The warning came as a whisper.
Ezio was walking through the outer garden of the Golden Citadel when the Red Code stirred in his skull, sharp and sudden, like a blade being drawn.
Lucifer appeared beside him instantly, eyes alight.
"Ohhh," he murmured. "Someone very expensive just walked into your life."
Ezio stopped. "What do you mean?"
Lucifer smiled. "Machiavelli doesn't send letters. He sends endings."
The air in the garden felt heavier. Even the wind slowed, as if something was stepping through the world.
A man walked between the rows of white roses.
He wore gold-threaded armor beneath a flowing black coat. His face was calm, handsome, and completely empty of warmth. In his hand he carried a thin, curved blade that gleamed like liquid light.
Lucifer whistled. "That's the Blade."
The man stopped ten steps away from Ezio.
"Sixth Prince," he said, voice polite. "My name is Severin. I am here to collect something that belongs to my lord."
Ezio swallowed. "I don't belong to Machiavelli."
Severin smiled faintly. "No. But Lady Mirielle does."
Ezio's blood turned cold.
Lucifer leaned close. Here we go.
Ezio stepped forward. "Leave her alone."
Severin tilted his head. "You misunderstand. I am not here to negotiate."
The roses around them began to wilt.
Severin moved.
Not fast.
Instant.
Ezio barely saw the blade before it cut the air where his head had been. He threw himself backward, the edge slicing a strand of his hair.
Lucifer laughed. "Oh, he's good!"
Ezio rolled to his feet, heart pounding.
He had no weapon.
Severin attacked again, every strike precise, efficient, beautiful.
Ezio dodged, barely, the Red Code screaming warnings in his mind—angles, intent, probability.
Lucifer shouted, "Stop thinking and start cheating!"
Ezio reached inward.
The Red Code answered.
Crimson symbols flashed through his vision. The world slowed just enough.
Ezio stepped into Severin's strike, not away from it.
The blade cut his sleeve—but Ezio's hand closed around Severin's wrist.
Severin's eyes widened for the first time.
Ezio whispered, "No."
The Red Code surged.
Invisible force slammed into Severin, hurling him through a stone pillar. Marble shattered.
Severin rose, blood on his lips.
"Interesting," he said. "So you are dangerous."
They clashed again.
This time Ezio wasn't just dodging.
He was pushing.
The Red Code warped space, twisted momentum, turned Severin's perfect strikes into imperfect ones.
Lucifer laughed wildly. "Yes! That's it! Break the rules!"
Ezio struck Severin's chest with an open palm.
The Red Code flared.
Severin flew backward, crashing into the rose garden, petals scattering like blood.
He did not get up.
Ezio stood shaking, breathing hard.
Lucifer clapped. "Congratulations, kiddo. You just killed Machiavelli's favorite knife."
Ezio stared at the broken body. "I didn't want to—"
Lucifer leaned close. "Doesn't matter."
High above, Machiavelli felt a thread snap.
His smile was thin.
"So the Prince of Nothing draws blood."
The roses were still falling when Ezio realized what he had done.
Severin lay broken among white petals and shattered stone, his golden blade half-buried in the earth. The smell of blood mixed with crushed flowers.
Ezio's hands were shaking.
"I killed him," he whispered.
Lucifer stood beside him, smiling like a proud teacher. "You survived him. That's better."
Ezio turned slowly. "Machiavelli will come."
Lucifer shrugged. "Of course he will. You broke one of his favorite toys."
The Red Code pulsed uneasily, no longer triumphant. It felt like something had been noticed.
Ezio felt it too.
A cold pressure, like eyes opening somewhere far away.
Mirielle.
His heart lurched.
"Where is she?" Ezio asked.
Lucifer's grin faded just a little. "Oh… you feel that too?"
Ezio started running.
Mirielle was in the upper gallery, overseeing a shipment of golden crystal when the air shifted.
Servants paused.
Guards stiffened.
Aurelia stepped forward, hands folded calmly. "My lady, we need to speak."
Mirielle frowned. "About what?"
"About Prince Sung Jin Ezio."
Mirielle's eyes hardened. "He is under my protection."
Aurelia smiled gently. "That was before Machiavelli lost something precious."
Mirielle felt a chill.
"What did he lose?" she asked.
Aurelia met her gaze.
"His blade."
Ezio burst through the Citadel halls, ignoring shouts, ignoring protocol. The Red Code screamed warnings, mapping danger like a burning web.
Lucifer ran beside him, laughing softly. "You know what the funniest part is?"
Ezio didn't answer.
"You thought this was a romance."
They reached the gallery doors just as guards moved to close them.
Ezio slammed a hand against the stone.
The Red Code flared.
The doors shattered inward.
Mirielle turned, startled.
"Ezio?"
Aurelia stood beside her, perfectly calm.
Lucifer whispered, Trap.
Aurelia spoke gently. "Lady Mirielle, Machiavelli has reconsidered your… attachment."
Mirielle stepped back. "You can't—"
"You will come with us," Aurelia said. "For your own safety."
Ezio shouted, "Get away from her!"
Guards moved.
The air thickened with threat.
Mirielle looked at Ezio, fear in her eyes.
Ezio realized something terrible.
By choosing him…
She had become a target.
The gallery was silent in the way only places about to explode were silent.
Mirielle stood frozen between Aurelia and Ezio. Guards closed in from every side, their armor gleaming with Golden Citadel crests.
Ezio felt the Red Code surge wildly, trying to map a hundred possible deaths.
Lucifer whispered, You can't win this one alone, kiddo.
Aurelia smiled calmly. "Prince Sung Jin Ezio, please step aside. This does not concern you."
Ezio stepped forward instead. "It concerns me."
Aurelia's eyes sharpened. "You are a variable that needs to be removed."
She lifted her hand.
The guards moved.
Then—
The floor cracked.
A thunderous impact shook the gallery, shattering marble tiles like glass.
A presence slammed into the room like a war drum.
Ragnar Lothbrok stood at the center of the hall, his massive form radiating killing intent. His eyes burned like frozen fire.
"Touch him," Ragnar said, voice low and deadly, "and I break your entire sect."
The guards froze.
Mirielle gasped.
Aurelia stiffened. "Prince Ragnar. This is Golden Citadel business."
Ragnar turned his gaze on her. "No. This is family."
Before anyone could speak, velvet shadows flowed across the walls.
Casanova appeared beside Ragnar, smiling as if he'd just arrived at a party.
"Oh my," Casanova said lightly. "Did someone try to steal my favorite little prince?"
Aurelia's lips tightened. "This does not concern you either."
Casanova laughed softly. "Everything concerning Ezio concerns me."
He looked at Mirielle and bowed elegantly. "Lady Mirielle, forgive the mess. My brothers and I are terrible at subtlety."
Lucifer leaned against a broken pillar, grinning. Oh this is good.
Aurelia backed away slowly. "You are overstepping."
Ragnar took one step forward. The air shook. "Try us."
The Golden Citadel guards hesitated.
Machiavelli had not planned for this.
Casanova's eyes glinted. "Tell Niccolò that Ezio is no longer for sale."
Aurelia clenched her fists.
Then she bowed stiffly. "This is not over."
She retreated with the guards.
Mirielle collapsed against Ezio, shaking.
Ezio held her, stunned.
Ragnar turned to him. "You did well."
Casanova smiled warmly. "Welcome to the game, little brother."
And far away, Machiavelli closed another ledger.
"So," he murmured.
"They've chosen him."