“Very well, I thought, if he cannot take over the family, then at least he could be my tribune, my trusted advisor. Perhaps he could even teach one of my sons to not be so fucking stupid. But that means I had to bring him into the Lucian fold. At first, I thought to do this by marrying Darlene. But then Eli declared his loyalty to Claudia August, and so I set about trying to form an alliance between our families, but she refused me. But Cali’s ascent to Imperator has set a precedent that allows Imperators to adopt heirs who are not blood-related. This is fortuitous to all of you.” Nero slides a leather-bound booklet across his desk and flips it open. “I have a proposal.”
“What is it?” My father leans forward. Saliva forms at the corners of his mouth.
Nero addresses my father. “Eli will marry my daughter Olivia and inherit my empire when I die. He will take the Lucian name and I will officially adopt him as my son. In exchange for this, I will pay you the compensation outlined in that contract, and set you and Darlene up with the funds to rebuild your funerary business. This is with the caveat that of course you’ll be available to the Triumvirate when we require your services.”
He holds out the booklet – my marriage contact – and Dad takes it. His fingers leave sticky circles in the leather.
So this is what he was planning. All this time we thought he was after Claudia when really… he wantedme.
I can’t wrap my head around it. Everything Nero said is insane.
“You can’t be serious.” I glare at Nero as I roll up my sleeve to show the August mark on my wrist. “I can’t be your heir. I’ve already sworn my loyalty to the August family.”
“I don’t see this as a problem,” Nero says. “As long as August and Lucian are in harmony.”
In other words, no matter who is in control of August, the Lucian will retain ultimate control of the Triumvirate.
“But why this marriage?” Livvie asks, her voice rising in pitch. “If you adopt Eli, I don’t need to marry him.”
“There will be those who don’t accept the adoption – namely, your brothers and their loyal soldiers,” Nero says. “Cali is dealing with dissenters in her ranks now, and the violence is spilling over into the streets. Most unsavory. But then, I’ve always said Dio are only one step removed from savages. I won’t have Eli stabbed the week he ascends the Lucian throne for one of my biological sons to take his birthright. His marriage to you adds legitimacy. And I’ve observed the two of you working together – you make a good match. I trust this is agreeable?”
He says it pleasantly enough, but Livvie’s dead eyes tell me that she knows she must agree. In this world, a woman like her loses all autonomy. She casts a futile glance at me. “What if Eli doesn’t want to marry me?”
“Nonsense. You’re a Lucian, a wife to be proud of. He may continue to fuck whoever he likes on the side.” Nero smiles at Claudia, who is shaking with rage. She hasn’t said anything yet. I don’t know if it’s because she’s biding her time, gathering all the details of Nero’s plan before she tears him down, or whether she’s silent because opening her mouth will endanger us all.
But time is running out. My father flips through the contract, his pen poised to sign my life to over Lucian on the dotted line. I knock the pen from his hand.
“I’m not doing it.”
“Son, you’re being emotional.” My father bends to pick up the pen. “This is a great opportunity to build a bold future for all of us.”
“I already have a bold future ahead of me.” I stomp on Dad’s wrist. He yelps as I grind my heel and crush his hand into the wooden floor. I link hands with Claudia, letting her strength flow through her fingers and keep me calm, brave. “I’m the tribune of Claudia August.”
“There’s no future for you with August.” Nero smiles at me. It’s not a smile of joy, but an open threat. “As Claudia has made abundantly clear, she cannot marry more than one man. She has been playing you off against the Barbarian and the Pretty Boy. And I think we all know who she will choose. Who is the one with the malice and brutality to match her, the one who she keeps by her side in all Triumvirate business? It’s not you.”
Noah.
I mean… Nero’s right. Noah and Claudia are two sides of the same coin. They’ve taken to bloodshed like Gizmo’s taken to Queen Boudica’s cat castle. My morals have no place in her criminal empire.
And Gabriel keeps her sane. She needs his music, his emotion to ground her, to keep her from being utterly intoxicated with power.
Who am I to her? Really? I’m the problem-solver, the sensible one she doesn’t even listen to half the time.
I’m the devil’s advocate who always questions her and makes her doubt herself.
I’m the bastard who left her when she needed me most.
I’m the disloyal one who’s considering starting a law degree at Berkeley when she needs mehere.
I’m the fool who couldn’t even tell her apart from her twin sister.
I glance at Claudia. Her eyes fix on Nero. She gives my fingers a reassuring squeeze, but I barely feel it. “Eli is eighteen. His father doesn’t make decisions for him anymore. That contract is worth jack shit and you know it. If you want Eli to be your heir, you offer him the position yourself. But you know he’ll say no – that’s why you’ve brought us all here under the farce of family loyalty to try and guilt him into accepting. You’re trying to play against his better nature, and I’m telling you it won’t work. Because Eli Hart will never be for sale.”
But I can see the cogs turning in her brain. I can see her thinking about the fact that if Nero declared me his rightful heir, she could bump him off and control the Lucian empire through me.
My skin prickles. My stomach squirms like Essie is slithering around in my gut. Claudia is right – I’m not for sale, because I already gifted my moral code, my future, and my life to her a long time ago.
But there’s always a price, and I’ll pay this one in blood.
