Page 27 of Legacy

The Vitalises were royalty with ties to the old ways of our world.

Anyone who studied the sisters would see the unmasked intelligence in their eyes. They were every inch Juno Vitalis’s daughters, cunning and dangerous.

Especially the one that was mine.

Mine.

I couldn’t help but smile. I had married a beautiful predator, a perfect match for someone like me. I couldn’t wait until she learned I could hold my own with her.

Setting my empty glass on a counter, I searched for Avra.

Instead of her, I saw another woman who shouldn’t be here.

Francesca.

The blond glided through the guests, mingling near the ice fountain. The fact she hadn’t been invited and seeing her here incited suspicion about her motives.

Her focus landed on me, and I braced for some type of altercation. It looked as if she still refused to accept our association was over.

Immediately after the engagement became official, I broke things off with Francesca. She hadn’t taken the news well, begging me to reconsider and stooping so low as to offer to keep things as they were. She proposed to continue an affair after I married Avra.

There wasn’t any pondering my response, so I declined. Unlike my father, I wasn’t a cheater.

This only caused her to sob, wail, beg, and pray.

She changed her tactics when she realized I wouldn’t bend, accusing me of using her. I’d used her body just as she had mine. She knew marriage wasn’t part of our arrangement from the beginning. If she thought otherwise, then that was on her.

Her eyes brightened as she drew near, but I passed her, taking a different route and giving her a wide berth.

That was when I spotted Avra speaking with Cristo Caras, Morisi Bella, and Pello Korba. They were Ozias’s closest allies and the co-conspirators who’d helped him create the situation for Juno Vitalis’s murder in the middle of the city.

Those were the last men I expected her to be with. The cold anger blazing in her eyes as she spoke told me she’d rather set them on fire than look at them.

And from the angry scowls on the men’s faces, they were no fans of hers.

“What the fuck,” I growled.

It wasn’t as if I was unaware of her ulterior motives for our marriage. At least she could have waited until after the reception to start poking her enemies.

These men weren’t known for logic or reasoning. They acted before thinking and then regretted their actions.

I rushed over, curious and impatient to see what was happening and drawing nearer in time to catch bits of their discussion.

“Being in charge is something you’ll never know about, girl.”

“Keep believing whatever you want. Just know, this little girl has no fear of you.” Avra pointed from her eyes to theirs and then said in a calm, almost melodic voice, “I see you. I see all of you. Remember, your landlord is coming.”

“Being Ozias’s daughter-in-law gives you no power. Don’t think otherwise,” Morisi stated. “He’s the one you should warn. You are no match for us.”

The men laughed, mocking Avra. Her expression remained serene.

“Go ahead and underestimate me, gentlemen.” She gave an exaggerated sigh and then shrugged. “Just know, in the end, only one of us will remain, and it’s the one with ovaries.”

For fuck’s sake.

Each of the men lost their smiles and laughter.

Their expressions fell, crumbling as they stared at her heated vow. I had to defuse the situation—now. This wasn’t the time or place for this kind of complicated confrontation. And it looked like my new wife couldn’t have cared less about when or where she made her thoughts known to them.

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