Jac faltered.
“Do it,” he repeated.
Then Sophia grabbed a lamp off the shelf and slammed it hard against his head. The man crumpled to the carpet. Jac took several steps back and leaned against the wall to steady himself, trying to make sense of this.
He’d promised Lola that he’d listen to Levi and Sophia when they’d told him not to take Charles’s offer. But Levi was gone, and Sophia was already planning contingencies.
She could’ve died.
Which was why Jac couldn’t wait for Charles to make a second move. He couldn’t wait until tomorrow, couldn’t wait for Sophia to come up with any more final, desperate options.
The thought of facing Charles terrified him more than anything, but if he was going to save both SophiaandLevi, he needed to face his fears.
Tonight, Jac Mardlin would play a game of his own.
LEVI
As Vianca Augustine poured herself a cup of tea, Levi pictured all the ways she might die.
The cold November weather had made the air in her office dry, and each of his breaths scratched at his throat. For months, Levi had counted down the weeks until he achieved his freedom. Until Vianca Augustine was dead. And now the election was only two days away.
But the Spirits ran new polls every few days, and according to Lola, the results looked bleak. Despite Fenice’s mass deregistration and voter suppression, the North Siders held unwavering support for the monarchists.
No word from Harrison. No word from Jac. No contact with Enne. After months of following every news story and debate, their hope was waning. Levi had done everything to give Harrison this victory, but apparently everything wasn’t enough.
And the last place Levi wanted to be when mourning his losses was St. Morse Casino.
“Levi,” Vianca purred, and every hair on his neck stood on end. “Please take a seat.”
She poured him a cup of tea, spiking it with whiskey cream. He raised his eyebrows as he accepted the drink. Levi never willingly consumed anything she offered him, but he could admittedly use something strong.
Vianca unlocked one of her desk drawers to reveal a sparkling orb.
“You and Miss Salta have, once again, exceeded my expectations,” she said.
Levi tried not to stiffen at the mention of Enne. He’d avoided thinking about their last conversation for weeks, but it’d been very hard to avoid thinking abouther. He’d thought it would grow easier, but hearing Vianca say her name only made his stomach clench. Enne knew the horrors of Vianca Augustine as well as he did. So he’d never understand how she could’ve taken the one thing he hated and feared most and used it against him.
Vianca clearly didn’t notice his distress, because she didn’t mention it. She usually did, when given the chance.
“I’ve been dwelling on this conversation for a long time,” she said. “Surely you must realize what I’m going to say to you.”
Levi straightened in his seat, trying to decide whether or not that was a threat. “I have no idea.”
“What does this city say about me?”
Witch. Shatz. Pathetic. Terrifying. Ruthless. Monster. The list was endless. Vianca was the villain of every fairy tale, leading helpless North Side children to ruin with a line of breadcrumbs and poker chips.
“Um,” Levi started. “That Worner Prescott is barely more than a puppet, and if he wins the election, you’ll be the one truly in power.”
The corner of her lips turned into a smile. “That’s correct, but that isn’t what I meant. St. Morse Casino isn’t run byme. It’s run by the Augustine Family. But look around...” She gestured around the office. “I have no family left. When I die, there will be no cousins feuding for my throne. My son will have nothing to do with this place, or with me. If my legacy lives on, it will do so by one of my inept employees, all of whom have only a child’s understanding of how this empire operates.”
Levi took a long sip of his drink to cool his nerves. He wasn’t sure where this was headed.
“I have no heirs,” Vianca continued. “I only have the three of you.”
“Three?” he repeated. He knew she was referring to her omertas, and he’d always suspected there was a third. Over the summer, Zula Slyk had confirmed those suspicions.I’ve always wanted to meet her other boy.
“Surely you’ve guessed the third by now,” she said with amusement. “I would’ve thought it obvious.”
