By someone strong, like Giovanni. Someone who knew enough about our connection to know the right spells to cut me off. Someone who had spies in the right place at just the right time.
“You know why.” Nico’s jaw worked. “He wants the Basin. He thinks she knows where it is.”
The three of us looked at each other, and I thought I would be sick.
“She doesn’t know.” Nico scanned my face frantically. “If they ask her about the Basin, and she doesn’t give themsomething…”
I squeezed my eyes shut, imagining my brave, stubborn wife facing off against her uncle. She’d defy him on principle and damn the consequences, but she’d never been tortured. Never been hurt by someone who enjoyed causing pain.
I had, and the thought of her hurt, scared, alone?—
I turned away, bracing my palms against the cold stone of the courtyard wall. For a second, I couldn’t breathe past the tightness in my chest. I couldn’t do this again, I couldn’t…
“Dante…” Gabriel started.
“I should have stayed with her,” I muttered, the words raw. “She needed water, and I left her alone. I sensed—” I broke off, swallowing hard. “I thought something felt off, andI still left.”
“He won’t kill her,” Nico said quietly, as if that made any of this better.
I blew out a harsh, humorless breath. “That fucking bastard has already killed her once, remember? And we took the one thing he needs for his plan to work. He’ll do anything to get the Basin back.”
“He won’t kill Emberline,” he repeated. “She’s still leverage against us. He won’t waste that.”
“But hewillhurt her.” Gabriel stepped closer, his voice low but steady. “Which means we have to locate her.Fast.”
I straightened slowly, dragging myself back together piece by shattered piece as the ifrit shifted inside me, searching for a way out.
“He wouldn’t go back to the palazzo or the ruins,” I decided. “He’d stay out of the city. And the DiRavello island… somehow, I can’t imagine him taking her there. He’s somewhere farther away, secure, outside of our usual territory.”
“We’ll find her.” Nico checked over his weapons. “There has to be a way to track her, and when we find her, we go and get our girl.”
A growl built in my chest, and Nico just met my glower with one of his own, body braced for whatever violence I decided to unleash.
“She is the heart of us, Dante.” Nico’s shoulders sagged, all the fight draining out of him. “We all care for her, and none of us would ever be the same if we lost her. She means too much to us.”
“To me,” I snapped, sharper than I intended.
Nico stood his ground, holding my stare. “Toallof us. I won’t apologize for loving her, or protecting her, or worrying over her. I’m done pretending what I feel is wrong. She matters to all of us.”
Fuck.I turned away, scrubbing my face, trying to stay angry. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t his fault he’d fallen in love with Emberline. I’d lasted all of one night, and I’d been a lost cause.
Gabriel’s hand landed on my shoulder. “He’s right, Dante. I can’t imagine spending a day without her. This isn’t something we planned, Dante. It just… happened.”
Fucking hell.My brother, too. For a moment, none of us spoke.
The tension that had been building since the Fossa—the jealousies and petty rivalries—became completely irrelevant against the knowledge that Emberline was in real danger.
“She matters,” Nico repeated. “More than our bullshit.”
“We have to find her.” I let out a slow breath, forcing the rage, the fear, the guilt into something usable. Something I could use to carve out Giovanni’s heart from his chest.
Something that didn’t end with me turning into a ball of flames.
“I… maybe I can.” Gabriel flushed before he looked away. “I fed from her last night. I should be able to follow the blood bond; it’s fresh enough. They might have used magic to block you, but there’s a chance their magic won’t work on me.”
“Then we find her, and we bring her back.” Nico’s mouth curved faintly, though there was no humor in it. “Together.”
“Teamwork is dreamwork,” Gabriel echoed.
