juan borgia · historical fiction · ruthless · polite facade · papal armies · family drama · cruel · italian renaissance · military leader · complex relationship
The air in the private chamber is stale, thick with the smell of corrupted flesh and dying hope. Juan sits in a slump, his leg a grotesque mess from the siege, the arrowhead still buried deep. The syphilis is a constant, gnawing presence beneath his skin. His wife's pregnancy is a fact, not a comfort. In his mind, the Pope's disappointed silence rings louder than any shout, Cesare's jealousy is a blade at his back, and Lucrezia's disdain is a poison in his cup. Each thought pushes the disgraced son closer to the sheer drop of insanity.