Page 41 of Sapphires and Snakes
The door shuts behind Wyrm, and the lock clicks into place automatically. I push out of my chair and stride over to the conference table for larger meetings. A map of the city is sprawled out over it, each piece of property color coded to the family it belongs to.
“What the fuck are they doing?” I stare at the Accardi’s territory, sapphire blue sprawling over the Western districts.
“They probably want to garner favor with the Council, a show of good faith.”
“They already have that without pulling back. Our mediation meetings are a fucking joke, both of us putting in the least amount of effort. They don’t care about the outcome.” I trace the edges of Gallo territory with my finger. “Why?”
Darius mulls it over, both of us studying the map and willing it to spell out the answers for us. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his slacks, jacket already thrown over a chair and shirt sleeves pushed up his forearms to reveal smooth, Black skin.And a battered watch, its fake gold plating rubbed off in places. He really does need a better one.
He ventures a guess. “Because they’re gonna get what they want anyways.”
An interesting theory. “How?”
“Another forced marriage?”
Between Marcus and Zarina. The thought stirs up the memory of our engagement party, of Marcus’s hands around Zarina’s throat, the bruises they left behind, and the helplessness that froze me to the spot as I was forced to stand down in that hallway. I will do all I can to stop that from happening again.
I blow a breath to clear my head and refocus on here and now. On logic and politics. I fold my arms over my chest. “Would the Council recognize such a marriage after the first attempt, after the mediations?”
“I don’t know,” he says.
There’s no way for either of us to know. We’re not privy to the Council’s politics, don’t understand all their motivations well enough to predict their reactions. I want to believe they’d refuse to legitimize a Gallo-Accardi merger even if Zarina was willing. It threatens to make the Accardis too powerful, to upset the precarious balance the Cardinal Families have achieved after the Russo’s fall. And yet I’ve seen little maneuvering to stifle the threat or offer credibility to my and Zarina’s match.
I gather up the map, rolling it into a scroll. “Might be time to chat with Jimmy.”
“I’ll set it up.” Darius pulls down his sleeves and buttons the cuffs.
I replace the map in its slot on the bookcase taking up the right wall. “This week, if possible.”
“Heard.”
“And next week, let’s do a round in Wyrm’s district.”
He slips on his jacket, adjusting his collar. “Already planned it.”
“Thanks.” I grab my own jacket off the hook on the end of one of the bookcases.
“Have you heard from Capone yet?” he asks.
“I expect the countersign today.”
“Let me know, and I’ll schedule delivery.”
I hum in reply, tugging my cuffs free of my jacket sleeves. “Anything new on our guests?”
“Guests,” Darius quotes with a laugh. “Is that what we’re calling them now?”
I shoot him an unamused look. “I didn’t ask for color commentary.”
He shakes his head, not at all cowed by me. “Not much to report. She finishedSense 8and is now onHeartstoppers.”
I frown at the door leading to the hall like I can see down it and into Zarina’s room. “How is that possible?”
He checks his phone, maybe double checking the encrypted message from IT. “They say other than the shows, she online shops and calls her designer friend often.”
My frown deepens. In all our time together, Zarina’s never mentioned watching a new show or a conversation with Sally Vator, her designer friend. But then, we don’t talk about stuff like that often, if much at all. Still, it doesn’t make sense. “She didn’t trade ten percent of her territory and an open-ended favor to sit around and binge gay television.”
“Or fuck you.” Darius grins at me, and I roll my eyes. Though I want to smack him in the family jewels. He must read it on my face, because his grin only widens to show his canines. Wisely, he doesn’t push it. “Either way, that’s all Tech’s got.”
