Page 7 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

Darlene threw her hands up in exasperation. She paced the room like a caged animal. Her agitation was so strong that for the first time, Dolly hesitated. A small voice inside her wondered if Darlene’s warning wasn’t entirely unfounded.

“Dolly?” Lucio’s voice softened. He pulled her focus back to him. “Is something wrong?” He glanced toward the spot where Dolly’s eyes kept darting—the space where Darlene paced.

“No, I’m fine,” Dolly lied, forcing herself to look away. “I’m just... trying to trust you, Lucio. I must be smart. It’s not just my life on the line—I have Russell to protect too.”

Darlene stilled. Her shoulders relaxed slightly, and she nodded, as though she approved of Dolly’s reasoning.

Lucio gave a small smile. “I agree. That’s why I’ve been working on something—a plan. A solid one. Tristan and I started it long before you came into the picture. Maybe... maybe a part of me knew you would show up someday.”

“Reno?” Dolly asked, her brows lifting.

Lucio stiffened, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Never mind that,” he muttered. “Just know that I won’t let them take you from me. But if they try, there is a place they can’t reach you.”

Dolly tilted her head, her tone turning sharp. “I know your plan, Lucio. Find a descendant of Julia Brown, drain her. If she survives, she’s ‘the one.’ Feed her to your father, heal him, and continue this cycle of misery. It’s the only plan you and your brothers have ever known.”

“Funny,” Lucio said flatly, his lips twitching. “You’re full of jokes tonight.”

“It’s not a joke,” Dolly said coolly. “I’m not a fool.”

“You’re not listening to me,” he sighed.

“I am listening,” she shot back. “I’m always listening. But areyou? You are one of four, Lucio—nottheone. Your father, no matter what you say, is a powerful entity. And according to Darlene, he’s wiped the world clean of my kind before. There’s no defeating him by trying to save him.”

Her voice softened, and she placed a hand on his cheek. “Do you hear me? Saving him will destroy you.”

Lucio looked up at her, his crimson eyes searched hers. He could see the distrust creep back into her gaze, a shadow he couldn’t afford to let grow. Desperation clawed at his existence.

“I can’t,” he said with finality, his voice low. “No. I won’t make the mistakes of the past. None of my brothers really believed we’d find ‘the one.’ Not even me. That’s why I’ve been preparing for Reno. You’re like a falling star, Dolly—rare and fleeting. I don’t think anyone knows you’re here. In the past...” His voice faltered. “We’ve done terrible things. I won’t deny it. We’ve found many daughters of Julia Brown. None of them survived. None of them escaped.”

“Except who?” Dolly asked, her voice barely audible.

Lucio sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. “A year ago, the professor Darlene met with unlocked something on his lyrical board. He came to see me. He told me of the prophecy and what could happen if Julia Brown’s curse takes my father. He told me the part of the prophecy my father kept hidden.”

“What is the prophecy?” Dolly demanded.

Lucio hesitated, but the words spilled out before he could stop them. “If my father dies... I become the darkness.”

Dolly’s breath caught, her eyes widened. “What does that mean, Lucio? That you’ll become... what? His replacement?”

“It’s complicated,” Lucio muttered, looking away.

“Don’t you dare,” Dolly snapped, grabbing his face and forcing him to look at her. “Explain it to me. All of it. No secrets. Secrets can kill everything between us.”

Lucio closed his eyes, struggling to form the words. But deep down, he knew the truth would eventually find its way to her—one way or another.

Chapter 3

The New World

The Canyon - Arizona

April 17, 2018

(4 Days Before Death)

Lucio returned to the tent,his skin reddened with lesions, his body smoked faintly. Dolly leapt from the bed, alarmed.

“What in the world?” she exclaimed. She rushed to the cooler. She grabbed a handful of ice, wrapped it in a towel, and hurried to him. He sat at the edge of the bed, his head in his hands, his body visibly healing as she approached.

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