Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The next morning, Arkon was up early enough to have breakfast with Gio on his balcony. It overlooked the blue green lagoon, and it was the one place they spoke freely with each other.

"This is a surprise," Gio said, looking up from his paper and glancing at his watch. The servants scurried away to fetch more breakfast, and Arkon sat at the small table beside him.

"It shouldn’t be. I only get up this early for you," Arkon replied, pouring himself some coffee.

Gio folded up his paper and gave Arkon his sole attention. When he wanted to, Gio could make you feel like the most important thing in the universe. It was disconcerting, but Arkon was too used to it to be intimidated.

"How is our new guest settling in? I hear you took her on a date to your favorite restaurant on the Ponte dei Dai last night."

Arkon was tempted to deny it. Unfortunately, he knew Gio would see straight through his bullshit. He was ten years older than Arkon but had less gray in his hair and more pain in his eyes. He hated lying to Gio, so he never did.

"Do you want reassurances that she’s sweetness and light or the truth?" Arkon asked.

"The truth. Always."

"She is..." Arkon searched for the right words. Beautiful. Terrifying. Rage incarnate. "Fascinating."

Gio hummed. "Well, that’s to be expected. You love magic more than anything in the world, and that would make her irresistible to you. Not to mention your weird shrine to her in your rooms."

"It’s not a shrine! It’s target practice."

"Sure. What else did you learn?"

Arkon retold the story of how Zarya’s family was connected to Arkadi.

"Messy business when family is involved," Gio commented when he was done.

"I know, but she loved Asa more than the emperor. She will kill him and laugh when she does it. We don’t have to worry about that."

Gio’s dark eyes softened. "Do you really want to do this? You’re a sorcerer, not an assassin."

"It’s not like I don’t have blood on my hands already. I want the war to end. It’s the only way we are both going to be free, mio amico," Arkon replied.

Gio looked out at the ocean and let out a tired sigh. He only ever shared this side of himself with Arkon. To everyone else, he never got tired, never stopped working, was always ready for whatever was thrown at him.

"I love this city, Arkon."

"I know. You won’t love it any less if you let someone else be married to it," he replied and shot Gio a wink. "You never know; you might be able to marry someone who can love you back once you let Venice go."

Gio knew when Arkon was purposely trying to goad him. He only smiled back and said, "You signing up for the job, are you?"

"Ha! You don’t deserve me."

"No one could compete with your favorite obsession anyway." Gio’s grin turned sly. "She’s finally dropped into your lap after all this time. Maybe she could make an honest man out of you. It would take a saint’s miracle to do it after all. What are your plans with her today?"

Arkon’s fingertips tingled. "She’s going to show me how her magic works. Once I can see it, I should be able to figure out how to incorporate it into a teleportation spell," he said, poorly hiding the excitement in his voice.

"You seem way too happy about all this, but I know how much you’ve thought about her magic over the years. You’ll finally get your answers. Just don’t set fire to the palace while you’re at it," Gio replied with a teasing smile.

"I can’t make that kind of promise." Arkon ate a mouthful of eggs. "It’s a good thing you will be out of the palace and having your weekly chess game with Caesar Aladoro."

The patriarch of the Aladoro family was still a force to be reckoned with and was one of the few people Gio trusted.

Gio raised a brow. "Spying on me, Arkon?"

"Everyone knows about it, amico. You’re only fooling yourself thinking that you’re being sneaky about it," Arkon said and attacked his bacon.

Gio huffed out a laugh. "Caesar gives good advice, unlike my priest."

"You aren’t dumb enough to confess anything of worth to your priest anyway."

"That’s because I know they are all in your pockets."

"Tsk, tsk, such disrespect for your beloved spy master," Arkon teased. It was so rare for Gio to get in on his bullshit that he had to make it worthwhile.

"Beloved my ass," Gio said, reaching for his paper again. "Don’t you have magic to do?"

"Always! And when I’m not doing it, I’m thinking about doing it," Arkon said. He snagged a raspberry pastry before getting to his feet.

"It might be a good thing for you that you’re so interested in a girl for once. Even if she is the enemy," Gio pointed out. "And off limits."

Arkon gave him his most manic smile. "You say that like you don’t love forbidden fruit as much as I do, Giordano."

"Away with you, menace," Gio said and shook out his paper.

Arkon noticed he didn’t bother to deny it though. They were more alike than either one wanted to admit sometimes. It was why their partnership had worked so well for so long, and why Arkon would burn the world to keep him safe.