to the sky, letting out a strained breath. I didn’t think about that night often. The night me, Enzo, and Matteo were formally initiated. But I could still remember it as if it were yesterday.
They said your first kill changed you; well mine had tattooed itself on my soul, a blood-stained shadow that would never fade.
“Come,” my father beckoned us into the dimly lit room. I felt like a complete idiot in the all-black outfit. The floor was cold beneath my feet as I led my cousins—my two best friends in the whole world—to the table where my father stood.
I knew the drill; I’d heard enough stories about the making ceremony growing up around the boss.
“Niccolò, Lorenzo, Matteo, the time has come.” He motioned for us to approach the table. The flames from the candelabras flickered wildly, casting shadows around the room. A half-circle of my father’s most trusted men stood around him. I spotted my uncle Michele, and Enzo’s father, my Uncle Vincenzo. They all looked the same in their slacks and dress shirts, their hair neat and tidy, expressions like stone. It was no surprise; they knew what was to come.
They knew what we’d have to do.
Enzo and Matteo stood quietly, flanking each of my sides. As son of the boss, they knew I would be called first.
“Niccolò Luca, how do you arrive here tonight?” My father lifted the small dagger, light bouncing off its blade. A shiver ran up my spine. This day has been inevitable for me from the moment I took my first breath. It was in my blood.
It was my legacy.
“I come ready to take the oath,” I repeated the words I always knew I’d one day say.
My father motioned for me to give him my hand. I lay it palm open facing up, as he began. “Niccolò Luca, tonight you are reborn. The blood that flows through your veins is Marchetti blood,” he jabbed the tip of the knife into my finger, but I did not flinch, “the blood of Dominion. It means you will put first the Family above all else. You will answer the call of the Family above all else. And you will defend the Family above all else. Do you understand?”
“I do.”
He pinched my finger, letting the beads of blood drip onto the card of the saint. “Swear on the saint that you will carry the secrets of the Family always.”
“I swear.”
My father took a lighter and ignited a corner of the card, dropping it into the palm of my hand. “As she burns so too does your soul. When the flames die, you are reborn.”
The card turned to nothing but smoke and ash in my hand. I didn’t know how I’d feel, finally taking my place in the Family, but as I stood there, I felt the ties snake through me, binding me to a life I’d never asked for.
A life I had to embrace anyway.
I loved my family. I loved my father, my uncles, and my elders. But to take this oath, to swear Omertà, was to sacrifice my freedom.
The flames died out as my father’s large hand landed on my shoulder. He leaned in kissing my cheek. “La famiglia prima di tutto.”
I stepped aside, letting Enzo take my place. He repeated the same ceremony, Matteo going last. My father’s men descended on us, clapping us on the back and welcoming us to the Family. But it was all a formality. For the night was only just beginning. It wasn’t enough to take the oath and swear on the saint though. You had to prove your allegiance.
“Let us eat,” my father declared, moving to the long table set up behind us. “Tonight, we welcome my son and my nephews into the fold. Tonight, they become real men.”
My eyes lowered to Dane. He was watching me, curiosity and fear glittering in his eyes.
You should be scared.
“Enjoy senior year,” I said. “Make the most of the time you have left to be a kid. Because once you take the oath...”
I took a long pull on my beer, trying to wash down the lump in my throat.
“It’s all good.” Nervous laughter vibrated in Dane’s chest. “I’m ready,” he added.
“We’re all ready,” I said quietly. “Until the time comes.” Until they forced a gun into your bloodied trembling fist and told you to pull the trigger.
Another vibration of my cell jolted me from the dark memory. “I need to take this,” I said, standing.