Crossword Genius

A line of leaders who take their malice to the grave, some would say (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dynasty

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'a line of leaders who take their malice to' is the definition.
'dynasty' can be an answer for 'a line' (dynasty is a kind of line). I am unsure of the rest of the definition.

'grave some would say' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'grave' could be 'nasty' (similar in meaning) and 'nasty' is found within the answer.
'would' could be 'd' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'd' is found within the answer.
A single letter 'y' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'the' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dynasty that I've seen before include "Song, say" , "Family of successive rulers" , "Powerful family line" , "Empire" , "Succession of relatives" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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