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The mystery of Mackenzie Malloy.
What does she want with me, and where is she now?
I flick idly through the pages of the history book Eli gave me for Christmas. The first Triumvirate – Augustus (Octavian at the time), Marc Antony, and Ledipus – didn’t exactly get off to a flying start. Lepidus is effectively stripped of his power as the other two battle it out over power in Rome and Marc Antony’s involvement with Cleopatra. Marc Antony ends up dead, and Octavian becomes Emperor Augustus. There’s a lesson here for me.
Cleo is dangerous, especially when she tries to meddle in my affairs.
The Triumvirate will fall. And I need to ensure I’m the victor when it does.
I’m coming out of this dead or the sole Empress. And I’m not ready to go back into a coffin. If it’s me or Mackenzie, then my sister better watch her back.
Noah
“I can go in with Eli or Tiberius,” Claudia says, “if you want to sit this one out.”
“Fuck no,” I growl. But when I stare up at the facade of my house, I feel a flicker of unease. Last time we came here, I got the truth about Felix’s death… parts of the truth, anyway. We threatened Senator Marlowe. We left him broken and in our debt, and thinking about that makes me burn with pride. But there are ghosts in this house I can’t escape, and one living soul who still needs me.
Grace.
My heart twists. I’ve been too long without seeing her. I didn’t even come back for Christmas. I know what my father can be like when he’s on the losing side, and I didn’t even come back for Christmas. I should have checked on her.
We get out of the car. I punch in the code for the door, but nothing happens. No surprises, he’s changed the locks.
“We predicted this.” Claudia shifts the bouquet of tulips to her other hand, and calls George. A couple of minutes pass, then George reads out the new code down the phone to me. Claudia hangs up. “Bless that girl. She’s too good for us.”
“No argument.” George should be solving world hunger or something, not helping us with our nefarious activities. The door clicks open.
Instead of heading to the study, we go up the staircase. Grace has a suite of rooms at the end of the hall. She and my dad have never shared a bedroom. He’s always kept her at arm’s length, and I know that’s because of Mom, and I can’t say I’d be any different if Claudia… but I still hate him for the way he treats her.
I push open her door slowly, not wanting to frighten her. “Grace?”
“Noah?” She throws down her novel and opens her arms. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
I throw myself at the bed, burrowing into the small of her neck and breathing in her scent – apples and fresh spring dew. My mother’s scent. They’re so alike, and yet so different. Grace kisses the top of my head. Her dark curls spill over my shoulders, and all at once I feel eight years old again, like I want to bury myself in her hair and never have to face my father’s indifference.
I pull back and study her face. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. Improving every day. Don’t worry about me.” She coughs into her hand. I reach for a glass of water on the bedside cabinet and hand it to her. As I do, I notice an open box with little pills and capsules counted out for each day. She’s taking so many pills…
“Noah, please. I want to hear about school and your friends. You haven’t even told me about homecoming. Or Germany.”
Homecoming? I struggle to remember. It feels like a million years ago. I hate myself for avoiding her, but I figured with what we’d done to Dad it was probably for the best. Looking at her now, how pale and thin she is, I’m not so certain.
But at least I have something beautiful to talk about – I can give her the gift of seeing me smile, which has been too rare in our house. “I want you to meet my girlfriend.” I sweep my arm back to indicate Claudia cowering in the doorway.
Grace’s face shows no indication that she recognizes Claudia as the person Dad and I blamed for Felix’s death. She’s one classy lady. Claudia kneels beside her bed and slides the tulips onto her nightstand. Our flowers are dwarfed by several towers of fragrant blooms – the kind of flowers my dad has his secretary buy when he’s too busy.
But Grace leans over and sniffs our meager offering and smiles at me like I’m the only human in the universe.
“The truth is, I’m perfectly capable of getting out of this bed,” she smiles. “It’s your father fussing. He seems to believe I need more time before I’m ready to face the world.”
Claudia’s eyes meet mine across the bed. She feels guilty for doing this. I shake my head. I hated her at the time, not for what she wrote on my walls, but for how it affected Grace. But she did it because I was a shit, and she got her message across in that sledgehammer way she has. Grace would forgive Claudia in a heartbeat, and so would my mother. Maybe I’m more like them than I realize.
We sit with her for a time. Claudia talks mostly. I can’t find the words. She tells Grace about Germany and about homecoming. She even pulls out her phone and shows her pictures of me all dressed up. Grace’s eyes mist with tears.
“It’s good to see you smile,” she whispers.
“I know,” I say.
