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“She is a murderer,” Greed spat.
“A title we all share,” I tossed back at him.
Pride’s gaze raked over my twin. Hatred flared in those strange eyes, but I could have sworn I saw something else in them, too. Something that suspiciously looked like hurt. He held his hands up and stepped back. “Just keep her away from me.”
Greed had his House dagger out, blade angled in my sister’s direction. “Thank you for this gift, brother. As already decreed, I am within my rights to collect my blood retribution.”
“Greed,” Wrath warned. “Don’t move.”
I pushed my way through the princes and looked at Domenico. “Where is your sister?”
It had already been silent, but I swore all sound ceased. Even the wind. Domenico’s jaw locked. “I want an oath from your prince that she will walk out of here if she so chooses.”
I inclined my head and looked to Wrath. “Will you grant his request?”
My husband searched my face before turning his focus on the werewolf. Wrath was putting an enormous amount of trust in me. An action that would not go unnoticed by the other princes. “Your sister will not be taken by any House of Sin against her will.”
Vittoria reached for Domenico’s arm, and he allowed her to hold on. Pride didn’t miss the action. And neither did Greed. He stepped forward and pointed his House dagger at Wrath. “You granted me a blood retribution. I am well within my rights to attack.”
“You were granted a blood retribution for the murder of your commander,” I said, my voice cold. “A murder that never occurred. Therefore, you are owed nothing. Put your dagger away. Now.”
Greed’s attention whipped between me and Wrath. “Vesta is dead. You saw her remains.”
“Vesta is pack,” I said. “You made a bargain with her family because you coveted an alliance with the wolves. You wanted her magic. Her power. Your greed got in the way of seeing how unhappy she was. How much she longed to reunite with her family.”
I remembered the young wolf in the Well of Memory, the terror of being ripped from her family as a cub. The howls, the fear—it had been a true nightmare. Then there was way the wolf pup had sent a flicker of soothing energy to her papa, which made me think of the unfamiliar werewolf in the Shifting Isles, the one who’d brought my clothing before Vittoria removed my spell-lock. That wolf had altered emotions, too. Had soothed me when I was most afraid.
“Tell me everything you learned.” Wrath nodded in encouragement, and I launched into the sordid tale, laying all the clues out there for Greed and his brothers.
It took some time to piece it all together, but the man whose face I couldn’t see in the Well of Memory hadsoundedfamiliar, and after I’d ruminated over the memory in my mind, I placed his voice—Domenico’s father. The young boy in the crib had been Domenico, Vesta’s half brother. After that, everything made more sense than Vesta’s “murder” ever did.
While initially searching in Sicily for my sister’s murderer, I found Domenico Senior in Greed’s gaming den, intoxicated and gambling. That felt like a lifetime ago, but I could easily recall the pain in his eyes. His gambling seemed to be more about punishment than pleasure.
His sadness couldn’t have simply been because his son shifted for the first time. But if Domenico Junior’s shifting brought up memories of his firstborn, Marcella, then his descent into drinking and gambling made sense. Domenico Senior had been punishing himself for the pup he’d gambled away. He never forgave himself, and he’d sought out Greed’s gambling den, probably in the hopes of seeing her. Or maybe stealing her back. But Greed had kept her busy as his commander, had kept her far away from the Shifting Isles and her pack.
Until my sister arrived, wanting an alliance with him and the wolves.
I’d wager anything that the body Greed found in his House that contained blood similar to Vesta’s had been Domenico Senior. He was dead due to “pack business,” just as Domenico had stated—freeing his daughter. They must have been attacked in their attempted escape, and sacrifice was an action any parent would take for their child.
“I don’t know what else transpired between Greed and Domenico’s pack,” I said, “but I suspect there’s much more to the story. But somehow, when Vesta and Domenico were in those initial meetings for the alliance Vittoria sought, they recognized each other.”
Wrath stepped up beside me, his focus hard on the werewolf. “Is this true, alpha?”
“It is.” Domenico looked ready to tear out everyone’s throat. “And it’sourbusiness.”
I looked at my sister. “Please. Tell Marcella it’s all right to show herself.”
Vittoria’s attention moved to Domenico, and she gave him a tight nod. He winked in and out of existence, reappearing with another wolf. Vesta. Marcella. She was tall and lithe, but there was a deadly sort of look in her eyes that had been missing the night I’d had my spell-lock removed. There was a threat to her safety here, and she looked ready to battle if it came to it.
Standing beside Domenico, it was impossible to deny they were related. Marcella’s attention darted around the small gathering before landing on Greed. “One day, you’ll pay for what you did to my family.”
The Prince of Greed glared at his commander. “I gave you a home. A title. A position of power. You had no right to make a fool of me.”
“You kidnapped me. Do not confuse the matter by justifying anything that came after.” She looked to Vittoria. “With respect, I’d like to leave, my lady.”
Vittoria cocked her head, raising her hand as Greed stepped forward. “I wouldn’t do that, your highness. Marcella has made her choice. You will respect it.”
I moved to stand beside my twin and Marcella. “As there was no murder, I request that the blood retribution against Vittoria be deemed null and void.”
