Chapter 36
EMBERLINE
For the rest of the day, the world felt wrong.
Off-kilter. As if something inside me had slipped out of alignment, and no matter what I did, it refused to settle back into place. We’d gotten Dante back, destroyed a prison that stood for centuries, yet somehow, the victory rang hollow.
Everything was collapsing, and the longer I remained inside the safehouse, the worse I felt.
We needed Gabriel’s calming presence, but he was with his father.
The air felt sludgy, filled with the echoes of everything unsaid and unsettled. Dante’s barely contained rage, Nico’s careful distance, the fragile truce we all pretended wasn’t cracking. There was more to learn about the Basin, but I couldn’t concentrate.
So, I did what I always did when I couldn’t fix the world.
I slipped out into the night and let Venice swallow me whole.
The rooftops were still warm, the heat of the day clinging to the red clay like a second skin.
Summer pressed down over the city, air ripe with salt and stagnant canal water, with summer-blooming jasmine and distant smoke from the mainland.
Sweat gathered instantly at my nape as I moved, stiff muscles loosening, breath syncing with every step.
Jump. Leap. Feel free for one singular moment before I landed. Roll.
Chimneys and laundry lines blurred past as the city unfolded beneath me in fractured glimpses—golden windows, dark canals, gondolas sliding like ghosts through the night. Somewhere below, laughter spilled from an open tavern. Somewhere else, soft music played.
Mortal life, indifferent to crumbling dynasties and ancient blood oaths, went on.
For a few precious moments, the noise in my head disappeared.
Then the doubts crept back in.
What difference could you possibly make? You are one woman standing against centuries of power, a treacherous voice whispered inside my head. Against Ancients who have been playing this game longer than you’ve been alive.
I angled instinctively toward my family’s palazzo, knowing it was a mistake. But I hadn’t seen Luca since that night in the study, and we’d never been apart for this long. Given he was wholly under my uncle’s control…
I needed to at least reassure myself he was safe.
The light was on in my brother’s room, and I resisted the urge to slap at a buzzing insect when that light went out. I crept along the roofline opposite our palazzo, knots of tourists clogging the busy street below.
The city was packed for this last month of the summer, every human in Europe streaming into the city to visit overcrowded museums, ride gondolas, and buy masks and cheap trinkets to take home. Hawkers along every street called out, adding to the chaos.
I was just about to give up when one side of the double doors opened.
Relief flickered—then died instantly.
A tall, rangy figure slipped out into the street, hood drawn low, posture tight with intent. Luca glanced left. Right. Then moved quickly away from the palazzo, striding with purpose. As if he had somewhere important to be.
Panic rose. “No,” I breathed. “No, no, go back inside. Where are you going?”
Keeping to the rooftops, I tracked my brother across the city as he zigzagged through the crowded streets, took a sudden series of bewildering turns, crossing bridges he didn’t need to cross. As though someone had given him specific instructions so he wouldn’t be followed.
The realization sent a cold thread of fear through me.
Luca wasn’t like the rest of these bloodsuckers, twisted by ambition and greed. He was young, and he was earnest, and earnest males were the easiest to manipulate. Especially when they thought they were doing good.
An oppressive heat pressed down as I moved, skin slick, lungs burning from exertion. Summer was merciless at this height—no breeze, just stone radiating stored warmth up into my bones, as if I was being baked in an oven.
Turn back, Luca, I silently urged, wishing I could speak to my brother mind to mind right now. Turn back and stay in the palazzo where you’re not exposed.
Luca stopped on the southern end of a quiet square, half-swallowed by the shadows of an arch. I scrambled for a better position, finding my best vantage point atop a cornice, instincts screaming as three figures emerged from opposite sides.
An ambush.
I pulled my knife, recognizing the biggest one, Bruno. It was all I could do not to leap down between them as they patted Luca down, then disarmed him. These males were born killers. They’d never met an opponent they couldn’t best, and they surrounded my brother.
“Well, I’m here.” Luca folded his arms over his chest. “Where is he, or do you three plan to have a staring contest for the next hour?”
Despite myself, I smiled, which quickly faded when the tapping of a cane on cobblestones preceded Rocco Demente, his presence tightening the heavy air like a blade being drawn slowly from its sheath. A blade about to fall on my brother’s throat.
“Against my better judgment, I took this meeting, but I don’t have time for your games, Demente, so get to the point.” Luca sounded so much like Enzo, my fingers curled against the stone.
“Quite a backbone for such a young pup, but very well.” Rocco chuckled with feigned humor. “Your uncle is planning to take over the Dynasty, and you, my boy, are in a unique position to tip the balance of power.”
“You can’t possibly know what Giovanni is planning,” Luca countered with a snort. “My uncle has never wanted the Don’s throne before; he does not want it now.”
Rocco’s smile only grew sharper. “Power runs thicker in Giovanni’s veins than blood. Perhaps I was wrong about you. Perhaps you are as dull as they say.”
“Insults won’t get you what you’re after, Rocco.” Because Luca wasn’t completely untrained, he shifted with the guards, keeping all three in sight. “But you’ll have to do better than some vague accusations against my uncle to convince me there’s some… conspiracy.”
Just go home, Luca, I urged silently. Recognize this for the trap that it is and go back home.
“Oh, there’s a conspiracy happening, right under your nose. Firstly, your uncle has been poisoning Marcello for months now. According to my spies, the Don is on his deathbed. Is that specific enough for you?”
The three soldiers closed ranks—predators pretending bored indifference. I leaned forward, ready to launch myself off this roof and between them, recognizing that maneuver for what it was.
An attack.
“Giovanni has been planning this for centuries,” Rocco continued in that bland, amused voice. “The moment Marcello’s dead, your uncle becomes Don.”
“And what about Gabriel?” Luca asked. “He’s next in line, or have you forgotten?”
Rocco didn’t hesitate. “Gabriel is already dead; he just doesn’t know it yet.
The Dominicos are finished. It’s up to us to save this Dynasty, Luca.
To save our people. Your uncle is about to do something monstrous, and I need your help to stop him, son.
” The lie—and the endearment—slid effortlessly into place.
Luca faltered. My heart dropped when I saw his pause—the exact moment my brother pictured himself saving the Dynasty, the moment his inexperience and his good heart became all the leverage Rocco needed to bring him over to the wrong side.
Fucking get down there and stop this.
Before you’re too late.
“You don’t even have to get your hands dirty,” Rocco sounded so convincing.
“Just watch. Listen. Tell me if you hear anything about, say… a prison being destroyed. Or your sister’s husband returning from the dead.
Or if Gio takes any meetings with vampires outside of the Dynasty. That sort of thing.”
Luca swallowed. “If my uncle was to find out…”
“He won’t. Not if you’re careful,” Rocco cut in quickly. “And I know you can be careful, Luca. You’re a chip off the old block, aren’t you? Enzo and me, we were like brothers, did you know that? He used to confide in me, and one thing about me, I always keep my friends’ secrets.”
You lying piece of shit.
I had to intervene. I had to stop this before my brother got himself killed.
Silence stretched between them, and just as I was sure Luca was about to tell Rocco to fuck off, my brother nodded. My stomach—and the ground—dropped out from under me.
Rocco melted away into the shadows along with his henchmen while I frantically scanned every nearby roof, every shadow at ground level to make sure I was the only witness to this atrocity. This meeting was a death sentence for my brother because if my uncle found out…
Well, Giovanni didn’t forgive betrayal.
And Luca… gods, Luca tried so hard to be clever when he needed to keep his head down. Now it was too late. Rocco had him in his sights, and I’d be lucky if I could manage damage control.
I chewed my bottom lip as I followed my brother out of the square, down one alley, then the next, debating my options.
Luca was shit at keeping secrets. Like, totally hopeless, and there was too much at stake to risk my brother finding out the truth—that I was alive and kicking.
But I wasn’t fool enough to think my brother was safe. If he walked into the palazzo, and Giovanni knew about tonight’s meeting… my brother would meet the same fate as me. I had to warn him.
But knowing I was alive only put him in even more danger. Fuck.
Back and forth I debated, then, halfway to the palazzo, I decided doing something was better than doing nothing.
Luca turned down a narrow street, where shadows swallowed up the light. I dropped from the roof, landing silently in front of him, rising from my crouch as he skidded to a halt, his hand going for his weapon and coming up empty.
All the color drained from his face, and he stepped back, raising his shaking hands in front of him, like he was warding off evil spirits.
“Hello, Luca,” I said evenly, trying to calm my racing heart. “A little late for a meeting, don’t you think?”
His throat bobbed, like he was trying to speak, but nothing came out.
“I know this is a shock, but I had a good reason for keeping my death… or should I say, my survival, a secret.” I’m sorry, Luca. If I could have told you I was alive, I would have, but it would have put you in danger. More than you’re already in.
Speaking mind to mind seemed to break through his shock. “Emberline?” His voice was barely a hiss of breath. “But… you’re… you’re dead. I went to your funeral. What are you—”
One second, Luca stared down at me like he’d seen a ghost, and the next, I was crushed against his chest, his arms squeezing me so tight, I couldn’t breathe.
“Gods, you’re alive. You’re alive. I thought you were dead, and we had your funeral pyre, and I couldn’t believe you were gone because you weren’t gone, you weren’t.”
“Luca,” I manage to squeak, “you’re crushing me.”
“Oh, right, sorry,” He loosened his embrace but didn’t let me go.
“You’ve been alive this entire time.” His tone changed, from astonished disbelief to anger. “This whole time, you let me think you were dead.” He stepped away, shaking his head. “Who does that?”
“Someone who’s trying to protect you,” I said urgently, stepping closer. “Do you think I wanted to stay away? Don’t you know how badly I wanted to tell you the truth?” My shoulders sagged. “Please don’t be angry with me, Luca. It killed me, staying away all this time.”
“Okay. I won’t be too angry with you. But you could have told me.”
“No, I couldn’t because you can’t keep a secret to save your life. And what are you doing, meeting with Rocco? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
His shoulders slumped. “I was trying to help. You don’t know…” Closing his eyes, he shuddered. “Whatever Uncle Gio is planning next, he’s doing some terrible things, Em. Some really terrible things.”
Yeah, no shit. Like drowning me in his basement and paying a monster to execute my husband.
“They’re using you,” I said quietly. “Rocco will sacrifice you just to get a little information he can profit from. We need to get you out of this deal you just agreed to. Come on, let’s go somewhere we can talk.”
He looked away. “You don’t know how dangerous Giovanni is, Em.”
“Yes, I do. And you’re in more trouble than you know.” I looked to the end of the alley, where nighttime crowds streamed by. There were no good choices here, only bad ones.
“You’re coming home with me,” I decided, resolve locking into place even as doubt gnawed at my ribs. “And we’re coming up with a plan. One that doesn’t end up with you getting killed.”
“I’m not going to get killed, Emberline. Giovanni needs me, and now, Rocco needs me, too.”
If only that were true, I thought, taking his hand and squeezing it tight.
“Don’t let go,” I warned. “Stay with me, and if we get separated, do not go back to the palazzo. If word gets back to uncle about tonight…”
I didn’t finish.