Page 79 of A Mastery of Crows

I slip into the seat beside Stefan. His arm immediately wraps around the back of my chair. “I like your apartment.”

“Me too. You can blame Gio for the cleanliness, though.”

The daylight fades as we eat, all of us quiet as we demolish the food.

It’s been a long day. A longyear.

Stefan toys with my hair. “Is there anything I can do? Before the call?”

“No.” I frown. “If they don’t listen, we’re in trouble.”

“If they don’t listen, they are fools,” he says shortly. “You’ll persuade them, Cat.”

He has a lot of faith in me. They all do.

Dante stops at the door. “We could stay.”

“You know as well as I do that you can’t.” I sigh. “We need to be ready.”

He presses his lips to mine. “Use whatever you need to. We’ll do what is needed.”

I get changed as Dom is setting up, slipping on a black camisole and blazer over sleek black trousers. After a moment, I add my black heels, too, despite them not seeing my feet.

My hair is slicked back into a bun, sharp pins keeping it in place and my make-up smoky.

“Will I do?”

His eyes skate over me as he sets the laptop down. “Always, but yes.”

I take a breath. In, and out.

I will have one chance at this.One.

One final game. There will be no more hiding for Matteo or I if this works as we intend it.

“Thirty seconds,” Dom murmurs. I sit in front of the darkened screen, and wait.

The screen flickers to life in front of me. My own face appears first.

And then, slowly, others.

One by one, more faces. Faces I recognise from my childhood. Some of whom I have known all my life.

My uncle crosses his arms, smiling at me. “Buonasera, Caterina.”

“Buonasera. It’s good to see you, Marco.”

We say nothing else, aware of the eyes on us. My face remains impassive as I sit silently.

Everyone. I can’t see anyone missing. Every senior Corvo soldier, anyone with men under them, sits in front of me. Close to a hundred, spanning every part of the country. The majority are based locally.

Finally, I incline my head. “Benvenuto, everyone. Thank you for joining me.”

I take a moment to cast my eyes over the sea of faces. “I appreciate that this was last minute.”

“Indeed.” Eduardo Cavalli clears his throat. “I’m sure that I speak for us all when I say that we’re interested to know why this meeting is taking place.”

I take a breath. “I am asking for your help. All of you. And I would ask that you listen to me speak, before you make a decision.”