Page 36 of The Serpent’s Bride (Bloodlines #1)

This part of the cave mouths attached to a series of tunnels that popped up in various parts underneath the metropolis—and Luciento and the Iltanis controlled almost all of them.

It made him the king of smuggling items through the literal underground.

If anybody needed anything or anyone moved quickly and discreetly—sometimes, the easiest way was down, if they had the cash.

But most of Luciento’s money came from dealing in the mushrooms that were turned into the powder the humans favored so much. While it wasn’t the only drug in Runne—not by any stretch of the imagination—it certainly was one of the most popular.

The road was a mix of dirt and rocks as they passed by crates until they reached a larger chamber, a few hundred feet around.

Luciento’s base of operations. It was a two-floor structure on both sides, with rooms cobbled together mostly of steel that had been stolen from anything and everything they could get their hands on.

Corrugated metal, the sides of boats, doors that were taken from different places.

It felt like home. Colorful and bizarre, haphazard but craftily made. Nadi had to fight back a smile. And twisted through it all—not consuming it like above but mixing with it instead—were the purple-blue vines of the Wild.

Figures moved around in the darkness, the gas lamps doing little to chase away all the shadows. As they approached, their headlights caught who was clearly waiting for them, alerted by the guards up above.

There he was.

Sitting on a barrel by a wooden pylon was Luciento. The one she knew as saestren , as uncle and family. He was surrounded by his goons, all packing guns. Deniel’s guns, provided to them by the Nostroms, she now knew.

Luckily, John—the Iltani she’d let live—wasn’t among them. That would make things very complicated. But odds were still good that this was about to go south, anyway. “You know one of them was at the wedding,” she told Raziel. “You know one of them is about to recognize at least one of us.”

He parked the truck and turned it off. Three men were already walking toward the back to likely check the crates and make sure the vehicle wasn’t rigged to explode. Raziel was already half out of the truck, and had ignored her statement.

Her heart lurched in her chest when Raziel stepped forward into the headlights and raised his hands in a show of harmlessness. “Luciento Iltani.” He wasn’t speaking in the accent anymore. “I’d like to talk somewhere private, if you would be so kind.”

What is he doing? Screaming in her head, Nadi made sure the knife and gun were somewhere she could reach them quickly before opening the door, climbing out, and closing it behind her with a thud.

“Takes balls to walk in here, Serpent,” Luciento replied. There were dozens of guns trained on them now. “With your new wife, no less.” He laughed. “Do you think we’re fools?”

“No. Which is precisely why I came.”

Luciento snorted. “What do you want, Serpent?”

“To broker peace. Mael is willing to forgive your transgression. As am I, for the right price. Which is why I’m here with no other fighters. I have even brought my new wife as collateral. Take her as an assurance that I won’t do anything foolish while we speak.”

If Luciento had any brains at all, he would have opened fire on Raziel immediately. He wasn’t a fool, despite what he said. So, why wasn’t he attacking? Greed?

“Fine. You and me, we talk. John, Ezra, take the wife to the storeroom. Hold her there. You hear trouble? You know what to do.” And that was when Luciento looked at her.

With recognition in his iridescent, whitish eyes.

He knows who I am.

Nadi glanced at the two men who walked up to her. One of whom was more familiar than she’d hoped. And he was looking at her with a strange, dire expression in his eyes.

John. She’d let John live. Of course he’d told his boss what he had witnessed. She’d taken the form of Raziel’s bodyguard Ivan. He’d seen what she could do. And there was only one shapeshifter like her in all the Wild that she knew of.

Fuck.

That was why he hadn’t opened fire. Luciento knew who she was. Everything was about to fall apart at the seams.

This was going to be a terrible night.

Raziel ignored his little murderer’s protests as two of the Iltani men rather forcefully ushered her into a storeroom. She really did know some interesting and colorful swears.

It was rather unfortunate that she was likely not to survive the night. But, thanks to his mother’s orders, she was living on borrowed time, regardless.

He pushed thoughts of her from his mind for the moment.

She would be fine. For now. Until he found her later and they sorted through their unfinished business , at any rate.

Luciento’s men wouldn’t hurt her. They tended to be fairly honorable toward women when there was a business deal involved. He would give them that much.

Pulling the disgusting cap from his head, he tossed it into a garbage bin nearby. He hated the ruse, namely because the clothing itched, but it was required to get past the door.

Luciento had ten men around him, all with guns trained on him. But he was the only fae present. Raziel wondered if the bastard knew how useless the ten men truly were. In fact—less than worthless. A liability .

It was fascinating to him that despite all the legends, despite the stories, no one seemed to believe what he was capable of—what “the Serpent” could do—until it was too late. And it seemed Luciento was the same.

And the greedy fae scum would never pass up the chance to make a deal.

“So. Can we discuss business now?” Raziel brushed the dust from his sleeves and followed the fae ringleader into the dingy building he used as a storehouse and took quick stock of his surroundings.

No windows. Wooden tables, shelves along the walls—plank floors worn by time and water and salt. But the rafters were high.

Good. This would do well enough.

“I’m surprised.” Luciento kept his distance, standing by an exit door.

Just because he was fae didn’t mean he was an idiot.

They had wonderful survival instincts. “I figured the cycle of death-for-death would go on a little longer before we had to come to an agreement. That has been the way with our families for so long.”

Raziel shrugged. “The mayor has an election coming up in a few months, and Mael can’t be spending time worrying about what you’re doing down here. He needs you quiet. So I’ve been told to forgive, forget, and find a deal.”

Luciento laughed sadly. “Well. We are here.” He threw up his hands. “And you wished to speak.”

“Yes. The deal.” It was one he knew Luciento would never accept.

But he had to make sure that he gave the fae beast a way out.

He undid the tie at the back of his neck and combed his fingers through his hair, tidying it.

“I kill a few of your men here—two, maybe three—you can choose which. You and the rest escape with the guns and supplies I have brought into the Wild. You leave for an outer city and never set foot in the metropolis again.”

“ Hrippaiid, i’ika nish ba— ” Luciento laughed. Raziel didn’t speak the guttural, trash language of the fae, but he knew whatever the bastard had said, it had been obscene. “What kind of deal is that ?”

“The other option is that I slaughter you all. And none—not a single Iltani present here tonight—leave this place alive. I will finish what we should have done decades ago—and wipe your clan from the face of Runne.” He smiled cordially, holding his hands out at his sides. “I am being quite generous.”

“ Fi’ti ,” Luciento snarled. “Kill him!”

Raziel laughed as the gunfire began.

This was going to be a wonderful night.