Page 47 of Depths of Desire (The Emerald Dagger Mafia #3)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

A t the sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs. I whirl, fangs out, ready to pounce, but Renzo bursts onto the terrace, Luca right behind him. They stop cold at the sight of Malrick’s headless corpse… and Luna bleeding out in my arms.

“ Merda ,” Renzo growls, striding toward us. “What the hell happened?”

“He decided he wanted Luna no matter what.”

I stare down at her, and my heart contracts. I love this woman. I cannot let her die. A part of me will die with her, the best part. I need her to live.

“I need to give her some of my blood so she doesn’t die but…”

“The curse…” Luca says quietly. “This is the moment from the prophecy. If we give her blood, she becomes a sister and the curse comes true.”

I look up, rage and grief flowing through every cell in my body. “I don’t care. She’s not dying. I cannot let her go.”

“We can stop it,” Luca says, already pulling a blade from his belt. “We do it the same way we did with Pippa and Mia.”

Renzo pauses but nods and slashes his palm without any additional hesitation. “We take the risk. You did it for us, now it’s our turn to do it for you. Brothers always.”

One after the other, my brothers draw blood, letting it drip and mingle with the blood pouring from Luna’s body. I cut my hand and do the same. It sizzles slightly on contact. The air grows thick with power, dense and electric.

“Come back to me,” I whisper, voice shaking. “I need you. I love you.” I hold her tight and pray. I cannot lose her. I simply can’t exist without her.

Luca squeezes my shoulder and then glances at Renzo. I know he’s thinking that maybe we were too late. I am wondering too. Did I wait too long? Have I lost her? Pain spreads across my chest.

Luna makes a sound. A small moan. Then her body twitches, and her wound starts to heal. The skin closes and mends itself.

“Luna?”

No response.

“Luna, vita mia , can you hear me?”

She moans again, softly. “Yes. Everything…hurts.”

“I know, my life. You just rest.” I scoop her up and get to my feet, turning to carry her inside when suddenly my father is standing before me, along with Esme and Morwenna.

“Tell me you didn’t,” my father demands.

“Of course I did,” I snarl. “I will do anything to save her. Anything. She is my life.”

My father closes his eyes as if in pain. “You have sealed our fate.”

“We all did, Father.” Renzo stands at my elbow.

Luca flanks me on my other side. “He helped us when we needed it. We would never refuse to help him.”

“No empire is worth losing family,” Renzo adds.

My father suddenly looks much closer to his eight hundred-plus years. His skin has gone pale. His shoulders sag. “I understand why, but…I’m not sure you understand what you’ve done.”

Morwenna touches my father’s arm. “Leonardo, it was fated. They could not have done anything differently. It would have happened anyway. Nerezza saw to that before she died.”

My father nods. “I guess.” He glances at Luna. “Is she okay?”

I hesitate. “I’m not sure.”

Morwenna steps in front of my father and touches Luna’s cheek with her hand. “Let’s get her inside.”

I move past my father and carry Luna up to our bedroom. I lay her down gently on the bed. Esme pushes me out of the way. “Let me and Morwenna work on her. You need to rest as well. Go downstairs with your brothers.”

I refuse to move.

“I promise we’ll take care of her. Go.” Esme pushes me none too gently, but I still resist.

“Stop being a child,” Morwenna scoffs. “You need to talk to your father and brothers. We need to work on Luna. She lost a lot of blood. There’s nothing you can do for her now. Go.”

I reluctantly turn and walk out of the room. Every fiber in my being screams for me to stay by Luna’s side, but if Morwenna and Esme want me to go, then I have to assume there’s a reason. Morwenna is right. There’s nothing I can do, but they can, and I must respect that.

I walk into my office, where Renzo hands me a glass of whiskey. I take a sip and then sit heavily in one of my guest chairs. My father is behind my desk, and Luca is in the other chair. Renzo leans against the wall, sipping his drink.

“Do you think the vampire kings will care about Malrick’s death?” Luca asks.

My father shakes his head. He’s regained some of his color, but he still looks much older than he did before. “Malrick was an underling at best. I cannot remember which clan he was even a part of. No one will care.”

Luca shakes his head. “I still can’t believe that it was Mother, not her enemies, that put the curse on us. Knowing her, I guess I can, but it’s still…”

“Unbelievably cruel?” Renzo supplies. “Yes, that was our mother.” The bitterness in his voice hits me.

“I am so sorry I ever tried to find her,” I say. “It’s all my fault that this happened.”

My father shakes his head. “No, Morwenna is correct. It has been written in the stars. Your mother put it into words, but our fate has always been written there. She was merely the catalyst to make it happen. ‘When the sons three marry and the moon is red, the sisters three will bring about the dead, and the clan of Valdici will be no more’.”

“What does it mean?” Luca pushes. “I don’t get it.”

My father grimaces. “When it comes to the magickal realm and curses, anything can happen. There’s no real way of knowing what it means exactly.”

“Will whatever is going to happen occur overnight?” Renzo asks.

Morwenna enters the room. “No. You have time. The next red moon isn’t for a long while.”

I jump to my feet. “Luna?” My heart thumps in my chest.

“She is resting. She will be fine.”

I let out the breath I was holding.

“As to what it all means, your father is correct. We cannot really know. If I may offer a suggestion, however, I would say it’s best to remove yourself from the public eye.

Get out of la famiglia . Rumors will spread, and you all will become a target with those mistakenly thinking you are weak.

It will lead to much violence that will put a strain on you all. ”

Morwenna frowns. “I must run, but I will be back. Nico, we really do need to discuss your magickal abilities. Luna mentioned that you glow brighter before you use your powers. That you hit Malrick with magickal energy.”

“She’s awake?” I say as I put my drink down on the desk and take a step toward the door.

“No, she’s resting now. Esme is with her. Let her sleep. You need rest as well. I will come back in the next day or so.” With that, she left the room.

“Morwenna is correct,” my father says. “We need to pull back from la famiglia . I was hoping we could stay in power for at least another twenty or thirty years, but this day was always going to come.” He gets to his feet slowly.

“I will go back to Venice and put things in motion. You all go back to Genoa and do the same. In a month, we will all go to ground.” He comes around the desk and takes me by the shoulders.

“I am proud of you. Of all of you,” he continues as he glances at each one of us.

“You have all turned into good men, strong men. I am happy you have all found love. It is an important part of life, one that too few vampires ever experience.”

There’s a bitterness there, and I can’t help but feel pity for my father. My mother was a nightmare. I’m not sure she ever loved him.

“Father—”

My father pulls me in for a hug, cutting off my words. Then he steps back, releasing me. “I have much to do, starting with getting rid of Malrick’s body. I will reach out in two days’ time and we will plan.”

“Okay,” I say.

He nods and leaves the room.

I grab my drink and go back around the desk and sit in my chair. Renzo sits in the guest chair I just vacated. “What do you guys want to do?”

Luca stares at him, “What now?”

Renzo grins. “No, I mean if we’re packing up and going to ground, what are we going to do and where are we going to do it?”

“Oh, right.” Luca shrugs. “I’m going to continue to run my nightclubs just from somewhere else, I guess. You?” he asks Renzo.

“Same. Going to run my liquor business.” He turns to me. “You going to stick to your wine empire?”

I nod, but then I cock my head with a sudden idea. “I know going to ground usually means we disappear from each other’s lives for a while, but what if we do it differently this time?”

“What are you suggesting?” Renzo asks.

“There’s a winery in Nova Scotia that I recently purchased. It needs some work. What if we all go to the new world? We have family there. You can run your nightclubs, Luca, I’m sure you have some in Canada.”

Luca nods. “Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, but I’ve been eyeing Halifax for a while now. I could definitely spend some time there setting something up.”

Renzo smiles. “They’re big rum drinkers in Nova Scotia. I’ve been using it as a testing ground for a while now. I could easily set up over there.”

I find myself grinning. “What do you say? We all move to Nova Scotia?”

“I have to check with Mia,” Renzo comments, “but I’m sure I can convince her if you two are bringing Pippa and Luna.”

“Ditto,” Luca says. “I think Pippa would enjoy it, especially if her two best friends are there.”

I nod. “I will ask Luna when she wakes. If she’s game, then I’m in.”

We grin at each other. “This is going to be fun.” Luca frowns suddenly. “Renzo, are you going to be okay with leaving everything you’ve built?”

“I can build it all again if I need to.” He shrugs. “Part of me has been looking for a change for a while now. I’m getting…”

“Bored?” I supply.

He grins. “Kind of, yes. I think all of us going to Nova Scotia will be fun. I look forward to seeing our cousins as well.”

Luca laughs. “Nova Scotia won’t know what hit it.”

I grin. He is not wrong.