BRAZEN

DANTE

Ellemea excused herself to go see Emily after I told her Ambrose was here. I told Zander to let my father in. Ambrose walked in and he did not look pleased. I could feel his reprimand coming: the way the lines on his forehead would crease, his eyebrows would knot together like they were bound by an invisible string and his lips would form into a tight frown. When I was a young vampire, I used to dread making him angry. I didn’t want to disappoint the one man that treated me more like a son than my own flesh and blood. Now? I have more autonomy.

“Really, Dante?” He was mad. The smoke on top of his head was burning with coal embers.

“Good evening to you too, Ambrose,” I offered him my drink with a smirk. “What brings you to my humble abode?”

“Dante Rosetti,” he used my government name. “Explain to me why I’m getting a frightened phone call from Master Rindall claiming that you visited t