Chapter 2
GAbrIEL DOMINICO
Standing in the villa’s luxurious living area, I didn’t hear Valeria’s footsteps until she was right behind me.
“It’s a bit early in the morning for brooding, don’t you think, Gabriel? Or are you trying to stare a hole through the glass?”
I pulled my attention away from the magnificent view—turquoise water and jutting, monolithic rock, softened by rows of silver-green olive trees and beyond that, the rich green of an untamed jungle.
Valeria Demente’s cool voice was unhurried, filled with the eternal boredom of someone who had spent decades playing her father’s political games in ballrooms, courts, and bedrooms. Every one of my survival instincts went on alert.
She was dangerous, in too many ways for me to list, but right now, she was our best…
no, our only chance of survival, and I would sell my proverbial soul to the devil herself to save my friends and the woman I loved.
Gilded by the morning light, the female was extraordinary, carved from pure gold, from her sleek fall of hair to that shimmering gown she wore—more suited for evening candlelight than morning sun, but this was her house and her show, so who was I to judge?
“My apologies,” I dipped my head, tearing my gaze away from the view as I turned to fully face her. “I can’t stop watching the ocean. I’ve never seen anything so blue.”
A lie, in part, since the water was the same shade as my eyes, but for some inexplicable reason, I had been returning to this same spot all morning.
Perhaps I was trying to fill the aching cavern in my chest that had opened up last night when I’d started thinking of my mother, wondering how my life would have been different if she’d lived.
Or maybe I wanted to escape this weight crushing down on me.
A month ago, I had nothing to lose. A father I was planning to betray, a dynasty that would exist with or without me. The promise of a mafia crown I didn’t particularly want. Revenge was all that fueled me.
Revenge I’d pursued with single-minded focus bordering on obsession.
Now, everything I loved was at risk.
My brother and best friend.
And I’d found a new obsession. The female who owned my soul. The one I’d follow to the ends of the earth, then burn the world down for, if she would only ask.
And across that stretch of water were two vampires who could take that all away. They would kill my friends and the love of my life, and I had no way to protect them...
Except by forging this devil’s bargain with Valeria Demente.
“I’ve been coming here my whole life.” She glided across the modern living area with the poised calm of someone supremely comfortable in her own skin—or someone who knew they had the upper hand.
“My great-grandfather seized this island a millennium ago, then had a high priestess erect the first wards. No one in the Dynasty knows this place exists. You and your friends are safe, Gabriel. As I said last night, our interests align. And I’d be a fool to waste my chance to forge an alliance with the future Don. ”
“You sound pretty confident that will happen.”
“Giovanni got the upper hand at that council meeting, but I doubt it will happen again.” She ran her manicured fingers along the sideboard laden with fruit and pastries before plucking a cherry and popping it into her mouth. “How are your wounds today?”
“Better.” I rolled my shoulder, working out the stiffness. “Thank you for allowing me the services of your healer.”
Last night, I’d hovered on death’s door, beaten within an inch of my life, and I doubted another healer—even Emilia’s—could have managed to get me back on my feet so quickly. Yet another testament to Valeria’s capabilities.
Her villa was as secure as the Draconi fortress, layers of spellwork and magic imbued into the stone walls around us, every inch as luxurious as a Venice palazzo, though more modern in design.
Demente soldiers were subtly positioned around the structure, through the formal gardens and down on the beach, a veritable shield of protection.
“Gia is our very best,” she scanned me head to toe, her lips tightening at my still-healing face. “Do you think the guards treated my father the same way?”
Did they torture him, she meant.
I could lie.
Perhaps I should lie, but strong alliances weren’t built on fabrications; they were built on the truth.
Even if those truths were difficult.
“Most likely, they did. The guards who beat me weren’t Draconi soldiers. These were Lord Blackwood’s personal guards, and they… relished violence. Perhaps they saw me as a traitor and treated me as such.”
“My father is no traitor,” she spat. “The only traitors are those two fuckers. You need to get him out of there.”
First, her father was a traitor, more than she’d ever know, and second, rescuing the old bastard would be nearly impossible, given the Sala del Giuramento was a certifiable fortress.
“Freeing Rocco from La Sala won’t be easy,” I said diplomatically. “Now that Blackwood is involved, a rescue mission will be even more complicated. Planning will take time. Days, at the very least.”
And while I was impressed by Valeria’s loyalty to the traitorous bastard, I had no intention of sacrificing myself for Rocco’s freedom. As far as I was concerned, he was exactly where he belonged.
Rotting in hell.
“My father doesn’t have time.” She looked at me steadily, no reproach in her gaze. “I know you cut off his hand for betraying Emberline. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for his part in that treachery,” she added without hesitation. “There is no honor in using loved ones as weapons.”
“Honor doesn’t matter to Giovanni. Or Blackwood. This fight for the throne will get ugly, Valeria. Vampires will die. And I make no guarantees we won’t be among them.”
The corner of her mouth lifted. “I’m not looking for guarantees.
I’ve spent my life watching my father forge his wicked bargains and secret pacts, and I always knew I could do better.
Even if you manage to free Rocco, I have no intention of handing him back the reins of the Demente Empire.
His time is over. Rocco was content to hide in the shadows and choke on his secrets.
I will bring our family into the light, and an alliance with you is the first step. ”
“I… don’t know what to say, except I’m looking forward to working with you, Valeria.” Completely shocked by that revelation, I reassessed my new ally, wondering if she was playing me, telling the truth, or setting a trap.
I was still searching for a response when her gaze lifted over my shoulder, her expression closing down until there wasn’t a trace of emotion left.
“Good,” she said, every word clipped. “Everyone is finally up.”
They dragged into the dining room as if they’d slept like the dead—or barely survived a war.
Dante came first, holding Emberline’s hand, his piercing blue gaze settling on Valeria and me—before leading his wife to the food-laden table and murmuring in her ear.
Emotion clogged my throat.
All of them were alive.
The deal I’d forged last night—whatever future deals I’d make to keep them safe—would be worth the price. I didn’t care what happened to me, so long as my friends—my family—were protected.
They were all that mattered.
But a raw ache squeezed my heart at Ember’s pale face, the hesitant way she moved, no sign of her usual confidence. I knew her well enough to know why.
She blamed herself for last night’s failure, when that responsibility fell squarely on my shoulders, and mine alone.
She’d warned me, after all, and I hadn’t listened.
The moment we were done here, I would spend the rest of the day convincing her she was not at fault. Try to find a way to put a smile back on her face.
The beach might be a good place to start.
Luca came in next, scanning the opulent room with the wide-eyed look of a male impressed by his surroundings, and at the same time, still in shock.
Nico prowled in last, keen attention sweeping the room with a calm soldier’s assurance that instantly settled me.
I trusted him to see through Valeria’s bullshit.
Given my brother and Valeria’s history, Dante’s judgment was flawed.
Nico, on the other hand, wouldn’t hold back if he believed Valeria might betray us. My friend stopped, looking me up and down, that perpetual smirk firmly in place.
“You look better than death, anyway,” he tipped his head to the side. “The healers had their work cut out for them, given how those assholes worked you over.”
“It seemed Giovanni had a score to settle.”
“More like a lifetime of anger management issues,” he countered, grasping my hand and pulling me in for an embrace. “Fucking glad to see you in one piece, my friend. Given the circumstances, I don’t have much of an appetite, but I’m assuming there’s coffee?”
“On the table,” I told him, watching my friends fill plates and coffee cups, telling myself any deal I made—even if it cost me my soul—was worth this moment.
“Thank fuck. Would it be rude to drink the entire pot?” he asked no one in particular while filling a cup to the brim. Then picked the chair nearest the window to stare at the sea with the patient expression of a male settling in for the long haul.
Luca sat down beside his sister, leveling the sort of venomous glare at Valeria I would have expected from Ember, who kept her eyes down on the plate of food she was currently picking at.
I had a wild impulse to cross the room, sweep her into my arms and steal her away. Carry her somewhere quiet and wrap myself around her to block out the world.
We’d been apart for days now, and while the three of them slept together in a pile last night, after I’d checked on them, I’d stayed awake, carefully planning my next steps.
Because their lives depended on me not fucking this up.
But now… now I wished I would have had her in my arms.