I stopped, scanned for Leo.
Then Sebastian approached from the left, two champagne flutes in hand. Saw me, smiled. "Found you—"
His eyes shifted behind me, paused.
He switched glasses to his left, extended right. Tone flat. "Long time."
I turned.
Ezio stood there, eyed the hand, his gaze iced over, like a door slamming shut.
He shook it. "Long time."
Words flat, but undercurrents different. I felt it.
Sebastian turned to me, smile intact. "Sorry, late. Kept you waiting."
I blinked. "No, I..."
"Leo's looking for you," he said. "Wanna go?"
I glanced at Ezio; he stood silent, cold still there, but something deeper in his eyes, murky.
"Okay," I said, followed Sebastian.
Two steps, then Ezio's voice behind, low. "Sebastian."
"Yeah?" Sebastian looked back.
"Let's talk sometime."
Not asking, stating. Sebastian paused, smile steady. "Sure, cousin."
I froze.
Cousin.
The word dropped in the hall's light, hit me unprepared, stunned me.
I turned, stared at Sebastian, then Ezio.
One smiling, one watching, waiting for me to piece it together.
"You..." My voice stuck.
Sebastian handed me the glass, casual as ever. "Yeah, we're cousins."
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ezio
"Olivia," I said. "Go back inside."
She stood there, looking at me, then at Sebastian.
Her eyes held confusion, bewilderment, and something else I couldn't read.
"You two..." her voice shook. "You're cousins?"
