Page 11 of The Arianna Arrangement

Apollo cocked his head to the side. “The blood oath signifies he’s initiating into your family, which he’s not doing.”

“The oath will be modified for him, but I insist he participates as the oath shows his loyalty and allegiance. It will happen right after the final test.”

Apollo’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t argue. “I must insist that Zephyr, as the official head of our family, be present for that.”

The flare of Lucian’s nostrils said he didn’t like that. “Outsiders are not allowed in on sacred family affairs.”

We didn’t have a lot of wiggle room because in the end, Lucian held all the power. That’s why I was a little surprised that he kept going. “Because we were not made aware that he was going to be required to take the blood oath, which is a huge fucking deal, I feel it’s only fair to insist that the head of our family be present.”

What surprised me even more was that Lucian caved. “Fine. Zephyr can be there.” Lucian’s attention turned to me. “Now, initiates don’t get to know their tasks before they’re given, so if this leaves this room, I’ll know I can’t trust you and our alliance will be off. The only reason you get to know ahead of time is because of the nature of our family alliance. A representative of your family has the right to negotiate terms the same as if I were initiating someone from one of the other four families in a way to create a coalition.”

I gave him a brief nod, leaving my head in a bowed position to show respect, my eyes lowered. “Understood.”

“Perfect.” There was a knock on the door. “Come in.”

One of the security that had been posted outside the door popped his head in. “Sorry to interrupt, boss, but I’ve just been notified that Mr. Vitale and his lieutenants have just arrived back at the estate.”

“Excellent. Send them this way immediately and we’ll get introductions out of the way.”

The guard gave a nod. “Yes, sir.”

“If they’re back already, they must have not run into any trouble. That’s exciting.” Lucian looked at Apollo and I with a wide smile. “While there’s a while before we have to consider a transfer in power, the fact that people are already showing Alessandro the respect he deserves as my heir means I’ve been running my organization right and there shouldn’t be issues when the day comes that he takes over.”

Apollo gave a nod. “I understand. It’s always nice to see when the future of our family is able to hold their own and show a competency that can only be carefully molded.”

While Apollo might have been more of the muscle of our family instead of the diplomat or figurehead, he was well versed in the art of appeasing someone to weaken their defenses.

There was a quick knock at the door before it opened and Sandro walked in, two guys flanking him. His eyes met mine, then Apollo, before landing on his father again. Apollo and I stood in a show of respect as the guys made their way into the room.

Sandro dipped his head in respect to Apollo. “Mr. Givenchy.” Then he turned to his father. “Don Vitale.”

I was really glad that I didn’t have to live in this world of formalities. It was exhausting for the short amount of time I visited, so I couldn’t imagine living it full-time.

Lucian gave him a nod and motioned for everyone to sit. “I appreciate the formality, son, but this is an informal setting. I just wanted you to introduce your lieutenants to your future brother-in-law. He will be working in your crew for his initiation, so I was thinking that maybe after the feast tonight, you four could go out to one of our establishments and blow off some steam together.”

Sandro gave him a nod, then turned to me. “Nice to see you again, Tucker.”

I returned the gesture. “You as well.”

A man with dark brown hair that was pulled back into a man bun stepped forward. His beard was scraggly and I was surprised Lucian didn’t make him trim it considering every other man I saw in the organization seemed to keep their facial hair well styled. “This is Marco Barone. He is my cousin and right hand man. While you are not officially part of the Vitale family organization, your rank is equal to his.”

I gave a nod and reached out to shake his hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“You too.”

The other guy stepped up. His hair was black as coal, much like Sandro’s, but instead of the controlled style of my future brother-in-law, this man’s hair looked like a curly mess. At least his face was clean shaven. He was also as big as a fucking house. “This is Elio Costa. He is my enforcer. Technically you outrank him, or, will once the wedding happens, but I expect that you’ll show him the respect his title deserves, just as he’ll show you the same.”

“Of course.” I reached out a hand to Elio. “Pleasure.”

He took my outstretched hand, and the squeeze he gave it was tight, but I made sure I didn’t flinch. Not that he would have seen. His head was bowed. But I knew Sandro’s eyes never left my expression. Same for Lucian.

Lucian gave a quick clap of his hands. “Excellent. Now, I’ll have Marco and Elio show you to your rooms. The two of you and your security will share a wing. Your security has already been shown to their quarters and been briefed on our expectations of them by our security. I’m going to debrief the mission with my son, and we’ll see you all at the feast in an hour.”

Apollo reached out to shake Lucian’s hand as I bowed my head to him. “We’re looking forward to it. You always put on the best welcome parties.”

As we left the office, Marco led the way. “You all are being put up on the south wing.”

We stayed in the same wing and rooms every time, so it’s not like it was a surprise at this point. Having spent a couple of weeks here every summer for the last eight years meant I was no longer that little boy that first walked in the door, ready to meet his future wife at the ripe age of ten. I’d learned my way around this maze of an estate, and even knew where all of the cameras and secret passages were.