CHAPTER 396: CHAPTER 396: SERATHINE’S MESSAGE

Lucas froze mid-signature, the stylus hovering just above the screen. He didn’t look up immediately, his focus narrowing on the faint blinking cursor beside Trevor’s name.

"I figured you had," he said finally, his voice quiet but steady. "You and Trevor share more information than the national database."

Alistair didn’t deny it. He moved away from the desk, pacing a slow line toward the window. "He called me before leaving for the Duchess’s compound. Told me not to worry, which, coming from him, means I should worry twice as much."

Lucas set the stylus down and leaned back in his chair, studying him. "You two have the same tone when you try to downplay things. Flat, too calm, like the world’s not about to implode."

"That’s a family survival mechanism," Alistair replied. "We learned that from the old generation. Look stoic, then panic in private."

Lucas gave a small laugh that faded too quickly. "I’m sure of that."

There was a brief pause that allowed the hum of the air filtration system to fill the space once more.

Alistair turned from the window, his expression easing into something that was more friend than diplomat. "Are you okay?"

Lucas’s answer came too easily. "Yes."

"Liar," Alistair said, tone soft but unflinching.

Lucas sighed, rubbing his temple with the edge of his thumb. "I don’t know what I am right now. Windstone said Velloran’s helping Trevor. That Benedict might have been controlling him."

Alistair crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. "I heard that too. It’s... a lot to process."

"That’s one way to put it." Lucas’s voice had a rough edge to it now, one born more from fatigue than emotion. "If it’s true, if Benedict was behind everything, then what I remember wasn’t Velloran at all. It was someone else’s hands. Someone else’s commands."

He stopped, swallowing the lump that rose in his throat. "And if it’s not true, then he was exactly who I thought he was. Either way, it doesn’t change what happened."

Alistair watched him silently for a moment, then said, "You don’t have to forgive him. You just have to understand the game you’re playing now. Benedict doesn’t deal in cruelty for pleasure but for control. That’s what this has always been about."

Lucas’s gaze flicked toward the window, the faint reflection of the city lights catching in his eyes. "Trevor said once that control is just fear in formal wear."

Alistair gave a small smile. "That sounds like him."

"It was after an interesting discussion," Lucas said, a faint curve pulling at his mouth. "He said I tried to control things because I was afraid they’d break. I told him he married the wrong man if he wanted peace."

"You two deserve each other," Alistair said with a quiet laugh.

"That’s what Serathine said," Lucas replied dryly. "Right before she accused us of giving her premature gray hair."

The warmth of shared humor hung between them for a moment, light but grounding. It was the kind of silence that came only with friendship.

Then Alistair pushed off the wall, his tone shifting slightly. "For what it’s worth, he’s fine. I got a ping from his security ID a few minutes before I came in. They’re still at the compound. If things had gone wrong, trust me, we’d both know."

Lucas nodded slowly. "That helps. A little."

"Good." Alistair reached for the folder again, sliding it under his arm. "Now sign the last page before I have to bribe another council clerk to keep us from missing the submission window."

Lucas arched an eyebrow but complied, scribbling his name with smooth, practiced strokes. "There. Bureaucratic balance restored."

Alistair took it back with a grin. "And order prevails."

He started for the door, then paused and looked back. "Hey, Lucas."

Lucas glanced up. "Hm?"

"When Trevor gets back," Alistair said, his tone dropping into something quieter, "remind him he doesn’t have to solve everything alone. Especially not this."

Lucas’s smile softened, genuine this time. "If you think he listens to me, you overestimate my influence."

"I don’t," Alistair said. "I’ve just seen how he looks at you. He’d set fire to the world if you asked him to. So maybe, just maybe, ask him not to this time."

Lucas exhaled a small laugh, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. "No promises."

"Didn’t think so," Alistair said, and with that, he was gone, leaving the door to close softly behind him.

The silence that followed felt less like a cage and more like a pause between storms.

Lucas turned back to his tablet just as it chimed again.

A new message had arrived, encrypted under Duchess D’Argente’s private code.

He opened it.

Your husband has something you should see. Do not let him destroy it before I speak to you.

Lucas read it twice. The glow from the screen reflected in his eyes, sharp and unreadable.

The glow of the tablet still lingered in Lucas’s eyes long after the message faded.

He sat back slowly, fingers drumming once against the edge of the desk as if to bleed off the quiet tension sitting in his chest. The city outside was already deep into evening, a wash of golden windows against a bruised-blue sky.

The door opened without a knock.

"Still working?" Trevor’s voice carried that familiar combination of authority and warmth that somehow always felt like both a question and a test.

Lucas didn’t turn around. "You say that like I’ve been productive."

"I don’t need to look to know you haven’t eaten either," Trevor said. He was leaning against the doorway now, shirt sleeves rolled up, tie loose around his neck, the faintest shadow of exhaustion beneath his eyes. He looked like power wrapped in weariness, still dangerous, still beautiful.

Lucas finally glanced at him over his shoulder. "I had coffee."

"That doesn’t count," Trevor said, stepping inside. "Come eat something."

"I’m not hungry."

"You never are when you’re overthinking," Trevor countered easily. He crossed the room, stopping just behind Lucas’s chair, his presence quiet but heavy in the air. "And judging by the way you’re trying not to look at me, you’ve been doing plenty of that."

Lucas turned his chair slightly, meeting his eyes at last. "Did Serathine tell you to say that?"

Trevor’s brow furrowed just slightly. "No. Should she have?"

Lucas studied him for a long second, the silence sharp as a blade between them. "She messaged me."

Trevor blinked once, the shift in his expression too controlled to be anything but deliberate. "About?"

Lucas tilted the tablet toward him, the message still glowing on the screen. Your husband has something you should see.