Page 67 of Devoted

Dante’s silence kept me talking.

“Probably more to do with Nico, actually. It’s no secret he’s slated to be your brother’s enforcer once he becomes Don. Or that he’s Severin’s favorite Draconi soldier. Blackwood might have followed his ascent through our Dynasty.” I paused. “Which means he’s been waiting for the opportunity to expose his son and hope we… I don’t know… threw him to the wolves? And Nico had to know this day would arrive, eventually.”

“Nico had better fucking come clean about everything.” Dante’s voice took on a low and deadly edge. “There are too many unanswered questions.”

“There’s another possibility here.” I glanced toward the bedroom door. “Blackwood let us escape. He planted seeds of doubt, enough that once we began picking at them, distrust would tear us apart from the inside. That’s a classic tactic and what my uncle would have done.”

“So, the black smoke wasn’t meant to help you, but cover for Blackwood to let you go?”

I shrugged. “It’s a possibility. I mean, anything is possible right now. We have to sift through layers of lies to get to the truth and are facing enemies who have been manipulating councils and dynasties far longer than we’ve been alive.”

“I’m not seeing a solution here.”

“Because I don’t have one.” I looked out the windows to the sky, lightening to a pale pink in the east. “One thing went right last night, at least. Emilia’s awake,” I said, a shiver going through me at what that meant. “Which means we are taking a trip this morning. All of us,” I said sternly. “Nico is the one who broke the stasis spell over Emilia. He deserves to be there. Whatever his truth is, I say we hash all this out after a big breakfast.”

24

EMBERLINE

Ilanded on Emilia’s island with my eyes closed and body braced for pain, fully expecting a full-on assault from her wards.

My feet crunched harmlessly on the rocky shoreline, and I cracked open one eye.

One of Emilia’s priests was waiting, his somber, blank expression seeming more… pleased to see us than usual.

Without a word, he dipped his head, turned on his heel, and headed for the temple.

Gabriel looked around with a low whistle. “Apparently, we aren’t the only ones who had a rough night,” he muttered, his hand resting on the small of my back as we followed our guide.

All around us were signs of wrongness—chunks of grass gouged up from the earth, a blackened streak burned across the stones, ending at the water. Emilia’s sons did not go down quietly, and a kernel of worry burrowed itself into my bones.

What if she hadn’t won?

What if we were walking into a trap?

There were two of them, after all, and only one of her.

Gabriel’s hand cupped my elbow, supporting my next step, all strength and steadiness, his body a firm reminder he was right there, if anything went wrong. Dante led the way, head swiveling, scanning every detail as we passed, broad shoulders tensed, giving off a shimmer of heat against the cool, early morning dawn.

A silent Nico trailed behind, the disgraced Draconi soldier, a male who betrayed his friends, a lover who… Our eyes caught, and his dark, ruinous gaze sent my heart twisting in pity and love for the boy who grew up alone and the male who had to hide himself from his friends, just to survive.

And Luca…

My brother remained at the villa, after eating an enormous breakfast and looking far better, thanks to Gia’s magical healing. Shoving food into his mouth, he’d answered my barrage of questions with the sort of jokes that were like his old self.

Valeria would be up soon, heading to the city to dip her toes in the cesspool of the new council, though I wondered if Vincenzo would be the DiSangue Order member in attendance… or if Emilia would make a surprise appearance.

Either way, I expected poor Valeria was in for a shock on her first day as the Demente Pentarch.

“You stay close to me or Dante,” Gabriel cautioned softly as we started up the steps to the temple. “There is no telling what we’re walking into, and Emilia will still be weak from stasis.”

“That female’s never weak,” I muttered beneath my breath.

But… she had been last night. Weak enough she could barely sit up. Weak enough she’d gripped the edge of the altar like she was holding on for dear life. My worry grew with every step.

We passed through the gardens. Branches were snapped off trees, one of them burned down to a blackened pillar of ash. Gabriel pulled me closer, his hand wrapping around my forearm, fingers denting my skin.

The priest stopped outside the doors, dipped his head, and swept out a pale hand, ushering us inside.