Page 131 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

“Your soul is mine,” Papa Legba whispered, his voice sweetened with menace. He seized her, and her scream pierced the air as he dragged her toward the dark realm. Shadows swallowed them both, and their forms dissolved into nothingness.

Domencio’s heart shattered. He had moments—just moments—to decide. The Draquria roared above him, a force of destruction ready to take Lucio. The gem is a weapon he could use to stop the Draquria or he could take it with him to save his beloved.

Domencio looked down at the gem in his hand, left behind by Phoenix, its blue and lavender light a trusted power of the great queens. A portal to the realm that once held cosmic life for the balance of this universe was now dark and empty—an open void. Maman Julia said he would have to make a choice. It was always about choices. His brother saved his life once. And he would give anything for one last conversation with Lucio to thank him. But Darlene had given him something even more precious than the Fratelli or the love of a twin. She had given him her heart and traded in her soul. He rather go into the darkness with her and fight for her life than his own.

He could save her.

With a final, desperate glance at the Draquria, Domencio made his choice. He stepped forward, and the gem’s energyflared in his grip. The Draquria breathed flames and glared down at him ready to strike. Domencio did not give it the chance. He plunged into the shadows left behind by Legba after Darlene. The Draquria’s roar echoed behind him as he crossed into the dark realm. It wasn’t a roar. It was laughter. Domencio fell deeper into the abyss, chasing the only love that truly mattered—Darlene.

Chapter 53

The Rise of Domencio

Vatican - Vatican City, Rome

April 21, 2018

Midnight (Day of Death)

It was eerily quiet—tooquiet. Not a single soul stirred in Vatican City, not even a stray animal. The distant hum of the wind brushed against the sacred buildings like a whispered prayer, casting shadows over the streets. The night seemed alive, charged with a presence no mortal could escape with their sanity.

Charmaine, the Protector of the Light, felt the weight of their mission in her bones and her eyes were drawn to Dolly, her goddess, the one chosen to lead them through this darkness to the light.

Dolly walked ahead, her posture calm, her face unreadable, as if she were a part of the night itself. It unnerved Charmaine how composed she seemed, knowing the dangers that awaited, and that they had lost Darlene. She reached out mentally to Tristan, Lucio’s most trusted consiglieri, who strode besidethem. He was alert. His eyes scanned each crevice they passed in the alleyways.

“Are we safe?”Charmaine asked, with her telepathic powers. Her shared connection to her lover was barely a whisper in his mind.

“No.”Tristan’s response was curt, laced with unspoken concerns.

Charmaine slowed for a second. Her boots scuffed the cobblestone. Her body tensed. Dolly kept walking, unbothered. She appeared drawn by some invisible force. Tristan quickened his pace. He moved in front of them both. He blocked their path. His blue eyes pleaded, and he reservedly smiled.

“Out of my way,” Dolly commanded.

Tristan held his ground but lowered his voice. “I’m telling you; we must follow my lead. This isn’t something you can rush into blindly.”

“Lucio needs me,” she said.

Tristan's brows lowered with concern. “He’s alive. You feel him?”

“No. Yes. I can feel him. It’s not like before,” she replied. “He wants me to come to him.”

Dolly’s gaze was cold, her resolve unshaken. “There are no leaders here. I’ve lost my sister. I’m alone. I’m done with the games and the Fratelli politics. Lucio and I both knew what the stakes were. He can have me alive or dead. I don’t care. I’m going in. Alone. I will face the brothers myself.”

“That’s what concerns me. You not caring,” Tristan replied. “Lucio doesn’t want your sacrifice. He loved you before he knew you. That’s what Reno is. A place of safety for the supernatural’s that defend the light. A place even he couldn’t breach. Your brother is there. He waits for you. He needs you; he’s surrounded by the wolves and their territory. And Darlene is out there in the realm rooting for you to win.”

Dolly blinked, her eyes welling with tears. Tristan continued. “Marcello and Sebastiano will not welcome you the way you think. They won’t let you die and join Lucio. They will torture you for centuries, experiments that you can’t conceive. If we don’t set this up correctly, it could end in?—”

“Tristan,” Dolly interrupted, her voice cut through the night like a blade. “They already know I’m here.”

The air shifted. Tristan’s head snapped toward the shadows as two figures emerged from the alley, cloaked in darkness. His breath caught—he hadn’t even sensed their approach.Of course, they knew.He should’ve felt the moment the brothers arrived, should’ve recognized the change in the atmosphere. They were being watched.

Sebastiano and Marcello stepped into the dim moonlight, their expressions deadly, their eyes fixed on Dolly with a mixture of hunger and hate. Sebastiano’s fangs dropped first, gleaming in the slivers of light like daggers.

“There she is,” Sebastiano hissed in a voice that seemed ancient with evil. His tone dripped venom. His eyes switched to Tristan, then Charmaine, but settled hungrily on Dolly.

“I see her,” Marcello echoed, his voice quieter but no less lethal. The power in his statement sent a tremor through the air toward the trio.

Dolly felt a strange numbness settle into her bones, though her heart pounded against her breast. The resemblance to Lucio was undeniable—the sharp angular features, the dangerous grace in their movements. But unlike Lucio, these two brothers were a pure threat. After weeks of turmoil, of being hunted, manipulated, and tormented, it all led to this moment. She had survived so much and learned so much. The weight of destiny pressed down on her. Her sister should have been at her side for this battle. Fate had left her to stand alone.

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