Late in the evening, Riccardo Silva was captured alive by Benedict’s troops. Riccardo refused to confess or admit any wrongdoing, so now the Consortium would have to vote on what to do with him. Killing him as a traitor risked turning him into a martyr, but keeping him alive made him a target for rescue attempts by the Syndicate. Either way, a war with the Syndicate loomed on the horizon.
The thought lingered the next day while I visited our allies, shoring up relationships and gathering support. Pippa August pulled me into a hug and thanked me repeatedly for saving her uncle, even after I explained that he’d saved me. After months of staying neutral, she pledged House August’s support to House von Hasenberg.
It was a bittersweet victory.
Lady Wilma Sollorz and her heir had both survived. Wilma asked several minutes of pointed questions about Ferdinand, and I answered them honestly. She nodded and vowed that she’d ensure the other lower houses fell in line if he had to take over House von Hasenberg. House Sollorz wasn’t hugely powerful, but Wilma was old enough to have many allies of her own. I appreciated her help.
Susan and I were sitting at the family table in Macall’s Coffee House, taking a much-needed break between visits, when she stiffened beside me. I reluctantly looked up from Skout’s report—they had dug up some interesting information.
Speak of the devil. Joseph James approached our table, his expression grim.
Susan tensed to intercept him, but I stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Let’s see what he wants,” I murmured, but I also drew a blaster under the cover of the table.
Joseph settled into the chair across from me with a flirtatious smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Lady Catarina, what a pleasant surprise.”
“Lord Joseph.” My voice was cool.
He gestured at the silencer built into the table. “Would you mind?”
I stared at him for a long moment. If I turned on the silencer, I wouldn’t be able to call for backup. But nothing in Skout’s report had pointed to Joseph, at least not so far.
“Susan, please keep watch by the window.” From there, she would be outside the silencer’s influence, so she wouldn’t be able to hear our conversation and she would be able to call reinforcements if we needed them.
With a pointed frown at Joseph, Susan stood and moved away. Once she was in position, I clicked on the silencer. I had no doubt that she was already relaying information to the team outside.
“Have you found new information on the hover bike attack?”
His expression didn’t change. “I’ve come to offer a trade. My family doesn’t know I’m here, so if you’d play along . . .” Without waiting for agreement, he clasped my hand and brought it to his mouth for a flamboyant kiss. To anyone watching, it looked like he was being his normal self.
My other hand tightened around the blaster.
“Don’t shoot the messenger,” he said with a glimmer of real amusement. “At least not until you hear the proposal.”
“Talk fast.”
“Leave my brother Aaron out of it, and I’ll give you the key you need to unlock what you took.”
He must be talking about the data file. I’d sent the file to Bianca because I hadn’t been able to crack it, but Bianca would—eventually. “And if I don’t need your key?”
For the first time, Joseph looked truly worried. “Aaron was at school. He had no part in this.”
Aaron was a year younger than Joseph. From what I’d heard, he was gifted but awkward around people. His parents had sent him away to school when he was a child and were perfectly happy for him to stay there.
I raised an eyebrow at the man sitting across from me. “And what about you? What part did you play?”
“I had no part, either, but I should’ve seen what was happening.” He shook his head in disgust.
I tilted my head to the side and considered the truthfulness of his words. “So you’re going to fall on your sword for your brother, is that it?”
“Wouldn’t you? Didn’t you? Your attendance at the party couldn’t have been a coincidence.”
“House James will be no more when this comes to light.”
“I have enough money hidden away that Aaron will be okay.”
“Will you testify against your family?”
Joseph’s smile turned brittle and anguish settled into his eyes. “If I must. As long as Aaron is completely cleared of all association and charges. I want him to be not only free, but free from stigma. My parents are going to try to pin everything on him.”
“That’s going to be difficult when your sister had several private meetings with Riccardo in Honorius.” Skout had been busy since I’d left. I now owed them a pile of credits and a heap of thanks.
Joseph closed his eyes in defeat. “I’d hoped she wasn’t that involved.”
“Give me the key and I’ll do what I can for your brother.” And for you, I added silently.
He transferred a file to my com, then stood with an elegant bow. “Thank you, Cat,” he murmured. “Truly.”
“Do not run,” I warned.
One corner of his mouth turned up in a wry grin. “I am at your service.”
After Joseph left, I sent Bianca the file with a warning that it might be a trap, then went back to Skout’s report. Hannah and Bianca were expected back tonight, and I needed all of the information I could get before I had to give them a report.
THE NEXT DAY, FERDINAND CALLED US INTO A PRIVATE family meeting. We met in Bianca’s suite. She’d moved back into the main house until her apartment could be repaired.
Tears and hugs and drinks were passed around. I couldn’t remember the last time we’d all been in the same place at once. Hannah still moved like she was injured, but she waved off our concern. We kept the conversation light, but a thread of tension ran through the room. We all had a pretty good idea of why Ferdinand had called us together.
A few minutes later, he stood. “Thank you for coming,” he said quietly, his voice computer-generated. House doctors were working on a way to replace his missing tongue, but for now, he wore a microphone and tiny speaker on his neck. “Father’s condition has not changed. His doctors say they are optimistic, but the diagnostic table tells another story. We must decide what to do.”
He moved around the room, handing each person two small, rounded disks, one gray, one red.
“The vote will be anonymous. There is a box in the sitting room. Go in, close the door, make your decision. Gray for death, red for life. There is no right or wrong choice. Because of the seriousness of the situation, the decision to remove his life support must be unanimous.” He looked around the room, his expression hard. “There will be no pressure, no persuading. Do not reveal how you voted. Each person gets to make their own decision.”
We all nodded. The two disks felt heavy in my hands and nerves made my stomach churn.
Ferdinand went first, then Bianca, Ada, and Benedict. Everyone was taking Ferdinand’s words to heart and was in full public mode, expressions guarded. Hannah waved for me to go next. I stood on shaky legs and let myself into the sitting room.
A small black box with a slot in the top sat on the coffee table.
Such an innocent little thing with such big ramifications. I wished Alex was here to hold my hand and tell me I was a badass, because I didn’t feel like it right now. I stared at the two disks blindly, weighing my conscience, my future, and my love.
Then I made my choice.
The disk clinked softly as it fell into the box. I pocketed the remaining disk and returned to the others. Hannah took her turn, then Ferdinand retrieved the box and sat it on the low table in front of him.
“No matter what happens, I love you all,” he said. It was rare for my serious eldest brother to express himself so openly. “And I will continue to do everything I can to protect you, no matter what.”
“We love you, too, brother,” Benedict said, and the rest of us murmured our agreement.
Every eye focused on the box.
Ferdinand shook it and then turned it over. He lifted the box, so the lid and the disks remained on the table.
Six gray disks gleamed in the soft light.
A collective breath whooshed out of us, and Ada laughed. The tension broke, and we all joined her, wobbly at first, but gaining strength.
The old reign was dead. The future was bright with possibilities.
A FEW HOURS LATER, THE DOCTORS REMOVED FATHER’S life support and he died quietly in his sleep, surrounded by his solemn, dry-eyed children. I felt guilty about my lack of anguish, but mostly I felt relief.
Albrecht and Maria von Hasenberg were cremated, and we gathered to spread their ashes in the family garden in a small, quiet sunset ceremony, filled with only family and those as close as family. Alex stood next to me. I hoped he understood the unspoken significance of the invitation.
Ferdinand had taken on the task himself, and he tipped the urn over Mother’s favorite rosebushes. “Rest in peace, Father, Mother.”
As the last of the ashes drifted to the ground, the western sky glowed with a stunning mix of red and gold. My tears finally came, tears of regret and hope and peace.
Alex quietly slipped a handkerchief into my hand. I turned to him and buried a sob in his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and let me soak the fine fabric of his shirt with my sorrow.
I took a shuddering breath and wiped my eyes with the soft handkerchief, only for the world to go blurry again. Now that the tears had started, it seemed like they would never stop. “Thank you.”
He held me close. “Anytime, princess. I’ll always be here for you.”
That only caused me to cry harder, but afterward, I felt lighter.
We moved to the outdoor furniture and Benedict cracked open a bottle of Father’s best whisky and poured us shots. “To the end of an era,” he said, raising the first toast. “And to Ferdinand for beginning a new one.”
We all raised our glasses and downed our drinks. The whisky burned a fiery path to my belly. I lost count of the toasts, but we stayed until late in the night, sharing stories of family and love and adventure. If Mother and Father didn’t feature in too many of those stories, no one seemed to mind. We had each other. It was enough.
And curled up next to Alex, I dared to dream of more.