Rose pov
The city was quieter than it had any right to be after a night soaked in blood. Smoke still clung to the air, the scent of burnt gunpowder riding the early dawn.
My boots clicked against the marble of the Vipers' headquarters, sharp, precise, cutting through the silence like a blade. My people watched me move through the hall, their eyes following, waiting for a command.
Adrian had slipped through my fingers.
That thought burned hotter than any bullet wound, hotter than fire.
I had him caged, cornered. And yet he was gone, carried off in the chaos like a shadow I couldn't pin down.
My second-in-command, Marcellus, approached cautiously, a man who'd spent years reading the temperature of my moods. "We scoured every street leading from the precinct. He's not in the city anymore."
My jaw tightened. "Don't insult me with the obvious. Where is he?"
Marcellus hesitated, and that told me everything. My eyes narrowed, and the room's air thickened.
"Speak," I snapped.
His throat bobbed. "Word is… Adrian's been sheltered. By one of the Four Families."
A cold, bitter laugh escaped me. "Of course."
The Four Families. The pillars of this empire, the dark council that shaped the underworld. We had ruled in balance once—at least, as much balance as wolves allow when circling the same prey.
The Vipers were mine, ruthless and unyielding.
Raven's Claw, fierce allies bound by blood and loyalty, led by Cassian—my best friend, my brother in all but name.
Shadowhand, the keepers of neutrality, who pretended to be peace while profiting from both sides.
And the Serpentine… Adrian's birthright. Once. Until betrayal stripped him of their blessing and me of any illusion of family.
"Which one?" I asked softly. Too softly.
Marcellus shifted uncomfortably. "Shadowhand won't say a word, but the streets whisper it's them. They're hiding him."
For a moment, the world tilted, black and red clouding my vision. Of course it was Shadowhand. Neutrality was just another word for cowardice. They had played the game for centuries, always stepping back when fire caught the room. And now they dared to shelter Adrian the cousin who'd tried to take my empire and my life.
"They want war." My voice was low, almost reverent. "I will give them war"
My people straightened at the steel in my tone. War was nothing new to us, but they knew the difference between survival and vengeance. And I was no longer thinking of survival.
Cassian arrived not long after, the black crest of Raven's Claw stitched across his chest. His dark eyes scanned the room before finding mine. He didn't bow. He never had to.
"You heard," I said, not a question.
"I heard," he confirmed, his voice gravel, his loyalty unshaken. "Shadowhand's playing a dangerous game. If they protect Adrian, they spit on the pact."
"They spit on me," I corrected, my hand tightening around the glass of whiskey I hadn't touched. "They know exactly what they're doing."
Cassian's jaw flexed. He'd always been my mirror my anger when mine burned too cold, my restraint when mine threatened to consume. But tonight, I saw the same fire in his eyes that I felt in my veins.
"So what do you want to do?" he asked.
I looked around at the room my Vipers, scarred and loyal, watching me like soldiers before a queen. Outside these walls, the city still whispered about the chaos at the precinct. About the Serpents who had come for me and failed. About the king's lawman who had chained me but could not break me. And somewhere in that silence, Adrian was smiling, thinking himself safe under Shadowhand's shadow.
My lips curved in something sharp, cruel.
"What do I want to do?" I rose from my chair, my heels echoing as I moved toward the window, staring out at the city I ruled, the city I would burn if it meant his ashes on my hands. "I want to erase Adrian. Not just him every hand that dares to shield him. If Shadowhand has chosen to protect him, then Shadowhand has chosen death."
The room stiffened. War against a Family wasn't a small move. It wasn't a bullet in an alley or blood on the tiles of a nightclub. It was fire consuming the city until only one remained standing.
Cassian stepped closer, his voice quieter now. "This isn't just vengeance, Rose. If you go to war with Shadowhand, the balance breaks. Everything burns."
"Good." My smile was vicious. "Let it burn."
For a long moment, Cassian said nothing. Then, slowly, he nodded. "Then Raven's Claw stands with you. As always."
The words tightened something in my chest I'd never admit aloud. Loyalty was a rare currency, and Cassian had given me his long before crowns and thrones.
I turned back to my people, to my empire, to the storm I was about to unleash.
"Adrian thinks he can hide behind old ghosts. Behind Families and pacts that no longer matter. But I am not my father. I am not my ancestors. I am Rose Viper, and I will not be denied."
My hand slammed down on the table, the sound sharp as gunfire. "Prepare the Vipers. Call the Ravens. Shadowhand wants to shelter my enemy then they can share his grave."
A murmur of assent rolled through the room, low and dangerous.
And in that moment, I swore Adrian's name like a curse, a promise. He thought escape made him untouchable. He thought bloodlines could protect him. But he had forgotten one thing: I do not forgive. I do not forget.
And when I strike, I strike to kill.
The night was quiet outside, but in my chest, a storm was already breaking.
War had found its shape.
And I would carve my revenge into the bones of every Family that dared defy me.