Page 54 of Unraveling Fate

Vasilios sat up. “Why would anyone want to harm Ms. Cavalieri?”

Canon paced, raking a hand through his hair, his immediate thought of his other employer. He wanted Taran hurt. Hurting Cadenza would do that. But something about that didn’t sit right with Canon’s gift. And it was Vasilios that introduced him to the man in the first place. Vasilios wouldn’t send him to someone that dangerous. “I don’t know. Maybe to get to me? To make me drop out of the race?” He pulled a bright blue button-up out of the closet to change for the press conference they needed to getto. “But whoever it is, I want them found and I want them dealt with. And I want Cadenza protected, Vas. I want security on her until we find out who’s responsible for these attacks.”

Vasilios ushered him out of a side door to a waiting car after he’d finished changing his shirt. “And how does Ms. Cavalieri feel about having guards?”

“She doesn’t know someone tampered with her car yet,” Canon admitted, climbing into the back seat. “I told Michael I want to tell her.”

“I see.” Vasilios settled in the seat next to him and signaled to the driver to leave. “Has she changed her mind about your proposal yet?”

“No.” Canon worked his jaw back and forth, fingers tapping on the car handle. “Every evening. Every stupid evening this week she’s spent with Taran. I don’t understand. I look at her and what she wants is success. She wants to go places. So why is she spending all her time with a guy who’s going nowhere?” He brooded out the window, watching the city slip by. “But I’m working on it. I have an idea.”

“Yes, well, keep working on it. You need her.” Vasilios handed him a folder. “The latest numbers. You’re down five points. Owens is gaining on you.”

Canon leafed through the numbers analysis, frowning. Vasilios made it sound like he couldn’t win without her. Yes, Cadenza boosted his ratings, and he’d rather win with her by his side, but he had a strong campaign on his own. People liked him. He made them feel valued. Wasn’t that enough?

“You did well to come to me with what you overheard last night,” Vasilios continued. “We can use it to convince Ms. Cavalieri that you are more deserving of her attention.”

Canon looked up from the folder. “How?”

“Hewill want that information. Bargain with him for it. Ask him to gift you more power.”

“I can already see people’s desires. What else could he give me?”

Vasilios spread his hands. “This man has possibility at his fingertips.”

Canon frowned even as his brain went into high gear, trying to imagine what Vasilios meant. He saw what people wanted, perhaps he couldinfluencewhat people wanted? But no. That’d be cheating. Holding office, voting, those were like contracts, like bargains. And bargains needed to be entered into freely, not forced. Even if that ability were an option, Canon wouldn’t accept it.

Vasilios leaned closer at Canon’s hesitation. “You have so much potential, Canon—why else do you think I selected you for this campaign? I’m merely saying if we amplify your gifts, it’d help Cadenza, and everyone else, see how extraordinary you are.”

Canon fiddled with his cufflinks—silver with sapphires to match his shirt. His father’s cuffs had been cheap, white polyester to match his cheap, mid-level desk job, with buttons instead of cufflinks. At the funeral, Canon had reached in the open casket to tug at the threads unraveling along the buttonholes. If there had been anything extraordinary about his father, no one had ever seen it, including Canon. Canon told the truth when he told Cadenza he didn’t want to be anonymous, but he wanted to win on his own.

“I’m grateful for the sight I have, but I’m not sure he could give me anything else I need.”

“You owe it to the people you want to serve to be the best version of yourself, and I’ve known this man much longer than you have, Canon. He guards great power. Trust me.” Vasilios skewered Canon with his eyes. “He’s holding out on you.”

Canon recoiled. Vasilios was always so even keeled, had always supported Canon’s choices. This sudden insistence wasunlike him. Tentatively, Canon reached out with his gift, but found only concern for him, and his future. The car parked at the side entrance of the hotel where the press conference was scheduled, and Canon shook himself.

Game time. Get your head in gear.

He climbed out of the car and adjusted his suit jacket. Vasilios handed him a stack of index cards with talking points and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Your father worked for me for years, Canon. I offered him many chances to propel himself forward, but he was too afraid to step out of his comfort zone. James Richards wore out his life as a cog in someone else’s machine. I chose you because you’re different than your father.” He opened the door, and the bustle of the press conference rushed over them.

“The world is a chaotic place. Noisy. Anxious. We need a leader that can quiet the noise, calm the chaos. I chose you because I believe, with my guidance, you can be that leader. People will bless your name once they can hear themselves think again.” He let the door swing shut, cutting off the noise. “You meet withhimin a few days, yes?”

Canon nodded.

“Bargain with him.”

Canon tried to object again, but Vasilios gripped his shoulders and cut him off. “Be the cog or be the hand that turns the wheel.”

Cadenza bouncedon the balls of her feet, waiting for night to take over the sky. She’d left a note in the garage for Taran to meet her in their picnic spot. He should wake soon.

Stars appeared overhead, chanting an evening song. The trees stretched out a melody. A bird fluttered in the branches, and Cadenza made out the silhouette of an owl. She triple checked the drum where she’d hidden it under a blanket at the foot of an oak and shook the jitters out of her fingertips. Nerves jumped in her stomach and the ground thrummed in response.

“Behave!” she scolded the earth and tightened her grip on the music. “I’m edgy enough as it is.”

She looked to the southern edge of the estate, thinking of the tree she’d felled the night before. “Not crazy, not crazy, not crazy.”