“And that was a good enough excuse to kill him?” Constantine asked.
“Spare me your judgmental tone. You’ve had men killed for less. If I didn’t kill him, his bullshit would’ve gotten Caterina and the children killed. I only regret not doing it sooner.” Phaidros gave an unapologetic shrug. “Forli was always going to be better under her control.”
“Forli? Wait, Caterina…as in Caterina Sforza?” Penelope gaped at him. “You were having an affair with La Tigre?” She couldn’t believe it. “You?”
“Oh good, you’ve heard of her.”
“Of course I have! She’s only one of the most badass women in history.” Penelope gave him a long, careful look. “Keep this up and I’m going to have to start respecting you.”
“Don’t be too rash.” Phaidros winked.
“Getting back to Girolamo,” Alexis prompted. “If Sixtus did give him the ring of Solomon, how long was it in his possession? In Rome, his property was sacked after Sixtus died.”
“If it stayed in the family, wouldn’t there have been some form of will or bequeathment?” Penelope asked hopefully.
Phaidros frowned. “It would’ve gone to his children and Caterina. So many of her belongings ended up in the hands of the Vatican after she was imprisoned by Pope Alexander in the Castel Sant’Angelo. Fucking Borgias.” He was about to spit, but the look Alexis gave him warned him not to dare.
“The hatred burned twice as hot because Aelia supported them,” Constantine whispered to Penelope.
“Please don’t start,” Alexis begged as Phaidros reddened.
“She was only fucking Cesare because she was jealous I was in love with someone other than her.”
Alexis tipped his head back in exasperation. “Another war instigated by your quarrels. I’m surprised Europe remained as unscathed as it did between your arguments.”
Penelope was beginning to have a whole new appreciation for why Aelia and Phaidros finally getting along was such a big deal. She dug about in her memories of undergrad Renaissance History.
Caterina Sforza made a big impression on her and Carolyn. Not only had she outlived three husbands, including a Medici, but she also gained her own political power at a time when noblewomen were treated as pawns with wombs. She refused to surrender Forli to Cesare Borgia’s forces, knocking back their offers of peace, and once their army finally breached the city, Caterina, armed and angry, fought them off until they overpowered her and took her back to Rome.
“Didn’t Caterina get released from the Castel Sant’Angelo? Surely they gave some of her possessions back.”
“What little they did return Caterina spent on fighting the Medicis to get her son back from them. Lorenzo was a hard man, but in the end, giving Caterina what she wanted was easiest,” Phaidros said. “If the Vatican recognized the ring’s origin, they would’ve kept it and anything that pertained to it.”
Constantine nodded. “Good point. You don’t hand a relic like that back to a woman who’s already been a thorn in the side of three popes by that stage.”
“Could you ask your Vatican contact what he knows?” Penelope asked.
“It’s a she, but I’ll ask. Whether or not she admits to it will be another matter. The Vatican is comfortable withholding information for the perceived good.”
Penelope smiled. “A good day’s work all round. I’ll check through Tim’s notes, but I feel like we’re closing in on the ring’s last location.”
“Good luck getting the manuscript off of Elazar,” said Phaidros. “He’s quite fascinated with the idea that the Essene scribe managed to imprint his prophetic visions onto a consciousness nearly two thousand years later. If nothing else, it’s keeping his mind off his destroyed home.”
Elazar was in his new office in the Archives, the printed version of Tim’s manuscript in front of him. He looked up guiltily when Alexis and Penelope walked in.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”
“As long as you keep producing such excellent leads, you can have it as long as you like,” Alexis replied. “We’re after the passage you found about the pope and any other passages we haven’t identified already.”
Elazar flipped through the document. “Now that we’ve found Riccoldo and his journeys, there isn’t much at all. Here’s the paragraph about Sixtus: There was a guy sitting on a throne of gold. He wore white priest’s robes, a red cowl, and a cap. He was talking about Florence and revenge on someone he referred to as ‘the deceitful banker’s son.’ A younger man stood obediently in front of him, and then the posh pope guy pulled a ring from his finger and gave it to him and said, ‘Subdue Florence, and I’ll give you whatever glory you wish.’” Elazar passed the manuscript over to Alexis. “Not much of a creative writer, that Tim, but he managed to get the important details. Phaidros guessed it was Sixtus and Girolamo in the blink of an eye.”
“Old wounds are like that. You’re right—there’s only one passage left.”
“Read it to me? My head is spinning.” Penelope sat down on a spare chair.
“Dressed in a plain dress, the sick woman wrote page after page in her cell. She twisted the ring between her fingers, whispering to it over and over like a prayer. She was dying, and it refused to save her. She would take it to her tomb, for no man deserved to wield it.”
“Caterina?”
“Perhaps,” Elazar said. “We would need to check with Phaidros. There’s no point making assumptions until we have definite confirmation that it was in Girolamo’s possession and then passed on to her.”
To pass the time, Penelope told Elazar about the contents of Nereus’s secret library until Constantine found them again.
When he did, the foreboding look on his face worried her. “What did she say?” she asked.
“There are boxes of Girolamo’s and Caterina’s documents in the archive, but she doesn’t have clearance to access them.” Constantine tapped his phone against his palm. “There’s only one way I can think of getting our hands on them, and you probably won’t like it.” He shared a look with Alexis and laughed.
“We go to the Vatican,” Alexis said with a devious smile, “and we steal them.”
ALEXIS HAD PREDICTED an argument the next day, but it didn’t come from the quarter he’d expected.
“I don’t want to leave Elazar.” Zo folded his arms across his chest after finding Alexis drinking his morning coffee in the courtyard and cornering him.
“Zo, you are the best at magically counterfeiting objects. We need you.”
“Take Phaidros. It’s his dead girlfriend’s documents after all.”
“That’s exactly why he shouldn’t come. I need someone steady, who’s not going to get emotional over familiar handwriting.” Alexis checked that no one else was around before adding, “Aelia admitted to me that she loves Phaidros. They nearly destroyed Italy over Caterina and Cesare. I don’t want their chances together to be derailed or soured by old animosities.”
“If Aelia loves him, they’ll get over it. Caterina and Cesare are long dead. Whatever they have going on hasn’t been affected by Constantine’s presence here. Constantine. If they can tolerate that old flame living with them, they can handle the matter of Phaidros’s dead lover.”
“Elazar will be safe here with or without you. You can’t hover over him forever.” Alexis’s effort to remain calm slipped away as his voice rose.
Zo took a deep breath, seemingly readying himself for another spat when Constantine found them.
“What are you two doing hiding out here?”
“Trying to convince Zo that he needs to come to Rome to leave perfect copies of whatever we’re going to take.”
Constantine turned his stern gray gaze on Zo. “Elazar doesn’t need you, Zotikos. I do. Stop arguing about something so ridiculous. We are battling an army of darkness. That takes priority. You are coming.” Zo flushed and tried to respond, but Constantine held up a hand. “No. Stop it. There’s only one man I trust to do this with me, and it’s not
Phaidros. Go on. You need to pack. We’re leaving in two hours.” Constantine gave him a charming smile.
Zo huffed in defeat. “Fine, but I’m driving.”
“Yes, of course you can.”
“I hate you so much.”
“Don’t lie,” Constantine called to his retreating back, then turned back to Alexis with a satisfied smile. “You see, Alecto? You needn’t turn everything into such a drama. Sometimes a firm hand and no room for protest is all that’s needed.”
“We both know Zo can’t deny you anything, so there’s no room to criticize me.”
Constantine sat down at his table and took one of his papers.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay stealing from the heart of Catholicism. Won’t your God get upset at you for taking his things?”
“The Church took them first. What is it you like to say about stealing? Acquiring it for preservation purposes?” Constantine’s relaxed, charming smile returned. “Besides, it’ll hardly be the first time I stole something from the Vatican.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“It’s what you like about me the most.” Constantine looked at him over the edge of the paper, his clever eyes missing nothing. “What’s wrong? You’ve been in a mood since your trip into the astrolabe. Did you and the lovely doctor have a fight? If so, I really should be giving her my shoulder to cry on and not you.”
“We’re fine. I overreacted a little,” Alexis admitted, adjusting the rings on his fingers.
“Did you hurt her?”
“No!” His eyes widened. “I’d never do that.”
“Then what’s upsetting you?”
Constantine would be relentless, so Alexis told him about going into the astrolabe and the spill of magic when it had reacted to his fear for Penelope. “I don’t want to be a controlling partner, but there are parts of me that wish she’d never found her way back to the palazzo. She’d be so much safer.”
“But you’d be miserable. Penelope’s presumed safety would also be debatable. You said yourself that Thevetat tried to kill her even before you revealed yourself to her. Alecto, my dear friend, you must stop trying to control all of this. You are the Defender; I understand that is a part of your duty, but Penelope is here by divine appointment. Even you cannot fight against that.”
“You know that doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“The truth usually doesn’t.”
“Penelope mentioned something else you should factor into your plans.”
“Oh, praise God, she wants to have an open relationship.”
“No, you idiot. She pointed out that it doesn’t matter how many men Thevetat has protecting him. Once he starts his ritual, they are all going to be reduced to humans because he won’t be sharing his power.”
“Clever girl.” Constantine rubbed his chin. “This is good news.”
“There are still only nine of us, including you and Marco.”
“I have some mercenary friends that wouldn’t turn down the work.”
Alexis could see the military wheels of his mind turning. Parts of the upstairs library were now covered in aerial shots of Milos and the surrounding islands, and Constantine and Lyca had their heads together to not only find Thevetat’s base, but to discover the best way to approach it. Milos was no deserted island, and the last thing Alexis wanted was tourists and innocent locals getting caught in the cross fire of a magical battle—or worse, recording it on their phones and uploading it to social media.
“Let me worry about it, Alecto. You need to focus on the ring and the magic and your lovely Penelope.”
Alexis leaned back in his chair. “Thank you, Con. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Of course you are. I’m delightful, and I have the way of getting into the Vatican. Let’s pray you find your answers there.”
TRUE TO schedule, Alexis, Pen, Zo, and Constantine left Venice for Rome. They picked up one of Zo’s cars from their garage on the mainland, and soon Alexis and Penelope were tucked up in the back seat.
“We’ll only be gone a night or so,” Alexis had assured Phaidros before they left.
“Don’t get caught,” he’d replied.
Alexis hadn’t seen Aelia, but he felt her magic in the palazzo, so he knew she was haunting her wing. “Take care of them.”
Phaidros rolled his eyes. “Worry about yourself and what the Swiss Guard will do to you if you’re caught.”
In the past, Alexis had come and gone from the palazzo without a care, knowing that Nereus had enough magic to protect it and whoever was sleeping under its roof.
“I haven’t been to Rome in years.” Penelope gazed out the back seat window.
“I’ll bring you back for a visit once all of this is over,” he promised. He needed to focus on the future, despite what they would face on Milos. He was trying desperately not to get lost in his memories of the war on Atlantis. What would they find in the middle of Thevetat’s compound? They’d raided many camps in the old days and what they’d uncovered…
Penelope’s hand wrapped around his, snapping Alexis back to the present.
“After all of this is over, I intend to take you up on your offer to stay in your tower for a hundred years.”
Alexis laughed.
“A hundred years with only Alexis for company? You’ll be trying to murder him within the first year,” Constantine said from the passenger seat.
“I don’t think so.” Penelope’s eyes were hot as they slid over Alexis.
His smile grew wider, and he lifted her hand to kiss the soft inside of her wrist. “I’d do my best to keep you occupied.”
“If you two start making out in my back seat, I swear to all the gods that I’ll kick you out onto the street,” warned Zo.
“And you’ll have to deal with me watching.” Constantine shot a wink in Penelope’s direction.
Alexis narrowed his gaze. “Do it again, and I’ll take that eye.”
“Don’t listen to him, Penelope. He has missed me immensely.”
“I can’t see why, no matter how pretty you are,” she said.
“Constantine is not pretty,” said Zo.
“That’s right. I’m too ruggedly masculine to be pretty, right, Zo?”
“Absolutely. And I only compliment people who I intend to sleep with. Isn’t that right, my beautiful Penelope, light of my life?” Zo laughed when Penelope leaned forward to tickle his ear.
“You wouldn’t be able to handle me, sweet poet.”
Alexis smiled where Constantine and Zo couldn’t see. He loved watching Penelope go toe to toe with the other magicians, putting them in their places while making them fall in love with her at the same time. They’d all had spouses and lovers over the long centuries, but those companions hadn’t always known their secrets or been introduced to the other magicians, and it had been a rare thing for them to be unafraid and accepting when they did. It felt like Penelope was always meant to be with them. It wasn’t just her magic—they’d met plenty of people with gifts—it was because she was like them. She loved them all fiercely, no matter how much they pissed her off.
Alexis drew her to him, and she placed her arm around his waist, her head finding its place on his shoulder. She belonged not only to him, but to all of them. His heart swelled with even more love for her.
They were both asleep by the time they arrived in Rome four hours later. Penelope’s hand had found its way through the buttons of his shirt, her palm resting against his heart. Even months after the night at the Lido, she still needed the reminder that it was still beating.
I’ll stand by you, and we will face Thevetat’s defeat or our death together, Alexis silently promised her. Constantine was right; Alexis had to believe this was a part of her destiny as much as his. It didn’t matter what gods or magic, prophecy, or higher power had forced their paths together. She was his partner in all things—death included.
“I love you,” Penelope murmured in her sleep, as if she’d somehow heard him. Then her
green eyes fluttered open, and she smiled. “We’re here.” She looked around at the city streets Zo navigated through.
“You slept through the whole trip, and it was incredibly boring.” Constantine sighed. “I was going to wake you up, but then I thought sleep might be a good thing, considering what we’re going to be up to tonight.”
When in Rome, Constantine lived in Monteverde, on the Via Calandrelli near the Villa Sciarra park. Zo wove expertly through the tight lanes and passed the brick retaining walls as they wound higher up into the hills. The buildings glowed with warm shades of sepia, ochre, peach, and terra-cotta. Penelope made happy little sighs as she gazed out at the streets lined with poplar and pine trees.
They pulled into the drive of a three-story, terra-cotta terrace house surrounded by a high, vine-covered wall. “Have you changed your code since last time?” Zo asked, reaching out of his open window to the gate’s keypad.
“No,” Constantine said, and Zo punched in a number. If nothing else, that proved Zo had been in contact with Constantine more that Alexis and Aelia had realized.
“Very trusting of you to give him that,” Penelope said as the gates slid open.
“Zo is the one magician I trust implicitly. He’s probably stayed here more than I have in the past fifty years.”
“It’s in a good spot—that’s why,” said Zo. “Plus, you hate Rome. It seemed a shame to let it go to waste.”
Penelope leaned into the space between them. “A Roman emperor who hates Rome? That doesn’t sound right at all.”
“By the time I became emperor, Rome was a cesspool of vipers and strategically irrelevant in running the empire. Why do you think I built a new capital in Constantinople?”
“Because if you had stayed in Rome, you would’ve been assassinated within the year?” Alexis was teasing him, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t the truth.
“The assassins certainly would’ve done their best. Constantinople was a much-needed clean slate.”
“And it had absolutely nothing to do with it being a city-sized monument to your ego?” Penelope asked with a raised brow.
Constantine chucked her under the chin. “You need to stop reading all of those misguided historians and listening to Alexis’s lies, my dear.”
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