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“Oh, Gabe.” Claws holds my cheeks between her hands, kissing the tears pooling under my eyes. “I want a baby with you, too. I want you to see yourself reflected in our child, to know that you will always have a home to come back to, a compass pointing north. I know you’re trying so hard to face your demons. You’re not a fallen angel with broken wings. You’re whole and complete, and you have such incredible strength and heart that our child would be lucky to have you as a father.”
I know that in the years to come, when I’m at my darkest, I will repeat her words back to myself and find strength in them. “Is that a yes?”
She slaps my ass. “Get those sexy pants off and let’s do this, Fallen.”
“I don’t mean we have to start right now.”
“Why not?” She picks up her birth control pills from the bedside table and tosses them out the window. I hear a faint plink, followed by a low roar. They must’ve fallen in the swimming pool.
I hope the lion doesn’t get sick if he eats them.
“You sure this is what you want?” Another thought occurs to me. “This isn’t because of Nero, is it? Or my father? He hasn’t made you some deal about my kid?”
“As far as I know, your dad is still playing house with Cleo and making Nero’s life miserable. I haven’t heard from him.” Claws brushes her lips against mine. “This decision has nothing to do with them. It’s because you’re perfect and I’m badass and we’d make one amazing kid.”
I slide into her heat, all the while thinking that despite what I know about birth control, and that we’ve only just decided to do this, that maybe, maybe, I might love Claudia August enough to create a spark of life.
Claudia clings to me, arching her hips to meet mine, her face twisting with ecstasy as my piercing reaches all the right places inside her. But this is more than sex. I’m cracked open, my heart raw and bleeding, but so imperfectly, gloriously alive.
A baby, a new life who will undo all the rotten things my father did to me. A child that would be mine – mine and Claudia’s – that he could never touch. A child that would learn strength from Noah, fortitude from Eli, and heart from me.
Claudia
Antony outdoes himself with the Lupercalia party. I’ve set a high standard for bloody spectacle, and my people expect their bread and circuses. He knows he has to do something big to make people forget to be mad at me for taking away the lion, and I think he wants to make up for his fuck-up at the Valentine’s dance.
So he rounds up all the men involved in Brutus’ skin operation, and sends them into the ring, naked and without weapons. He walks out over the gangplank and calls down to them over the roar of the crowd.
“My cousin, Claudia August, is benevolent and kind. Even though you betrayed our family, even though you deserve no second chances, she offers you one. At the end of this bout, the last man standing will be granted immunity and given a place as an exalted soldier in the August family. The rest will have their corpses fed to the lion.”
With that, Antony drops an armload of weapons into the ring. The men pounce. The fastest among them manage to pick up swords and knives and tridents and polearms. There’s even a crossbow. They slaughter the unarmed, then turn on each other. Severed limbs fly through the air, and by the time only three men remain, they’re crunching the skulls of their fallen comrades beneath their feet.
I’m the only one in the VIP seats not watching the ring. Nero sits at the table next to me, one hand on Eli’s mother’s knee, every seat crowded with his numerous children (ex-wives of Nero don’t tend to live long). Livvie sees me watching, and gives me a respectful nod. Nero laughs and claps along with the rest of the crowd, but I fancy I see a sheen of sweat on his fat brow. Those men may have belonged to Brutus, but they were loyal to him. I’ve thinned his ranks even further, and there’s nothing he can do.
I’d heard through the grapevine (Eli, via Livvie) that the duke has put pressure on Nero to deliver payment, and Nero has sold. Gabriel’s father hasn’t come to me, so he’s not yet willing to accept my offer, but he’s making Nero squirm, and I’m here for it. My enemy’s enemy is my friend, even if he’s also my boyfriend’s abuser. I’ll make sure the duke gets his justice.
Good things come to those who wait. Usually, I’m an impatient bitch, but I need to play a long game here, let the duke believe he and that bitch Cleo are safe.
By the time I get my cue to descend to the stage, the entire ring is stained pink with blood, and the crowd roars for more, more, more.
The bodies are dragged from the arena and a red carpet laid on top of the carnage. Nero and Constantine descend first, moving through the crowd toward the arena, stopping to offer tokens – coins bearing their insignia that can be exchanged for small favors. They reach the arena and step onto the red carpet. My two husbands – polar opposites in every way. One jovial, the other every bit as ruthless as his countenance suggests.
Constantine stands mute, stoic. Nero grins and waves at the crowd, soaking up their adulation. He believes he still owns popular support in this town. I’m not so sure, but I guess I’m about to find out.
I stand to wild applause, my white dress flaring over my hips, and turn to my family seated around my table. Gabriel’s made all the napkins into dirty shapes. Noah looks ready to smash heads together. George is tapping away on her phone. Yara is stealing everyone’s untouched drinks and Eli… Eli keeps glancing over at his mom. At Nero’s table, Darlene Hart scowls at me like I’m sour milk.
Don’t worry, doll – after tonight, Nero is all yours. I sure as fuck don’t want him.
The thunder of drums signals my cue. My family stands and flanks me, hemming me in from the restless crowd as we make our way to the arena. The dress swirls around my feet as I step onto the pink sand. The hem drags in the blood, staining the silk with pink droplets. Nero’s eyes never leave me as he takes in the wedding dress – the dress he sent me.
The symbol of our alliance.
“I knew you’d come around to my point of view,” he whispers as he takes my hand and places me between him and Constantine. “You and I will build the most beautiful empire the world has ever seen.”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak.
Galen steps onto the stage, looking unusually dapper in a pinstripe suit instead of bloodstained scrubs. As well as being our resident medical professional, he performs wedding ceremonies for the Triumvirate and their soldiers. He winks at me and holds his hand up for silence.
“In a show of solidarity never before seen in our organization, our three Imperators have agreed to an unusual arrangement. I’ll let Claudia August explain what’s about to happen.”
