Page 177 of Devoted

Gabriel, Severin, and Emilia’s seats sat empty on the council, every decision coming down to just two votes—Giovanni and Rocco, who ran the council like their own personal fiefdom. “Severin arranged sanctuary for many of the vampire families, but the ones that remained have become targets.” That’s where Dante, Gabriel, and I would be tonight. Joining Severin and some Draconi soldiers in a nighttime rescue operation to get as many as possible to safety.

I stopped in the center of an open area where the ground was even and free of rocks. I didn’t want to hurt Valeria, not when we were friends.

A strange thing to say, but there it was.

“So, are you ready for this?” I gathered my hair back and braided it tight against my scalp. “I’m not going easy on you just because you’re out of practice.”

“Who says I’m out of practice?” She grinned, laced her hands together above her head, and leaned to the side, vertebrae popping back into place. “I trained every day with my soldiers. I’m curious to see how I do against you. I heard you’re fast.”

“I guess we’ll see.” I grinned, feeling a lot more hopeful than I had in a long time.

EPILOGUE

GABRIEL

Itouched the tiny shoe in my pocket.

Small enough to fit in my closed fist, the leather stiff with dried blood I’d never quite managed to scrape out of the seams. A reminder of the cruelty our enemies were capable of and the vengeance the innocents were due.

I owed the dead that much, at least.

The Draconi fortress smelled of fresh mortar and male sweat, of oiled steel and healing magic—a far cry from a luxurious castle on a private island or a palazzo standing tall over the glittering golden city. But as long as these ancient stones kept my family safe, this place was our refuge and tonight, our center of operations.

Five worn chairs ringed a scarred table that had seen its share of pounding fists and coffee stains, the arrangement a mockery of the soaring, gilded council chamber at La Sala.

The council I was born to rule.

Severin sat to my right, brawny arms crossed over his chest, Valeria across from me, her spine straight as a queen’s. Emilia was, predictably, at Severin’s other side, while Emberline filled the final chair, Nico and my brother positioned behind her like two immovable bookends. Five Pentarchs, one from each family.

I’d made myself a promise.

Giovanni was a dead male.

How I’d make that happen was still unknown, but it was the inevitable outcome of everything—the needless murders, the tortures, the greed, the corruption… all of it culminating in one irrefutable conclusion.

The only way the rest of us survived was for him to die.

Blackwood was gone from Venice, dragged back to Rome by Romulus’ careful maneuvering, now fighting a war against his own council that would keep him occupied for months, if not longer.

Not dead. Not yet.

But I’d stopped believing in easy victories, and much like Giovanni, his day would come. Just not soon enough and not by my hand.

Luca was alive.

That was the word we all carefully chose to use when it came to Emberline’s brother, a hopeful word that left out the darkness behind it—his suffering and his pain, the fact he was now alone in a strange city, trapped inside his own head. Emilia received intermittent reports from Romulus—over this past week, the corruption had finally stopped spreading after consuming half his body and face.

One eye was now gone. Talons had replaced the fingers of his right hand.

The boy with the golden looks was little more than a monster. Or… half-monster. Emberline had stopped asking for details, so Dante and I asked on her behalf, telling Romulus to do what he could. Keep the kid alive until we found an opportunity to free him.

I looked my allies straight in the face, one by one, meeting their eyes, thinking about my father and all the years he sat at a much grander table with some of these same vampires. Marcello would see the tiny shoe in my pocket and call me soft for keeping it. Weak for letting the dead dictate my actions… and especially, my emotions.

But… I had promised myself, standing over Louis and Aurora’s ruined estate, I would bend to the needs of others. I would protect any vampire who could not protect themselves and be the Don my father was too selfish to be. I set my hands on the arms of my chair and pushed myself up, every muscle in my body feeling the strain.

“This Dynasty needs to be rebuilt from the foundations up. The only way to do that is to eradicate the rot at the source. Giovanni and Rocco have to die. The vampires who are loyal to them… have to die. I’ve never believed in purges, but this is the only way we will survive. I stand before you all to swear this.”

I reached into my pocket, brushed my finger over the tiny shoe, then pulled out a knife. An old, battered one, my brother instantly straightening at the sight.