The Roman (The Florentine 3)

Gabriel placed the illustration back in its protective sleeve. “I don’t think so. Interpol would have contacted us. We would have known they were coming.”

“Then who?”

He checked the sender’s address label on the largest box. It showed an origin of Geneva, Switzerland, but no name.

He scratched at his chin.

Julia’s eyes met her husband’s. “Could it be…”

Gabriel placed his arm around her shoulder, drawing her into his side. “I don’t know. I think it doesn’t matter who they’re from. Dante and Beatrice are finally home.”

List of Terms and Proper Names

(NB: This List Contains Spoilers)

Alicia—William’s fiancée from the thirteenth century.

Ambrogio—William York’s servant.

Aoibhe—Pronounced “A-vuh.” An Irish member of the Consilium.

Ispettore Batelli—Police inspector in Florence.

Borek—Florentine vampyre and commander in the Florentine army.

Cato—Lieutenant of the Roman.

The Consilium—The ruling council of the principality of Florence. The Prince is an ex officio member.

The Curia—Enemy of the supernatural beings.

Gabriel Emerson—The professor is a Dante specialist who teaches at Boston University. He is the owner of a famed set of Botticelli illustrations of Dante’s Divine Comedy, which he lent to the Uffizi Gallery in 2011. His story is told in the Gabriel’s Inferno trilogy: Gabriel’s Inferno, Gabriel’s Rapture, and Gabriel’s Redemption.

Julia Emerson—Doctoral student at Harvard University. She is married to Gabriel and the co-owner of the Botticelli illustrations.

Feeders—Derogatory term for human beings who offer themselves up as a food source to supernatural beings.

Ferals—Supernatural beings who live and hunt alone. They display brutal, animalistic behavior.

Gaius—Vampyre Captain of the Roman army.

Gregor—Personal assistant to the Prince and head of security for the principality of Florence.

Human intelligence network—Human beings who are contracted to provide information to the supernatural beings. They also provide security and perform specific tasks.

Hunters—Humans who hunt and kill supernatural beings for commercial purposes.

Ibarra—A Basque former member of the Consilium.

Father Kavanaugh—Former director of Covenant House in Orlando, Florida, and friend of Raven Wood.

Lorenzo—A member of the Medici family and second in command in the principality of Florence. Also a member of the Consilium.

Lucia—Ambrogio’s wife and servant to William York.

Dan Macready—Cara’s boyfriend.

Niccolò Machiavelli—Famous Florentine and member of the Consilium. Head of intelligence for the principality of Florence.

Henri Marchand—Director of the Trivium Bank in Geneva.

Maximilian—A Prussian member of the Consilium.

The Medici—Famous ruling family of Florence during the Renaissance.

Gina Molinari—Friend of Raven Wood, employed in the archives of the Uffizi Gallery.

Old ones—A special class of supernatural beings who, by virtue of having attained seven hundred years in their supernatural state, enjoy tremendous power and special abilities.

The Prince—Ruler of the principality of Florence, the underworld society of supernatural beings.

Recruits—New supernatural beings, formerly human.

The Roman—Ruler of the principality of Rome and also the head of the kingdom of Italy, which includes all the Italian principalities.

Agent Savola—Interpol agent assigned to Florence.