glittering throng gathering closer, eager for round two.
They wanted more spectacle. They wanted more blood.
Tonight’s entertainment had been served up on a silver platter at the expense of my wife’s pride and dignity. I’d been played for a fool tonight, I realized, as Valeria reclaimed her place beside me, my entire body repulsed by her presence.
And the only thing I wanted—more than vengeance against my father—was for my marriage to be real.
For Emberline to look at me the same way I felt about her.
Totally, completely in love.