Marco’s shoulders sagged with relief, then tightened when my expression didn’t soften.
“Who gave you this mysterious note?” I prompted softly.
He licked his split lip and winced. “Some vampire I didn’t recognize. Never seen him in the city before. Iswear.”
I picked up the pin, the iron burning my fingertips as if it had just come out of the forge. “Describe him.” My voice stayed casual, a wisp of smoke rising from where I pinched the pin between my fingertips.
I liked the pain, actually.
It reminded me that somewhere outside of my head, I existed. That I was made of living flesh, not just a collection of strategy, cunning, and loyalty to a Dynasty I despised and a father I didn’t trust.
“S-Short,” he blurted. “Light hair. He wore a dark, square cap like a gondolier, but he wasn’t dressed like one. His hands were soft; he had a ring on his pinkie. Gold. Some kind of crest.” His throat worked. “He smelled like smoke. Something pungent… cedar, maybe.”
That detail slotted in like pieces of a puzzle. Venice was full of smoke, but cedar… that could narrow down our search.
Out of nowhere, it struck me again how recklessly the DiRavello girl had acted tonight, and I decided to kill two birds with one stone. Once I found Enzo’s killer, maybe the little hot-blooded princess would settle the fuck down.
The last thing I needed was a rogue Dynasty heir wreaking havoc during the Blood Compact.
An heirIwould be tasked with silencing if her accusations grew too loud.
“Where did thisstrangerfind you?” I asked.
“San Polo,” Marco licked his lips. “By the mercato. I didn’t ask too many questions, if you know what I mean.” The look he gave me was pleading, as if he expected me to buy into his bullshit. “He knew my name. Paid me in gold. Old gold, like the kind…”
“That’s how I found this idiot. He still had these at the gaming table,” Nico set down a stack of four gold ducats, fifteenth century maybe. The dull sound of them clinking together brought back old memories of my sire, counting out stacks of them in his office when I was a child.
“You received instructions to wait outside the DiRavello palazzo for five minutes and received how many of these as payment?”
I picked one up and inspected it, taking my time.
Only the old families used ducats anymore. Which meant these coins were either a message or a false trail, the killerwantingme to believe one of the other families offed him. Either way, this development was neat and clean and had me wondering if poor Marco hadn’t been dropped straight into our laps.
A convenient distraction.
“Ten,” Marco strained at the cuffs, scrawny muscles popping. “I thought I’d try my luck at the tables, but I…”
“Marco here is a terrible gambler, as it turns out,” Nico grinned. “Lost all but these four by the time I found him.”
The prisoner sagged in the chair, all the fight draining out of him.
“That’s a lot of money to do nothing but wait.” I blew out a stream of smoke, then ground my cigarette out on the table. “To pay a nobody criminal for five minutes of their time. So, the note was real, but the rest…” I plunged the pin into Marco’s knee, deep enough, he couldn’t dig it back out.
“Now.” I rose to my full height, casting Marco’s face into shadow. “Let’s start over. What did the note say?”
“Fuck,” Marco screamed, doubling over, “Fuck thathurts.”
“It’s cold iron, what did you expect?” Nico chuckled drily. “In an hour, you’ll be begging me to cut your leg off.”
“The note, Marco,” I prompted. “I know you memorized it, word for word. Anygoodthief would.”
“Fine, yes, I cracked the seal. The note was for Enzo.” His voice cracked. “For Enzo DiRavello. It… it was an invitation for a meeting. With directions.” This time, when his eyes met mine, they were filled with fear. “Something about your… brother.”
“My brother is dead,” I snapped, temper shredding, even as my blood turned to ice. I shot Nico a pointed look.
“Truth,” he intoned, shaking his head.
Fuck.Besides being a heartless motherfucker, Nico Draconi was a Truthteller, capable of discerning lies from truth. And it would have been in our best interest if Marco was lying right now.
