Stay alert. Learn everything you can about the family business and don’t rely on Uncle so much.I paused, hoping my suspicions were wrong.
We cannot trust him, so now, it’s only you and me.
35
EMBERLINE
At times like these, I wished I had magic.
Or at least enough muscle mass to lift big, heavy things, my arms straining as I managed to haul my weapons trunk up one more step. Sweat stung my eyes, my shoulders were about to give out, and I wasalmosthalfway to the training room when Dante stopped me, muttering something about thegodsawful racketand possiblybringing the house down around our ears.
Then the smug bastard picked it up and tossed it onto his shoulder like it weighed nothing, leaving me to trail up the steps behind him.
“Well, if the house was sturdier, you wouldn’t have to worry about it falling down,” I pointed out when he stacked the last trunk in the far corner.
His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, putting those muscled forearms on display. Not that I was ogling my pretend husband’s body; it was just that he wasright the fuck in front of me, gleaming with sweat and scars and tattoos, andI had godsdamned eyes, didn’t I?
“If my wife wasn’t a hoarder of deadly, pointy things, I wouldn’t have to worry about it at all.” He shot me a sour look. “Are you planning on waging a war I don’t know about?”
“You never know,” I admonished. “Be glad I left my custom-made collection at home. I had to bringsomeclothing,in case I was required to look like a proper Dominico bride, especially if you were serious about getting back into society.”
I was feeling like an actual person this morning, rested and bathed, my hair brushed and braided, dressed in plain black jeans and a t-shirt. The vestiges of Dante’s blood still hummed in my system, a boost of power I’d decided I could definitely get used to.
Maybe I could knock him out and drink from him without that annoying sexual tension popping up between us.
The idea definitely had merit.
“How tragic.” He rolled his eyes. “Forced to choose between steel and silk.”
“For your information, I prefer the steel,” I flipped open the lid on the top trunk. “The silk is for camouflage only, blending in with the other bloodsuckers.”
He watched me for a heartbeat, narrowed eyes burning.
“You’re rather terrifying, do you know that?” He blew out a breath and rolled his shoulders. “Speaking of blending in, we have a trial to attend, so one of those gowns would be an excellent choice for today.”
“Trial?” I repeated, my stomach knotting. Council trials were rare and seldom resulted in acquittals. Most often, they resulted in permanent disappearances. ‘Sleeping with the fishes’ sort of disappearances.
Despite the looming threat, I kept my tone flippant. “I thought I’d get a day off from political warfare.”
“No such luck. I just received word. Today is Marcello’s first test,” he explained quietly. “You didn’t think he’d let me stroll back into the capital, marry his enemy’s daughter, and set up house without running me through a gauntlet, did you?”
No, but how can he possibly be so calm if his enemies are already organized and ready to string him up? And as his wife, was I about to be strung up beside him?
“I was hoping,”—I wiped my suddenly sweaty palms on my pants, giving my weapons a wistful look—“that we might get a break before the next disaster.”
He shook his head. “We’re beyond hoping,moglie.Marcello would be a fool to give me a chance to regroup, so get dressed.” He gave me and the training room floor a long look, his eyes resting on the spot where he’d kissed me.
“Unfortunately, our rematch will have to wait for another day.”
The council chamberin the Sala del Giuramento was made to make you feel small.
The building sat at the heart of the Castello district, everything around it built to accommodate the sprawling structure, eating up so much of Venice’s prime real estate. The walls were thick, the windows high and narrow. Old frescoes of saints and angels stared down from the vaulted ceiling, their paint faded over the years to muted blues and reds.
I clasped my hands behind my back, a placid expression on my face, a tangled bundle of nerves inside. A private trial of council was something most Dynasty members did not walk away from.
And neither of us were most Dynasty members.
At the center of the room, a dark wooden table dominated the echoing space.
