Mag-log inLucien's POVThe iron transport finally screeched to a halt and the heavy doors groaned open to reveal the jagged black cliffs of San Marco, and the fortress was a massive pile of ancient stone that looked like it had grown out of the salt spray and the shadows of the Sicilian coast. The air was thick with the smell of the sea and the exhaust from the armored motorcade waiting for us on the pier, and I could see the flags of the other families flying from the battlements which meant the Commission had already arrived for the summit. Francesco stepped off the train first and he didn't even look back at us as he was greeted by a line of soldiers in formal black uniforms, and I gripped Alessia’s hand one last time before the guards stepped between us and signaled that we were to be separated for the afternoon briefing."Just stay quiet and keep your eyes on the exits and I’ll find you the second I can get away from my father’s handlers," I whispered to her as they led her toward the hig
Alessia's POVThe elevator ride down felt like we were being lowered into a grave and the air turned stale and metallic as the doors opened to reveal not a sleek train station but a dark, concrete tunnel where a massive armored transport sat idling on the tracks, and the vehicle looked like a jagged block of iron with narrow slits for windows and heavy rivets along the sides that made it look more like a submarine than a luxury maglev. Lucien held my hand so tight it hurt but I didn't pull away because the sight of that iron beast made my skin crawl and I could see the guards in Valenti black standing along the platform with their hands on their holsters and their eyes hidden behind dark visors."He called it a maglev to make it sound like a miracle but it’s just a cage on wheels and we’re being shipped off to Sicily like cattle for the slaughter," I whispered as we walked up the metal ramp and the heavy hydraulic door hissed shut behind us with a sound that felt very permanent."It's
Lucien’s POVThe barrel of my rifle was steady but my heart was doing a frantic dance against my ribs as I stared at Francesco Moretti, and he just sat there behind that massive desk like he was waiting for us to ask for an allowance instead of holding him at gunpoint. The screens behind him were glowing with maps of the coastline and I could see the green mist spreading across the digital terrain, and Francesco just tapped a pen against his chin and looked at me with a bored expression that made me want to pull the trigger just to see if he would finally blink."You can put the gun down, Lucien, because if you fire a single shot the pressure sensors in this room will seal the vents and you’ll be breathing a pure concentration of the agent before the shell even hits the floor," Francesco said as he gestured toward the ceiling where several small nozzles were tucked into the corners."We didn't come here to listen to your threats or your science lectures, Francesco, so just tell us how
Lucien’s POVThe heavy doors of the ballroom hissed shut behind us and cut off the sound of the orchestra in a single second, and we were left standing in a corridor that was so white and sterile it made my eyes ache after the dim red light of the alcove. I adjusted the weight of my rifle and looked at Alessia who was still smoothing down her hair but her expression had shifted back into that cold and focused mask she wore when she was ready to kill, and we started walking down the hall but we didn't get far before the walls began to change. Instead of plain metal panels there were glass displays built into the sides of the corridor and I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning when I saw a wooden toy horse that I had played with when I was five years old sitting right next to a photo of my mother from the summer she spent in Capri."He’s trying to get inside our heads before we even reach the door and he’s using our own memories as a way to distract us from th
Alessia’s POVThe Black Guard didn't open fire when we stepped out from behind the pillar because I held the leather-bound ledger high above my head like a white flag and the lead soldier signaled for his team to lower their pulse rifles while he checked the GPS tag on the binding, and he didn't say a word as he gestured for us to follow him through the heavy steel of the Great Gate and into a pressurized lift that smelled like ozone and expensive lilies. We descended even deeper into the bedrock of the Palatine Hill and when the doors finally slid open I expected to see a military command center but instead I was blinded by the light of a thousand crystal chandeliers hanging from a vaulted ceiling that had been carved directly into the ancient Roman earth. It was a massive ballroom filled with people in silk gowns and tuxedoes who were wearing ornate animal masks and they were laughing and drinking champagne while the sound of a live orchestra drowned out the groaning of the pumps
Matteo’s POVThe static in my ears was turning into a series of sharp, rhythmic pulses that made the air feel like it was vibrating against my skin, and every time I blinked the colors of the room shifted until the shadows looked like deep purple bruises and the light from the monitors was a blinding, electric blue. My eyes felt tight and itchy in their sockets and when I caught my reflection in a dark screen I saw that the brown of my iris had vanished completely and was replaced by a glowing, unnatural sapphire color that didn't look human anymore. Alessia and Lucien were huddled over a thermal map near the shattered console and they were arguing about the fastest route to the central hub but their voices sounded slow and distorted to me, and the thumping of their hearts was so loud in my head that I had to step away just to breathe without feeling like I was being choked by the sound."I'm just going to check the corridor to make sure those scientists didn't have a backup securit
Lucien’s POVThe world was starting to tilt and spin in a way that made the burning palace look like it was melting into the lake, and I could feel the hot blood running down my arm and soaking into my sleeve until my fingers felt slippery and useless against the grip of my pistol. I knew that I w
Lucien’s POVI was standing near the shadows of the heavy velvet curtains when the waltz ended and I saw Alessia’s hand slip from the railing as she took a step toward the terrace, and her face was so pale that it looked like the white marble of the statues surrounding her. I didn't need to be a d
Alessia’s POVThe roar was so loud that it didn't even sound like an explosion anymore but rather like the world itself was being torn in half, and I felt the floor beneath me drop away for a split second before I was slammed into a cold marble pillar. The shockwave knocked the air out of my lungs
Lucien’s POVI was halfway down the corridor toward the west wing when the heavy double doors of a private cigar lounge swung open and my cousin Dante stepped out with a glass of amber liquid in his hand and a look on his face that suggested he had been waiting for me to walk into his trap all nigh





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