Page 99 of Depths of Desire
“Unbelievably cruel?” Renzo supplies. “Yes, that was our mother.” The bitterness in his voice hits me.
“I am so sorry I ever tried to find her,” I say. “It’s all my fault that this happened.”
My father shakes his head. “No, Morwenna is correct. It has been written in the stars. Your mother put it into words, but our fate has always been written there. She was merely the catalyst to make it happen. ‘When the sons three marry and the moon is red, the sisters three will bring about the dead, and the clan of Valdici will be no more’.”
“What does it mean?” Luca pushes. “I don’t get it.”
My father grimaces. “When it comes to the magickal realm and curses, anything can happen. There’s no real way of knowing what it means exactly.”
“Will whatever is going to happen occur overnight?” Renzo asks.
Morwenna enters the room. “No. You have time. The next red moon isn’t for a long while.”
I jump to my feet. “Luna?” My heart thumps in my chest.
“She is resting. She will be fine.”
I let out the breath I was holding.
“As to what it all means, your father is correct. We cannot really know. If I may offer a suggestion, however, I would say it’s best to remove yourself from the public eye. Get out ofla famiglia. Rumors will spread, and you all will become a targetwith those mistakenly thinking you are weak. It will lead to much violence that will put a strain on you all.”
Morwenna frowns. “I must run, but I will be back. Nico, we really do need to discuss your magickal abilities. Luna mentioned that you glow brighter before you use your powers. That you hit Malrick with magickal energy.”
“She’s awake?” I say as I put my drink down on the desk and take a step toward the door.
“No, she’s resting now. Esme is with her. Let her sleep. You need rest as well. I will come back in the next day or so.” With that, she left the room.
“Morwenna is correct,” my father says. “We need to pull back fromla famiglia. I was hoping we could stay in power for at least another twenty or thirty years, but this day was always going to come.” He gets to his feet slowly. “I will go back to Venice and put things in motion. You all go back to Genoa and do the same. In a month, we will all go to ground.” He comes around the desk and takes me by the shoulders. “I am proud of you. Of all of you,” he continues as he glances at each one of us. “You have all turned into good men, strong men. I am happy you have all found love. It is an important part of life, one that too few vampires ever experience.”
There’s a bitterness there, and I can’t help but feel pity for my father. My mother was a nightmare. I’m not sure she ever loved him.
“Father—”
My father pulls me in for a hug, cutting off my words. Then he steps back, releasing me. “I have much to do, starting with getting rid of Malrick’s body. I will reach out in two days’ time and we will plan.”
“Okay,” I say.
He nods and leaves the room.
I grab my drink and go back around the desk and sit in my chair. Renzo sits in the guest chair I just vacated. “What do you guys want to do?”
Luca stares at him, “What now?”
Renzo grins. “No, I mean if we’re packing up and going to ground, what are we going to do and where are we going to do it?”
“Oh, right.” Luca shrugs. “I’m going to continue to run my nightclubs just from somewhere else, I guess. You?” he asks Renzo.
“Same. Going to run my liquor business.” He turns to me. “You going to stick to your wine empire?”
I nod, but then I cock my head with a sudden idea. “I know going to ground usually means we disappear from each other’s lives for a while, but what if we do it differently this time?”
“What are you suggesting?” Renzo asks.
“There’s a winery in Nova Scotia that I recently purchased. It needs some work. What if we all go to the new world? We have family there. You can run your nightclubs, Luca, I’m sure you have some in Canada.”
Luca nods. “Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, but I’ve been eyeing Halifax for a while now. I could definitely spend some time there setting something up.”
Renzo smiles. “They’re big rum drinkers in Nova Scotia. I’ve been using it as a testing ground for a while now. I could easily set up over there.”
