Page 93 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

Lucio explained the Draca, the dragon that lived within him, compelling him to do what he did. It was the Draca that left Beaux scarred, gouged out his eye, and tore his throat open, leaving him to bleed out in the swamp where he and Camille had once danced under the stars.

Beaux welcomed death then, hoping to join Camille in whatever peace lay beyond. But Lucio denied him even that. Instead, he forced his blood into Beaux’s body, binding him to life, enslaving him. He renamed him “Shakespeare,” stripping away his past, and turned him into his creature, a loyal hound bound by pain and blood. Sophie, shattered by guilt and heartbreak, chased rumors of him across the world, desperate to believe he was still alive somewhere in the dark.

Domencio was the one who found her, and he used her heartbreak like a blade. He stoked the embers of vengeance within Shakespeare, promising they could destroy Lucio together. But Shakespeare hesitated, wary of Domencio’s true motives. In response, Domencio brought Sophie to him,offering her as a lifeline and a curse. He warned that if Shakespeare did not claim Sophie as his mate, the Draca would consume her, her mind unraveling into madness, a fate even crueler than Camille’s.

Sophie was all that remained of his old life, his last tie to the boy he had once been. But that love was twisted by loss, by his inability to let go of Camille. He punished Sophie for not being her sister, for being a reminder of everything he had lost. And Sophie, though heartbroken, stayed. She endured his anger, even as her own Draca drove her to madness, giving her visions and tearing her mind apart. The guilt settled heavy on Shakespeare’s soul, a curse that grew more unbearable with each passing year.

Finally, at Shakespeare’s request, Domencio turned Sophie, binding her to him for eternity. Yet that bond became his own undoing. Camille and Sophie—both their deaths stained his soul, a burden he could never escape. Now, as he sped through the night on his motorcycle, Camille’s voice haunted him, a ghostly melody woven into his mind, a song he would never be free of.

Answer me.Domencio’s voice was more insistent, like a tightening noose.

But Shakespeare’s focus was on the road ahead, on the hunt.I saw it. I saw you kill Lucio.

The connection severed abruptly, leaving Shakespeare alone with his thoughts. He braced for the inevitable command, the order to stand down, to obey. But it never came. Instead, there was only silence.

A dark satisfaction curled in Shakespeare’s chest. He would have his final revenge. Lucio was dead, and now he wanted to see his squire Tristan one last time and drag him to hell with him, force him to strip and welcome the morning sunlight with him,to end it all. The priest and the witch had stolen what was left of his heart, and he would see them pay with blood.

The Caravan- First People

Earlier – In the Van

“How close are we?” Greenlee asked from the back of the van, her voice taut with anticipation.

“Almost there,” Arlene replied, eyes fixed on the road. Beside her, Nzinga sat silent and vigilant. Ahead, on the back of a pickup truck, Charmaine had now joined the professor. Greenlee and Macy Lynn felt it best. Neither felt comfortable being in closed proximity to the guardian. On the truck the professor kept a watchful eye on the “chosen one,” who lay unconscious, her power temporarily dormant. They needed to get her into camp before she awoke and fully claimed her abilities.

Greenlee’s gaze shifted to Macy Lynn, deep in a trance, her focus fixed on the talisman hovering before her, casting her face in golden light.

The talisman—a golden amulet encrusted with ancient jewels—spun with an eerie, otherworldly glow, pulsing with the power of the Egyptian crypts from which it had been taken. A relic of immense power, it channeled the magic of the First People, linking them to forces beyond mortal comprehension.

Suddenly, Macy Lynn gasped. Her eyes snapped open as the talisman clattered to the floor like a fallen coin, its glow extinguished.

“Are you okay?” Greenlee asked, reacting faster than her battered body should allow.

“Yes... Yes. It worked,” Macy Lynn panted, her voice trembled with exhaustion and triumph. “Just like the professor said it would.”

“And?” Greenlee prompted; her battle-worn face etched with curiosity.

Both women bore scars from their near-death escape in the Cajun swamp, where they had barely survived the guardians’ wrath. The memory still haunted them, but the knowledge gained was worth every drop of blood spilled.

“Theconsiglieri, Shakespeare,” Macy Lynn began, her voice steadying. “He thought he was speaking to Domencio. He answered all my questions. Sophie, the vampire concubine, is dead. And… Tristan is on his way with Kaida. Shakespeare’s following.”

Greenlee’s eyes widened with delight. “Interesting.”

“That’s not all,” Macy Lynn continued, lowering her voice so Nzinga and Arlene couldn’t hear.

“Oh?” Greenlee’s curiosity sharpened.

“Lucio. Shakespeare said he watched him die. You were wrong—he’s not alive.”

Greenlee’s expression tightened. “That can’t be true. I don’t make mistakes like this.”

Macy Lynn shook her head, her eyes gleaming with certainty. “It’s true. Shakespeare confirmed it. Hell, Dolly and Darlene nearly blew the desert off the map because of it.”

Greenlee’s gaze darkened. “I’m telling you, if Lucio were dead, we’d all know. He’s alive, somehow. And he’ll stay that way…long enough.”

“Then we haveto make sure this plan does not fail,” Macy Lynn said and smiled, a predatory glint in her eyes. “We are so close, sister. So close.”

Greenlee reached out and took Macy Lynn’s hand. She squeezed it tightly. A silent vow passed between them. They had harnessed the ancient magic of the First People and wovenit into a web of deception and power. With the talisman, they had tricked Shakespeare into revealing everything they needed to know. The vampires believed they were the hunters, but they were walking into a trap carefully laid by those who had mastered the mystic arts long before the vampires ever walked the earth.

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