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They even had a foothold in the Accord, a murky entity that provided a suite of shipping services to vessels calling at ports along the way to Pegasi or transiting the Wildlight Expanse.

Knowing where the plays were, how many bets were taken, and all the details of the underhanded deals made between the mafioso families was why Signet had survived this game so long.

‘He shared aSchiacciata alla Fiorentina, an orange-scented sponge cake from his mum, boxed up and all that shit.’

Xander glowered at his XO.

Santi grinned. ‘He also said our Lombardis friends have been getting tech and weapons from an unknown source.’

‘Not good. We need to find out who and where. Keep digging.’

‘On it,jefe.’

‘You need more schills, speak to Rigo.’

Santi stretched, cracking his knuckles. ‘Eugene’s weak ass leadership is creating a power vacuum.’

Xander didn’t answer at first. He sipped hiskahawa, then set the cup down with a soft clink.

‘Tis. The mafia doesn’t respect a ghosting boss floating around in silk robes on a yacht,’ he said. ‘The Syndicate members don’t fear Eugene anymore. If they don’t dread him -.’

‘They’ll try to cut his head off and test the heirs,’ Santi finished.

Xander’s gaze narrowed. ‘Which gives us a chance to play this game. The Bianchis have long opposed us, fighting our contracts and refusing to work with us. They’re the mostpowerful family in this flotilla, and I need them on our side if we’re going to get to Pegasi in one piece.’

He took a deep breath. ‘No matter how much the Lombardis’ jaundiced betas hate it, they can’t escape the fact that we and the Sauvages are the pack leaders in the Wildlight. Still, they fight the order and secretly rile up any hatred they can, in an attempt to gain dominance before we get to Pegasi. We can’t allow it.’

Santi leaned forward, elbows on knees. ‘When you put it that way,capitán, it’s urgent asfokk. So what’s the play, Alexandr-Alexandr Levine Roman?’

Xander smiled then, slow and cold, his glimmering ink flexing across his chest like blooming fire.

‘We enforce the order. We buddy up to the smaller clans, maybe even twist some Carvajal and Diaz-Granados arms, so the Bianchis have fewer allies. Make them believe the Houses have abandoned them, so they’ll have to lean on us. Then together we finish the Lombardis and their little revolution once and forfokkin’ all,’ he growled.

Santi’s lips curled, then he grinned, teeth flashing. ‘Cabrón.’

‘First, I need all intel on the Bianchis,’ Xander seethed.

Before Santi could respond, a new voice, husky, potent, and impossible to ignore, cut through the air like a blade dipped in silk.

‘I have it ready for you,capitán.’

Xander’s head snapped toward the vocalization.

A shimmer glitched to his left, then she appeared.

‘Miral.’

She stepped into complete visibility, her frame coalescing from a cascade of radiance.

Ebony-skinned, impossibly poised, Miral was a vision of synthesized power and encoded elegance.

Glyphs glowed and spiraled over her body like circuitry inked by a god. Raw data flowed across her chest, arms, and hips in soft turquoise and silver pulses.

Her outfit was as subtle as a solar flare: a crystalline suit that caught every scrap of luminosity in the cockpit and refracted it with painful precision.

Xander winced and lifted a hand to block the worst of it.

‘I told you that your glitter sense hurts my eyes,’ he muttered.