Chapter 60

LUCA

“And how exactly does this serum work?” I asked.

“We can’t tell you that,” Zefiro interrupted before the girl could respond.

“What the hell do you mean you can’t tell me?”

My rage bubbled to the surface. I was growing tired with these Rossis.

Who did they think they were? Coming onto my family’s territory and treating me, the Don with such respect.

Did they think they could just walk all over me?

That would make Zefiro not better than his brother.

“Perhaps it’s better if you sit, Don Luca,” the Rossi girl said. “Your intensity is going to scare your family members. You need to calm down. The last thing we need is everyone panicking before the battle.”

I snapped my teeth. “Don’t fucking tell me what to do.”

“Easy, everyone,” chided Zefiro. “Minnie, come over here.”

The girl joined Zefiro and Francesco. Seeing them all together, it occurred to me that they were all part of the royal family. All Rossis.

I was standing in front of Zefiro Rossi, king of the Rossis; Francesco Rossi, the second-born and Atteso; and Amelia Rossi, the fourth-born and head doctor.

She must have been the one to remove the bullet from my body.

All of a sudden, I remembered what Antonio had said about Matteo snooping around in his things before attacking him.

Matteo had known Antonio was planning to wage war on the family, but thought it was ~me~ who was in cahoots with Antonio and his rogue clan of criminals.

Even then, he’d been brave enough to get in touch with King Zefiro and enlist his help.

He knew the royal family would be the only ones strong enough to defeat Antonio.

I looked over at Matteo who was still pressed up against the war.

“You invited them here,” I whispered. “You invited the Rossis onto my territory without my permission.”

“Yes,” Matteo began, already defensive and cautious, “but only because—”

“You did the right thing,” I interrupted, stopping him before he went on a tangent. “Remind me to thank you properly later.”

He smiled slightly.

“Oh, okay. You got it. I’ll be expecting an entire party in my honor, streamers and everything,” he teased.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled.

Although, after all he had done to keep the family safe the last few months, maybe he~ did~ deserve a party.

I turned back to the three royal Rossis, who were watching with wary expressions.

“So,” I began, “immunity… Might it have something to do with my recent near-death experience? Why isn’t Matteo immune too?”

Zefiro looked to Francesco, who took a deep breath. “We have never seen anyone be immune to our mind control serum. Well actually—”

“What is it?”

“Our very first Rossi King, Elio, was the one to invent the serum. He tested it on himself,” Francesco explained.

“When he almost died in a gunfight,” Francesco continued. “He realized that he was immune to it.”

“My ~destino~ was named after him,” Matteo interjected. “He was the most powerful Rossi king ever known to mankind.”

Francesco nodded, continuing, “He ruled over all the families, back before the divide. He was extremely powerful, but the people loved him because he was a fair and decent ruler.”

Francesco hesitated, but his father nodded to him encouragingly.

“King Elio was the ~destino~ to somebody in the Torneo family. She must have been one of the last ones out there, because they’ve become extinct.”

I nodded, not wanting to interrupt his talking.

“According to legend, his ~destino~ was the most beautiful woman on earth. She was named after a goddess. Once he was with her he was indestructible. It was like their love gave him special powers. He knew with her, his legacy would never die.”

~Hmm.~

“What was her name again?” Minnie asked.

“Freya,” answered Zefiro, meeting my eye.

What an odd coincidence.

“The myth of this indestructible man and his family spread. Inevitably people emerged that sought to challenge his powers. That’s when the Rossi family was first divided. Then the great war between Rossis and Contis happened and the deaths of many. It was in this war that Don Elio was killed by the man he called his closest friend, Damian Rossi.”

“He took the throne,” I said. I had heard of Damian Rossi.

Francesco nodded, “Yes. King Damian took the throne, created the royal clan, and continued the Rossi line, gifting his offspring with the secret of mind control. We are all descended from him. But he could not repair the rift between the Contis and the Rossis, resulting in the current bad blood between our families.”

Surprise over the fact that I had never heard this story ran through me. It seemed to be an important part of my history.

“But that’s not what King Elio wanted,” Zefiro explained. “He had a different vision for his succession. He didn’t see the Rossis and Contis as mortal enemies, but as family. He thought the power should always be balanced between the two sides.”

“So what happened?” asked Matteo, who was listening intently, eyeing me nervously every now and then.

“Well,” Zefiro carried on. “When Damian passed on the mind control to just Rossis, there was an imbalance of power. We’ve always been able to control you, so why would we work with you?”

“Until today,” I said.

“Yes,” Zefiro nodded. “Until today. Your entire line will be immune to mind control.”

My line?

With Freya…

“There is one more thing,” Minnie added timidly.

I turned to her, hoping no one would interrupt her this time.

“You can probably mind control others now,” she said. “Now that you’re immune it probably means your DNA has been altered. You might have Rossi DNA too.”

“Why should it matter if I have Rossi DNA?”

Before Zefiro could stop her, Minnie showed me a small device in the palm of her hand.

“This is how we do it,” she explained.

Carefully, she passed me the device.

The moment it touched my hand it lit up.

The Rossis perked up. Clearly, it meant something.

I groaned to myself and ran a hand through my hair. “This is a lot of information to handle.”

“Try a command,” Minnie urged.

I sighed deeply. “On whom?”

Everyone’s gazes turned to Matteo, whose eyes promptly widened.

“Oh, come on, no way. Why me? Why not one of you guys?”

“It won’t work on Rossis,” said Minnie. “You’re the only one.”

Matteo groaned and kicked at the floor like a child. “But it hurts! I don’t want to be controlled again.”

I chuckled.

He sighed, turning to face me. “Fine.”

I looked to Zefiro. “And how exactly do I do this?”

Zefiro crossed his arms, watching us closely. “If you’re truly one of us now, it will be clear. You won’t need to be told how. You can just do it.”

I nodded. “All right,” I said nervously, “Here goes nothing.”

Matteo winced slightly, squaring his shoulders.

I opened my mouth.