The Palazzo Auditore was situated in the San Giovanni district of Florence, a formidable stone building that had been commissioned sometime during that late fifteenth century by one of Ezio's ancestors.

Vlad had heard the stories, of course. Of Uberto Alberti's betrayal and how a teenaged Ezio had had to sneak his mother and sister out of a city that had turned against them, unable to save his father and brothers.

It wasn't the sort of thing one forgot.

And it made a certain amount of sense, he supposed. The palazzo might not have been home in the way that Rome was now home but it would still be more familiar to him -- especially if he were wounded -- then any of the surrounding buildings.

"Stay close," Vlad said, glancing over at Claudia as he shut the car door behind him. Claudia's indignant huff, dark eyes rolling back, told him precisely what she thought of that.

The corners of his lips twitched despite himself. Even in the midst of all this insanity, some things never changed.