I pursed my lips. Whether by Marcello’s hand, or his son’s, or a hired mercenary, the Dominicos killed my sire, and I would shove their family motto right down their throats with hate in my heart and a blade in my hand, and they could choke on it.
But I needed more than hate to secure my revenge.
Because while I didn’t need a shred of proof to kill the bastards, the rest of the families in the Dynasty would.
“Please get off the ground, Emberline,” my uncle chided. “Staring at your father’s blood only makes your heart hurt, and you know I cannot abide to see my favorite niece in pain.”
“I’m youronlyniece,” I corrected him wryly, and he chuckled. My knees did ache, but I didn’t move. Giovanni was wrong. Penance demanded pain, and for all my failings, I deserved to suffer.
“Come, child. My brother would not like to see his only daughter on her knees in the darkness, thinking such dark thoughts. Come inside, let me make you a cup of tea.”
I didn’t lift my eyes, a sudden swarm of panic tightening my chest.Once I leave,the servants will clean these stones, and there will be nothing left of my father, nothing except ash in the wind and fading memories and… My gaze snagged on the bottom of my uncle’s brown robe.
I frowned.
The fabric was dark, soaked, as if the hem had dragged in the canal.
The wet hem even smelled brackish, that peculiar smell Venice’s water held when it had been stagnant for too long or trapped beneath one of these ancient buildings. Behind him, leading to the palazzo, was a wet trail of water.
“Have your spies brought you any new information, Uncle?”
“Nothing yet,” Uncle Gio touched my shoulder. “But you are right to suspect the Dominicos.However,” he cautioned, “we must proceed carefully if my brother is to be properly avenged.”
Avenge.The word rang through me like a bell being struck, resounding and final.
A promise I could keep; all I needed was a way forward.
And if anyone knew the way forward, it was Giovanni DiRavello.
My uncle was clever, ruthless, and possessed the uncanny ability to navigate the politics of our Dynasty, partially because of his intricate network of spies spread throughout the city, but also because he possessed the unique ability to read minds.
Something I’d learned from a young age to guard against, under my father’s careful tutelage.You can never be too careful, he’d told me with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.Always guard yourself, angelo mio. Our world is a dangerous place, and you can only ever fully trust yourself.
“You believe Marcello did this?”
Gio’s silence was answer enough, and a flame curled around my heart, the first lick of warmth I’d felt since I’d found my father dead. The first time in three days, I was… less adrift.
Yes, vengeance was something solid I could latch onto, arope to pull myself back to shore, until my feet were back on firm ground and my knife was in my hand. Purpose flooded through me, purpose and hatred and the need to prove myself.
To my father. To my uncle, and maybe, to myself.
“Yes, a cup of tea sounds wonderful.” I looked up at the clouds swamping the moon. “I think it’s going to storm, anyway.”
“We must exercise caution, of course,”my uncle explained as I toyed with the handle of the teacup. “There will be security, Dominico soldiers, and the like. Their wards are the best in Italy, centuries of magical protections.”
I turned my head, so he didn’t see my grin.I’d circumvented their wards pretty godsdamned seamlessly tonight, and if Gabriel hadn’t stopped me, I would have…
Would have what? Left Marcello bleeding out in his city palazzo?
The idea was tempting, but the dark side of me craved something bigger.Flashier.
I wanted them to suffer.
But first, I wanted every member of this Dynasty to know how corrupt the Dominicos were.
“But the Don, and his two sons, are guarded by the most elite members of the Draconi Brotherhood. With their training, they will present more of a challenge than anything you have ever faced. And of course, there is the issue of access.” My uncle pursed his lips. “Their island is unbreachable, and he seldom leaves his fortress these days.Your best chance would be either in the city or during travel.”
“You say he seldom leaves the island.” I braced my elbows on the table. “Are you sure there is no way inside? We thought we were safe here, and we were wrong.” I waved my hand around.
