They fell down dead, their heads spinning through the air until they finally smashed to the pavement.
He stepped over to the leader, still carrying his weapon.
“How did you know where to find me?”
The man swore in Italian, clutching the seeping wound in his chest.
The Prince delivered a swift kick to his ribs, the sounds of splintering bones filling the air. “Tell me!”
“May the Prince of Venice live forever,” he gasped.
The Prince pointed his sword to the sky.
“I’m going to send your head to the Prince of Venice with a note: Next time, send an army.”
He placed a foot on the man’s chest and lifted his sword, before bringing it down on the man’s neck.
Chapter 5
“I see I’ve missed all the fun.” A woman’s voice speaking English sounded overhead.
The Prince looked up to see a familiar redhead leap from the roof of the hotel to the ground below.
She regarded the corpses and heads with distaste. “You’ve made a mess, my lord.”
“Aoibhe.” The Prince acknowledged her, still holding his bloodied sword.
The woman was almost as tall as the Prince, standing at five feet, nine inches. Her hair was long, falling to her backside, and she had exceptional brown eyes that sparkled in her lovely face. She looked to be twenty, but appearances were deceiving.
She kicked at one of the heads, bending to examine its features. “I don’t recognize him. Is he one of ours?”
“Venetian.” The Prince lowered his weapon, regarding the carnage. “Or so they implied.”
Her dark eyes moved to his. “Venetian? Are you sure?”
“No. I’m familiar with Marcus’s inner circle. These were strangers to me.”
She wrinkled her nose. “They aren’t ferals. Could they be mercenaries?”
“It’s possible.” The Prince shifted his sword, placing it tip down on the pavement and leaning on it thoughtfully.
“You could have kept one for interrogation.” Aoibhe grinned. “It’s been some time since we’ve enjoyed a good torture.”
“I doubt torture would have extracted anything useful. To torture them effectively, we’d have to deliver them to the Curia.”
The grin slipped from Aoibhe’s attractive features and she glanced over her shoulder. The barest of shivers shook her lean form.
“I’ll be damned before I collude with those monsters. I was volunteering to do the torturing myself.”
The Prince indulged himself in a ghost of a smile. “I appreciate the gesture.”
“Were they gathering intelligence?”
He gestured to the corpses on the ground and pointed to the roof. “Ten armed men, fixed on a single target? No. They were would-be assassins.”
Aoibhe shook her head, regarding the bloodied scene with new eyes. “I’m surprised they sent so few.”
The Prince straightened. “There may be more. Summon Gregor and Pierre. Instruct them to record images of the faces before they burn the bodies, and turn the information over to Niccolò. Perhaps the intelligence network can discover their identities.”
She bowed. “Yes, my lord.”
“I will notify Christopher of the breach personally. Prepare for a Consilium meeting.”
“As you wish, but is a meeting necessary? They’re already dead.”
He fixed her with a stony glare. “They invaded my principality.”
“Are we under siege?”
“I’m not going to wait in order to find out. Tonight, the Consilium meets to discuss the art of war.” His lips twitched. “I’m sure Niccolò will find the discussion most familiar.”
Aoibhe huffed. “That pompous windbag enjoys hearing himself talk.”
“True. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a war. It will be good for the younglings, and since I intend to be victorious, it will be good for the principality.” The Prince lifted his chin. “Go, Aoibhe. Make haste.”
She bowed once again. But before she departed, she approached him, cautiously.
She reached out to touch his sleeve, but catching the set of his teeth and the glare from his eyes, she withdrew.
“I’m glad you’re still alive,” she whispered, her eyes darkening momentarily.
The Prince nodded tersely.
With a small smile, she turned and scaled the hotel, before disappearing on the roof.
As the Prince adjusted his cuff links and surveyed the carnage at his feet, all thoughts of the Emersons and his precious illustrations were pushed aside.
Personal injury was one thing, but an invasion of his principality was quite another.
The professor and his ill wife could wait. His mind was fixated on a far more political revenge.
Chapter 6
“This meeting of the Consilium will come to order.” Lorenzo, the Prince’s second in command, slammed the bottom of the ceremonial staff on the stone floor, the sound echoing throughout the large subterranean chamber.