Page 40 of Vow to Claim You

Did she?

I rise slowly and close the distance between us until the scent of her perfume reaches me. Now I’m certain. Licorice. Jasmine. Vanilla. Coffee.

“Ready?” My voice gives nothing away. I wish the rest of me were as disciplined.

She looks up at me and nods. “Ready.” Her hand slips into the crook of my arm.

Serena and Nikos are already in the dining room when we arrive. He’s at the head of the table, black shirt, sleeves rolled, glass of wine in hand. Serena sits to his right with her own glass cradled loosely in her fingers. Her high-necked dress is black as well.

All of us are dressed like we’re attending a funeral. Maybe we are. Domenico’s, certainly. But not only his. Some things died today that don’t get graves.

We take our seats. Ayanna takes the one beside me.

Nikos swirls his wine before lifting it to his lips. “Monsera.” His gaze lands on Ayanna. “I hear it’s beautiful this time of year.”

Ayanna’s fingers rest lightly on the edge of the table. “It is.”

The conversation drifts from there. Climate. Travel. Business that no one names but everyone understands. Serena drinks her wine in slow, measured sips, listening more than she speaks. Nikos controls the rhythm of the room without trying, a question here, an observation there, long silences he doesn’t rush to fill.

Ayanna answers when spoken to. She doesn’t overreach, but doesn’t shrink either, and I catch myself watching her more than I should.

Eventually, we move to the living area.

Nikos walks to the bar, then reaches for a crystal decanter and two glasses. He pours whiskey, then slides one toward me before taking a seat on a couch across from us. Serena refills the wine and sets two glasses on the table between the couches, then settles next to her husband.

“Thank you.” Serena breaks the silence.

I look at her, and she meets my gaze without flinching. Though I notice her fingers are wrapped around the stem of her glass so tight her knuckles are pale.

“I know why you did it,” she states. “You did it so I wouldn’t have to blame my husband for executing my cousin.”

My thumb traces the edge of the whiskey glass. “I did it because he tried to kill my wife.”

Serena nods as though accepting. “I wish Chiara had someone who would protect her like that.” Her gaze shifts to Ayanna. “Like we do.”

She lifts her wine and forces a smile, but it comes out tight.

“We’re lucky women, Princess Ayanna. Cheers to us.” She downs the wine and sets the glass on the table with a soft click. “But now, all that’s waiting for my cousin is death.”

The silence that follows is deafening. Serena looks calm the way a cracked glass looks whole. One tap and it all shatters.

I know the feeling. The composure by force. And I know what that costs.

I set the whiskey aside with more care than necessary. Even the faint clink against the table sounds too loud.

“What if there’s a way to prevent that?”

Nikos’s eyelids twitch almost imperceptibly. Serena turns toward me, her whole body shifting, hope flickering behind the exhaustion in her eyes. Ayanna swallows beside me, and I can feel the tension radiating off her.

“What are you saying?” Serena’s voice is careful.

I shift forward, my weight settling onto my thighs. “There may be a way to save Chiara. But it requires making her untouchable.”

Nikos takes a sip of his whiskey. When he sets it down, his eyes are fixed on me. “You’re suggesting she joins us.”

I nod. “If she marries one of us.”

Ayanna’s wineglass stops halfway to her mouth. The pause is so brief that no one else would catch it, but I clock it. She lowers the glass without taking a sip.