Alessandro scanned the chamber.

“If it was up to me,” Xavier continued, “I would kill you both.” He looked at Alessandro. “You for obvious reasons.” He looked at me. “And you, because you destroyed my family.”

“You destroyed his family and I wasn’t invited?” Alessandro said, his tone light.

“I didn’t destroy anything. Xavier was under the impression he was related to Rogan. I simply found out that his mother chose to cheat on her husband.” I looked at Xavier. “It’s not my fault that you’re a bastard.”

Xavier bared his teeth at me. “When the time comes—and it will—I’ll make you suffer. I have learned all sorts of wonderful ways to make the pain last and last and last.”

“You were a sadistic little shit as a teenager,” I told him. “I see you haven’t changed.”

“This is so fun,” Xavier said. “But sadly, I have to take care of a bit of business.”

“Please,” Alessandro invited. “I’m getting bored.”

“Well, we can’t have that. The old man feels a sense of obligation to you for killing your father in front of you. He didn’t recognize you in Montreal, but he figured it out when you came back to life like Lazarus. He’s inclined to let you walk away. He feels it’s fair. He killed your father, you killed three of his best, and let’s not forget Cheryl.”

“I’m overcome by his generosity.” Alessandro’s voice was light and breezy.

“You should be. As I said, I don’t understand it, but he’s the boss. Walk away, stop trying to kill him, stop fucking up his plans, and he’ll let bygones be bygones. However, this dynamic duo you’ve got going is annoying, so I have orders to break the two of you up.”

Xavier smiled at me. “Everything you think he is is a lie. His family is penniless. They’ve been drowning in debt for generations. They started borrowing money in the eighteenth century and never stopped. Now they are so deep in the hole, they will never get out. His cars? Rented. His clothes? Bought secondhand. His pictures? Staged. The magic of photoshop.”

Alessandro’s face was unreadable.

“You see, with his kind of magic, he’s only good for two jobs, bodyguard or assassin, and his grandfather wouldn’t let him be either, because it’s beneath a Sagredo to serve other men. Do you know what his purpose in life is? To look pretty, so they can auction him off to the highest bidder. When some idiot rich girl marries him, they will use her dowry to stave off their creditors so they can stay afloat for just a little while longer. That’s how they survive. His Instagram is a billboard advertising him to his future bride. He’s a prince in plastic jewels.”

Alessandro’s expression was still blank. He looked almost bored. How much must it have cost him? He was so proud.

“Except our boy here decided to not play by the rules. They tried to marry him off three times, and he sabotaged every single engagement beyond repair.”

Xavier shook his head mockingly. “Why couldn’t you be a good boy, Alessandro? Why couldn’t you marry a rich girl and leech off of her, so your family could keep pretending to have some tattered dignity? Your father did it. Well, for a while anyway.”

You fucking asshole. “You won’t live to get old,” I promised him.

“Wait, you haven’t heard the best part yet.” Xavier grinned. “His grandfather got so tired of dealing with him that he kicked him out of the family. He isn’t a Count. He isn’t even a Sagredo. He’s been excised.”

Oh my God.

I think your pauper prince truly loves you, poor fool. It’s a shame. My grandmother knew. I thought she’d been talking about his clothes, but Victoria knew.

“All he has is what you see. He’s been running around the planet, killing assassins, and sending money home to his poor mother so she can keep the lights on for his two sisters. He doesn’t even keep what he earns.”

So many things made sense now.

Xavier turned to Alessandro. “There is something you should know about her too. She’s a gold digger like her sister. Her whole family is. Without money, a title, and a House, you’re worthless to her. What’s that fun American expression? She will drop you like a hot potato.”

Alessandro stared at him, his expression so dark I barely recognized him.

“Go home, Alessandro. Accept what you are. Your grandfather refused to announce the excision in public, because he still hopes you will come back to the fold and earn your keep by fucking some rich heiress until she opens her bank accounts. That’s your destiny.”

Alessandro smiled. It chilled me to the bone.

“Well, I have done my part.” Xavier rose. “Please enjoy the rest of your day.”

He got up and walked away.

Alessandro looked at me. He didn’t say anything, he just looked at me. They had tried to auction him. Like a horse. He must’ve known that’s what they had planned for him. He’d spent half of his life pretending to be someone he wasn’t.

Linus sat down next to me. “The show is about to start.”

Slowly, deliberately, Alessandro turned away from me and looked at the dais.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Luciana Cabera, walked into the chamber. She was a Hispanic woman in her sixties who had been elected to the position after the previous Speaker retired last year. A white man in his forties walked onto the dais carrying a golden staff. He banged it on the floor. A pulse of magic burst from him.

“This special session is now open.”

I didn’t even care anymore. Alessandro sat next to me, still like a statue and I wanted to fix it.

Luciana walked up to her thronelike chair on the dais and sat.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us on such short notice. I promise this will be quick. As you all know, Cheryl Castellano, Prime and Head of House Castellano, has appealed to this body. She claims to be falsely accused of murdering Felix Morton, Prime and heir to House Morton. She believes that her business partners conspired with Lander Morton, Prime and Head of House Morton, to intentionally smear her name in an effort to remove her from the board of the Pit Reclamation Project and requests that we hear her case and render our judgment.”

Cheryl had some balls. Wow.

“Normally, the Texas Assembly would be only too happy to adjudicate this matter.”

A light ripple of laughter ran through the chamber. The Texas Assembly hated dealing with inter-House feuds.

Luciana raised her hand. The laughter died.

“Regretfully, we have another pressing matter, which overrides this appeal.”

A burly bailiff who looked like she could stop a tank barehanded walked up onto the dais and handed the Speaker a sealed envelope. A camera projected the image of the envelope onto a huge digital screen behind Luciana. It bore the seal of the National Assembly.

Luciana opened the envelope, pulled out an old-fashioned parchment, and unrolled it.

“Cheryl Amanda Castellano of House Castellano, you are hereby remanded into the custody of the National Assembly on charges of crimes against humanity and unlawful magic experimentation.”

The chamber erupted.

“Order!” the Gold Staff roared.

Cheryl jumped up. “No! No.”

Chains burst out of the ground and wound around Cheryl. She fell silent, her scream cut off. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she sagged down.

Two figures stepped out from an alcove behind the dais, both wearing crimson robes with hoods that hid their faces. The shorter figure waved a hand and Cheryl rose three inches off the ground. They walked to the doorway, and Cheryl followed, gliding silently.

I leaned to Linus and whispered, “Who are they?”

“Wardens from other states,” he murmured back.

Right. And everyone would see Linus sitting in the chamber, presumably having nothing at all to do with the scary hooded figures taking Cheryl away. His identity as a Warden would remain confidential.

“This is an outrage!” Lander howled, punching the arms of his chair. “She killed my son! I demand vengeance!”

The robed figures paused before Lander’s wheelchair. The front figure spoke in a deep female voice.

“The National Assembly regrets the loss of your son and acknowledges the anguish of House Morton. Should she be found guilty, we invite you to join us for her execution. Be assured, Prime Morton, you won’t have to wait long for that invitation.”

Lander took a deep breath, then sagged in his chair. The hooded pair walked out of the chamber, Cheryl in tow.

“All is well that ends well,” Linus murmured. “I’ll see you both for dinner tonight. My place.”

Sunshine flooded the parking lot. Heat rose from the pavement in waves. I pulled the black robe off and tucked it under my arm. Another moment, and I would bake like a pie.

Tonight, Linus would want the full report. Most likely he was working on a plan to take down Arkan. That was okay. Arkan needed to die and Xavier had to die with him. I was fine with that.

In front of us a large fountain in the shape of a giant dandelion sent mist and water into the air.

Alessandro hadn’t said a word.

I held the keys out to him. “Would you like to drive?”

He turned to me, his face grim. “We need to talk.”