“Power or vengeance?” he said. “What’s it going to be?”
I stared at him, my shadows retreating slightly as I weighed his words. He was right—I hated that he was fucking right. But this wasn’t about pride. It was about survival, about securing a future for me, for Vivian, for the empire I’d fought so hard to protect. About finding a way to kill my father.
And the Crimson Dominion would provide me with blood magic, dark alchemy, arcane rituals. All of that would be under my authority. And perhaps I could use them to put an end to my father and permanently rid myself of his tyrannical reign. Killing my father had always been at the forefront of my decision-making, but with Vivian now implicated, it had become infinitely more important. Maybe Izo was right. But the bastard would regret this. I’d get what I wanted, and then I would make his life a living hell.
“Why can’t I have both?” I asked coldly.
I extended my hand, shadows slithering out to bind him. He grimaced and cried out in pain as they wrapped around his arm, burning a mark into his skin—a black tattoo spiraling up his arm, binding him to me. The tattoo quickly inched up the length of his arm and wrapped around his throat. Izo let out a strangled gasp.
“You’re mine now,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “You’ll run your territory under my rule. No defiance, no betrayal, or you’llwishI killed you today. Oh, and one more thing. You’ll no longer have the ability to use your siren song.And if you choose to try, you will not enjoy the consequences. No one else will suffer under your influence.”
Izo nodded, his face pale with pain and submission.
“Good,” I said, turning away from him. “Call off your dogs. We’re leaving.”
He didn’t speak, and that silence was the first sign of his full understanding.
As I walked back toward Vivian, my mind was already turning over the future—how to use Izo, how to secure what was ours, and how to ensure this never happened again.
50
VIVIAN
The world came into focus slowly, and I blinked against the sunlight streaming through the windshield. I was in comfortable clothes instead of that awful outfit Izo had put me in. My head felt heavy, my body sluggish, but the first thing I saw was him—Raffaele, his jaw tight, one hand gripping the steering wheel while the other rested on the gear shift. His face was a study in concentration, dark eyes fixed on the road ahead, but the tension in his shoulders betrayed him.
“Where…” My voice cracked, raspy from disuse. “Where are we?”
His head snapped toward me, relief flooding his features. “Vivian.” His voice was tinged with an emotion I couldn’t quite place. “You’re awake.”
“Barely,” I muttered, wincing as I shifted in my seat. My whole body ached, reminding me what I’d suffered. “What… what happened? How did we get here?”
Raffaele’s lips pressed into a thin line before he answered. “You’ve been out for hours. After the arena…” He trailed off. “Izo gave us safe passage out of the Ashen Territory. Luca veilstepped us to his apartment. I borrowed some comfortable clothes foryou to wear. I didn’t want to waste time, so I got you in the car, and here we are.”
I tried to piece it together, the fragments of memory swimming in my mind. “I remember… Vincenzo was holding me,” I said slowly. “I was so weak, but I saw…” My breath hitched as the image came rushing back. “Izo killed Altair. And then—” My eyes darted to Raffaele. “You made a deal with him.”
His grip tightened on the wheel, his knuckles white. “It was the most strategic option. Trust me, if I was being completely selfish, I would’ve killed the bastard in front of his people.”
I stared at him, searching his face for… something. His powers were back—that much I could feel. The bond we shared thrummed with a vitality I hadn’t felt in ages. Relief washed over me, but it was fleeting. There was something else, something urgent clawing at the back of my mind.
“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice steadier now.
“Back to the cabin,” he said firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. “You need to rest. To heal. After everything that’s happened, you’re not going to lift a damn finger until you’ve recovered.”
“No.” I sat up straight, ignoring the sharp protests of my muscles. “We don’t need to hide anymore.”
“Vivian—”
“I’m serious, Raffaele.” My voice was sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care. “I’ve figured out a way to kill your father. For good.”
He slammed on the brakes, the SUV screeching to a halt on the side of the road. The sudden stop jolted me forward, and I barely caught myself against the dashboard.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he snapped, his eyes burning into mine. “There’s no way in hell I’m taking you back to my estate. Not after everything he did to you.”
“Fuck that,” I shot back, my frustration boiling over. “I’m not hiding anymore, Raffaele. You know I’ve been working on tying NexusCore to the Mirror of Truths. I think I know how to defeat your father. To kill the bastard once and for all. It’s almost like my brain had a break from thinking while under Izo’s control, and now I’m being flooded with all these new ideas. I can do this.”
His jaw dropped slightly before he recovered, and he shook his head vehemently. “Vivian, do you even hear yourself? You’re traumatized—don’t try to deny it. I’m not going to risk your life again, not for him. Not for anyone.”
“I’m not asking. I’m telling you. This is the only way. I want you free of him. Now. And I think I know how to do it.”
