First Comes Blood by Lilith Vincent
Author’s Note
Phew, what a cliffhanger! Sorry to leave you hanging like that, but I swear all the answers you crave are in Second Comes War.
I have to thank my lovely editor Heather Fox for all her help on my reverse harem journey. I couldn’t have asked for better support!
If you’re curious, two things inspired this book. The first was season one of the podcast Crimetown, which examined how organized crime shaped Providence, Rhode Island, and the connection between the Patriarca crime family and the corrupt mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci. Cianci was beloved by the residents of Providence but his jovial, smiling public persona hid a scheming and violent nature. Cianci is, of course, the inspiration behind Mayor Romano.
The second inspiration was a snippet of Roman history that lodged itself in my brain years ago and has nagged at me ever since. Honoria, sister to Roman Emperor Valentinian III, was promised in marriage to a (probably very boring) senator. Honoria had a reputation for being ambitious and promiscuous (no judgement here, girl) and instead of doing what she was told, she hatched a plan.
No one in Rome was going to help her, so she looked farther afield to Attila, King of the Huns, sworn enemy of Rome and probable stone cold fox. Just listen to how he’s described in one source:
He was a man born into the world to shake the nations, the scourge of all lands, who in some way terrified all mankind by the dreadful rumors noised abroad concerning him. He was haughty in his walk, rolling his eyes hither and thither, so that the power of his proud spirit appeared in the movement of his body.
I mean, I would.
Honoria sent a letter to Attila pleading for his help and enclosed her engagement ring as payment. It’s not clear what sort of help she was hoping for. Possibly she expected him to invade Rome and cause such a mess that the wedding would be called off. What is clear is that Attila took one look at the ring and decided that Honoria had proposed to him, and he demanded his bride and half of the western empire as dowry.
Can you imagine how red-faced and infuriated Honoria must have been when her brother the emperor stomped into her bedroom and asked her what the hell she’s playing at, proposing to his enemy?
Attila never managed to carry off his bride, but someone else did. Bad-tempered, overbearing Cassius has the heart and soul of a barbarian in an expensive Italian suit.
With one important difference: he just loves to share.
Finally, a big thank you to you for reading First Comes Blood. That was pretty sexy of you, I have to say. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review.