Chapter 26
EMBERLINE
“Well…” Gabriel dropped onto the couch when we returned to the villa, looking faintly shell-shocked. “That was enlightening.”
“Enlightening and wholly unhelpful,” Dante added, blowing out a low whistle.
“Emilia is the High Priestess. Somehow, I didn’t have any trouble believing it was true.
I mean, I can just picture her negotiating with that warlord.
She probably had him eating out of the palm of her hand in less than a minute. ”
“And so much for destroying the Basin.” I sighed. “Are we positive there is no possible way anyone could ever find it?”
“Not a chance,” my husband said with that annoyingly easy confidence. “Luca and I dropped that rock deep, somewhere nobody will ever look. Stop worrying, Emberline; the Basin is not in play. When this is all over, I think we should leave that fucking thing buried where it is.”
Neither Gabriel nor Dante looked directly at Nico.
Dante—who spent time hiding his own secrets—seemed to be softening toward his friend, but Gabriel… there was an edge to his every word, an unbreachable wall around him that was growing higher by the hour.
But with the help of Emilia’s magic, Nico was steadier than he had been in days… I just wasn’t sure what she’d fixed. And after what I’d witnessed, Nico’s secret was something to fear.
Not just the shadows clinging to him like a second skin.
That explosion of power he’d unleashed against his father was unlike any magic I’d ever seen.
Capable of destruction on a level I’d never imagined.
Nico walked the dream realm as if he belonged there.
He showed up in the Underworld at exactly the right time and had saved me—twice—from being dragged in.
Everything was adding up to a conclusion that couldn’t possibly be correct.
When it came to Nico Draconi, my questions were outweighing the answers.
“We need to clear the air,” I urged. “Blackwood and Giovanni are the enemy, not each other. Nico left his father behind a long time ago and moved on with his life. As far as I’m concerned, Nico’s sperm donor doesn’t matter. I trust him, and so should you.”
Nico shot me a look of gratitude, but Gabriel just grunted, even my husband looking… unconvinced.
“Since we can’t destroy the Basin, let’s discuss my uncle. Giovanni has been absent from public life for over a week.” I turned to Nico, hoping to draw him into conversation or at least start him talking. “Are you sure there have been no recent sightings?”
“No sign of him today,” Valeria breezed in, blond hair twisted up into a perfect chignon, stilettos clicking on the marble floor.
“In fact, council was sparsely attended. Me, Lord Blackwood, and Severin. Vincenzo didn’t show, even though we waited for over an hour.
I had to fucking make small talk with Blackwood.
Do you have any idea how tedious that was?
He kept staring at my boobs. Like, seriously. ”
Nico looked slightly ill.
“At least you survived,” Gabriel managed, sliding me a look. “A rousing success for your first day.”
“If you want to call it that. The discussion centered around establishing a wide perimeter around the Sala del Giuramento for security purposes. And the council chamber stunk. Smelled like… something old and rotten was burning.”
Dead silence followed that statement, all of us debating whether or not to loop her in.
Gabriel gave me the slightest head shake. Not yet.
“Other than the smell, did you notice anything… out of the ordinary?” I asked, remembering all those Drax on the ceiling. And that smell she described… like creosote. I’d smelled that reek last night… around Blackwood himself.
“No, just Blackwood, slithering into the Don’s chair like he already owned the place. Disgusting, and if he really thinks he can…”
Her sentence trailed off, eyes going wide as she looked past me.
Luca was outlined by the doorway, shorn hair tousled as though he’d just gotten up, some color back in his complexion. I immediately crossed to him, worry spiking until I laid the back of my hand against his forehead.
Normal.
Perfectly normal.
“Gods, you’re loud.” His familiar, lopsided grin had me scolding myself for a fool. “I came down earlier, but everyone was gone, so I got something to eat and lay back down. Must have fallen asleep waiting for you. Where did you go?”
“Emilia’s,” I said, at the same time Gabriel cut in with, “Nowhere important.”
I took a breath, scanned my brother’s face. Same dark eyes, same dimples, same mole on his right cheekbone. “You still look tired. Are you not sleeping?”
“Not great. Every time I try, I see those… things. But it’s getting better.” He stretched his arms over his head, the bottom of his shirt lifting to show off a set of toned abs. I swore Valeria let out a little moan.
Hands off, I thought viciously.
“I’m hungry again,” Luca complained, rubbing his belly. “Just thought I’d make sure your trip went okay. To Emilia’s.” He glared pointedly at Gabriel. “If you need me, you’ll find me in the kitchen.”
“I’ll come with you.” Valeria jumped to her feet, smoothing back her already-perfect hair. “I’m starving after today. If you want, I could whip up some pasta.”
“You know how to cook?”
She smiled, fangs flashing. “I know how to do a lot of things.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
I ground my teeth together as they disappeared, but I didn’t have time right now to play chaperone. “So. Back to my uncle. Any ideas? It’s not like him not to bask in the glory of sitting in the Don’s chair. Something feels off.”
“Maybe Blackwood killed him off.” Dante shrugged. “What? It tracks. I mean, we all want the greedy asshole dead, and Blackwood doesn’t seem to suffer fools.”
“He’s not dead.” I ran through all the possibilities, and that one came in dead last. “My uncle’s too clever to leave himself vulnerable, especially with Blackwood around.
No, he’s holed up in the palazzo where it’s safe.
Where his wards are the strongest. Running his spy network day and night, searching for the only leverage he has. That damn Basin.”
“So, we’re back to that.”
“We’re back to that,” I sighed. “I’d feel better if the thing was gone, but that’s not an option so…”
So what? I had no delusions the Basin would go undiscovered forever, and moving it would only attract attention. What had begun as our greatest victory was quickly turning into our Achilles heel.
“We can’t let this drag on any longer.” Gabriel’s head was tipped forward, tension written all over his face.
“Blackwood and Giovanni are the real threats, not the Basin. Given what Blackwood’s guards are capable of, we have to end this.
Fast, before he has a chance to become more deeply entrenched. ”
Nobody argued, but… how?
“I believe we should…” Gabriel sent a sidelong look at Nico, his posture instantly stiffening. “Perhaps we’ll discuss strategy later.”
Nico jerked as if he’d been struck, and something inside of me crumbled.
I would do anything to get rid of that haunted look on his face. To make the cruel words his father had thrown at him just… disappear. Gods only knew what he’d endured at that bastard’s hands, yet here he stood, shoulders squared, facing his best friend’s judgment as if he deserved it.
I didn’t think I’d ever loved him more.
“We’re discussing this now.” Dante turned to Nico with exaggerated calmness.
“I’ve kept my own secrets, but this is Blackwood we’re talking about.
Our enemy. Your father. The fact you chose not to tell us who you really were.
Let’s start with that, then we’ll move on to why your magic is exactly like the guard’s. ”
I stepped forward, body vibrating with anger. “You have no right to treat Nico like he’s…”
“No, Dante’s right, Emberline, they deserve answers.
I always knew this day would come.” Nico unclenched his fists and lifted his chin.
“Yes, I kept my bloodline a secret. Given my father is a raging douchebag, I never knew quite where to start. I’m not rehashing my shit childhood, but I will say this.
Walking away from Blackwood was the easiest thing I ever did, even if leaving came with a hefty price tag. But I would do it again. And again.”
“Spare me,” Gabriel snapped. “You kept the truth from us because if we knew you were related, we wouldn’t have let you anywhere near me. I never would have let you get so close.” His lip curled. “And what will your precious Draconi Master say when he finds out who you are?”
“Gabriel,” I hissed, “don’t you dare…”
“Severin knows,” Nico admitted, his shadows quiet.
“He’s known all along. After I got to Venice, I snuck into the Brotherhood fortress one night to get off the streets.
Severin was impressed I’d circumvented his wards.
Instead of sending me back to the city, he let me stay.
But sure,”—a hint of bitterness crept into his voice—“threaten to take that away from me, too.” Nico looked brokenly between the two males he considered brothers.
“I’m going for a walk. Feel free to discuss your plans in my absence.” Then he slipped through the glass doors and was gone.
I whirled on both of them. “How dare you? Nico’s saved me, and you and you.
” I stabbed my finger viciously in their direction.
“There’s no plot, there’s no fucking grand conspiracy here for you to pick apart.
You two are butt-hurt because he kept something from you because he was afraid of exactly this reaction.
And you know what? If Lord Blackwood was my fucking father, I wouldn’t admit it, either. ”
“This situation is more complicated than that.” Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose. “And you know it.”
“No,” I said flatly, “I don’t. What I do know is this. We can trust Nico with our lives. He would die for you both. And if you’re too blinded by pride to see that, then I feel sorry for you.”
I turned on my heel and left, heading for the kitchen.
I needed a godsdamned drink. Several, in fact.
When I came around the corner, I caught the briefest glimpse of Valeria up on the counter, her hair down around her shoulders and my brother—my sweet angelic brother—kissing her like he meant to devour her alive. I groaned and kept going, heading for the bedroom.
“I swear to the fucking gods, this day cannot possibly get any worse.”