40
EMBERLINE
Astorm blew up from the southeast over the lagoon, the low rumble of thunder vibrating through the stone walls. The electric flickered again, so I lit a candle, angling my book closer to the light so I didn’t have to stop.
Tension was coiled tight, and I kept glancing at Nico, noticing the way his long lashes brushed his high cheekbones, that dream still rattling around inside my head. I rubbed the top of my hand, as if I could still feel the burning pressure of his lips.
Every time I looked away, I swore I felt Nico’s eyes burning holes in the back of my head, and yet, whenever I glanced up, he was looking anywhere but in my direction. How was he inside my dream last night?None of that could be real, right?
Except… now I had a dark mark on my right shoulder that hadn’t been there yesterday.
My head was so tangled up with questions, I could barely concentrate on the page.
Gabriel was exhausted, new lines carved into his face, his eyes muddy, like the shadows had taken over. Dante was quiet today, watching Nico with a new watchfulness edged in violence, his hands curling and relaxing, over and over.
We were nearing a breaking point.
And Deathhadfinally caught up to us.
“Marcello’s organs are failing, according to the healers.” Gabriel’s voice cut through the silence.
My gaze stayed fixed on the pages, words blurring as I tried to anticipate how Marcello’s death would change our already precarious situation.
“Define failing.” Dante’s tone was calm, but I heard the razor-edged strain beneath the flatness as he glanced over at his brother.
We all knew Marcello’s death put Gabriel squarely in Giovanni’s sights, and we had no idea what my uncle would try next, so we had taken precautions.
Poison had worked on their father, but there was always the possibility of a knife in the darkness, a bullet fired from a high place. Gabriel was only eating food I prepared here, at the safehouse and only drank wine and water from sealed bottles. Nico was shadowing him twenty-four-seven when he wasn’t watching over my brother and delivering messages to Rocco.
Gabriel didn’t flinch. “They can’t give me a timeline, but the poison has rotted his veins, his bones. Whatever’s keeping him alive…” He exhaled slowly. “Won’t hold much longer.”
Dread settled into my bones. I could stay hidden, sneaking out for nightly jaunts yet staying well out of sight. But Gabriel was forced to attend council meetings and hold court at La Sala as his father’s proxy, the perfect target for an assassination attempt.
Nico shifted closer to the windows, arms crossed as he watched the storm approach, his usual easy confidence nowhere to be found. “Then we’re out of time. We all know what we have to do, we’re just dragging our feet.”
“No,” Dante said quietly. “We agreed, it’s too dangerous. We wait until Marcello kicks the bucket and Gabriel takesover as Don. With the power of the Dynasty behind us, we’ll attack Giovanni from a position of strength.”
“You meanyoudecided it’s too dangerous,” Nico muttered with an edge of bitterness. “I don’t remember there being a discussionoragreement.”
I marked my place in the book for later. “I think,” I said carefully, “we’reallin danger, and none of us more than Gabriel. Our only leverage is that Gio requires the Basin for his plan to work. Without that relic, he’s nothing but a power-hungry male, something we could accuse Rocco and half the lesser house heads of.”
“You’re saying he’s not dangerous?” Dante lifted his brow.
“Don’t play devil’s advocate,” I admonished. “I’m saying he’s a threat, but the Basin is what makes him truly dangerous. Without it, he’s left with nothing but his schemes, his spies, and his resentments. As long as he can’t touch the Basin, he’s powerless. It’s still under lock and key, right?”
“In a room at the very center of the Draconi fortress,principessa.” Nico tipped his head and looked straight at Gabriel. “I could put eyes on the damned thing, assign another twenty extra guards.”
“And tip Giovanni off that we know what he’s planning?” My husband shook his head. “No. He can’t know that we know about the Basin. Any extra interest or security will be a dead giveaway.”
I sighed. We’d agreed that nobody would make any moves that called attention to the fact that we knew his plans for the Basin. Even a small change in protocols could tip Giovanni off, and we didn’t need to give my uncle an advantage. He already had enough of those.
“As much as I hate to say this,”—Gabriel leaned forward slightly, bracing his hands on the table—“Nico’s right.Once Marcello dies, Giovanni will accelerate. I’d like to know for a fact the Basin is securely out of his reach.”
“I still think the Basin would be safer in our possession,” I argued, bracing myself for the expected arguments. “If we stole it, at least we’d know it was safe.”
As expected, everyone stared at me like I’d lost my damn mind.
Dante’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not going anywhere near that fucking thing. Nico already gave us his word it’s behind lock and key, and that’s good enough for me.” The two of them shared a look, and for a second, it was like old times. “Giovanni won’t get anywhere close.”
