Page 1 of Power's Fall

ChapterOne

Franco wrapped his arms around the other man in an emotional embrace. “I missed you!”

“I missed you.”

Behind Franco, his husband sighed loudly, while his wife asked, “Does he like Colum better than us?”

Franco ignored his spouses, pulling back to clap Colum on the back. The Masters’ Admiralty archivist was one of his favorite people on the planet.

“How are you?” It came out as “How’re’ya?” All one word with Colum’s Irish accent. Then again, since they were in Dublin, Franco was the one with the accent.

“I’m good. Excited about this.”

Colum grinned, though as always, there was a touch of sadness in his eyes. It was only recently that Colum had opened up to Franco about his grief and guilt over his sister Josephine’s death, and Franco wished like hell he could do something more to help the Irishman.

“I like you better,” Franco assured his spouses as he turned to them, while keeping one arm over Colum’s shoulders. “I’m having sex with you two.”

“And if we weren’t having sex?” Devon’s brow rose.

“I’d like him better.” Franco tipped his head to Colum. “I only like you for your dick.”

Colum choked on some spit and started sputtering. Devon sighed heavily, though the corner of his lips twitched, and the way his gaze raked down Franco promised some sexy retribution later.

“Don’t kill my archivist,” a deep voice said.

Juliette stiffened even as a small smile curved her lips. She wiped off the smile before turning to the fleet admiral, who was approaching them, his bodyguard at his side.

“Ah, this is always greatcraic,” Colum said, looking between the fleet admiral and Juliette.

“It is,” Franco agreed. “My wife is hot when she’s bossy and scary.”

Colum snorted.

Eric Ericsson’s long legs ate up the space between them, his steps echoing against the walls of the Long Room in the Trinity College Library.

With Juliette’s back turned toward Franco, he was treated to a view of her backside. The dress she wore was looser than her normal style, so it didn’t cup her butt, but Franco knew that ass very well, so he used his imagination. “She’s hot all the time,” Franco amended, mostly to himself. “Especially now.”

He spoke without thinking, and if he’d been standing beside anyone but Colum, the comment probably would have passed without raising questions.

But Colum was curious by nature. A good quality in a person charged with cataloging information and keeping secrets.

“Especially now?” Colum asked.

“Uh… Oh look, they’re doing that thing they do.” Franco clapped his hand on Colum’s shoulder and pulled the other man forward until they joined the loose circle that had formed. A meeting before a meeting.

Juliette, Devon, Eric, and Regina—the head of Eric’s Spartan Guard—were gathered near a display of Oscar Wilde’s handwritten letters.

Eric and Juliette stood on opposite sides of the ring, two titans facing off.

“Fleet Admiral.” Juliette inclined her head.

“Grand Master.” He mirrored the gesture.

Eric actually looked like a titan. He was head and shoulders taller than Juliette, even with the added height from her heels, broad shouldered, and heavily muscled. The rumor was that in the dark period after his wives died, he’d been a mercenary. Franco had a little trouble seeing it, as the Eric he knew and saw was quick to smile and laugh, clever and powerful, but not overtly dangerous.

Then again, he’d heard the story of head ripping from someone who’d been there, so he knew it was true, not apocryphal. Eric had ripped a man’s head off with his bare hands. Franco had asked Juliette’s sister-in-law, Alexis—a doctor—how much force that would take, but everyone had yelled at him not to ask stuff like that while they were eating, so he never got an answer.

It was the kind of thing he might have asked Colum, who enjoyed finding answers to odd questions. Except the headless man had been responsible for Josephine’s death. While the man hadn’t been the one to actually kill Colum’s sister, he’d given the order.

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