CHAPTER 458: CHAPTER 458: NATIONAL INCONVENIENCE

Morning arrived quietly, at least compared to the storm of the night before. The manor staff moved softly through the halls, Windstone maintained his usual stoic command, and Dean had been successfully blocked from entering the medical wing at dawn by a combination of bribery, pancakes, and Lucas physically turning him around by the shoulders.

Sebastian was still asleep when Trevor stepped out to take a call from Marin, and Lucas was busy answering a brief stream of messages from Mia and Cressida, both pretending not to be panicking.

It was peaceful. Which, naturally, meant the universe was preparing something.

Windstone approached with his tablet held at a stiff angle, his expression unreadable but his posture ever-so-slightly tense.

"My lord," he said. "A message has been delivered."

Trevor didn’t look up from the document he was reviewing. "From the academy?"

"No," Windstone replied, each syllable heavy with impending doom. "From Saha."

Lucas’s fingers froze over his own screen. "Oh, no."

Windstone exhaled through his nose, but in Windstone terms it was the equivalent of a dramatic sigh. "Indeed."

Trevor braced himself. "Put it through."

Windstone tapped the screen and the message was displayed.

It was from Dax.

And it began the way all of Dax’s worst messages began:

DO NOT PANIC.

Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose. "He only says that when we should absolutely panic."

Trevor read on.

I HEARD THE BOY MANIFESTED.

CONGRATULATIONS.

DO NOT LET HIM BITE ANY POLITICIANS. THEY START WARS WHEN THEY’RE AFRAID.

Windstone made a faint choking sound that might have been an attempt at hiding a groan.

Trevor continued.

ALSO, INFORM HIM THAT IF ANY NOBLES TRY TO ’RESERVE’ HIM FOR THEIR CHILDREN, I HAVE DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY AND CHRIS HAS A SHOVEL.

Lucas muttered, "Of course he does."

But the message kept going.

DOMINANTS MUST PAIR WITH DOMINANTS.

THERE ARE FEW OF US IN SAHA AND FEWER IN THE EMPIRE.

THE BOY HAS OPTIONS BUT NONE OF THEM SHOULD CONTACT HIM WITHOUT GOING THROUGH YOU FIRST.

IF THEY DO, INFORM ME.

I WILL HANDLE IT.

Trevor exchanged a look with Lucas.

"You think by ’handle it’ he means..."

"Yes," Lucas said immediately. "Whatever you’re thinking, yes."

Windstone cleared his throat. "There is one more line."

Trevor nodded. "Read it."

Windstone adjusted his glasses with visible reluctance.

ALSO, TELL HIM I’M PROUD.

BEING A DOMINANT IS A GOOD THING.

DON’T LET IT SCARE HIM.

HE WILL BE STRONG.

LIKE YOU.

BOTH OF YOU.

Lucas softened a little. "Well... that part’s nice."

Windstone’s tablet chimed.

He frowned. "There is a postscript."

Trevor braced himself again. "Of course there is."

Windstone read it aloud.

PS: IF HE EVER WANTS TRAINING, SEND HIM HERE.

NOTHING TOO EXTREME.

JUST BASIC COMBAT AND MAYBE SOME ROOFTOP WORK.

CHRIS SAYS I’M NOT ALLOWED TO LET HIM HOLD ANY EXPLOSIVES UNTIL HE’S EIGHTEEN.

FINE.

BUT THE ROOFTOPS ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE.

Lucas sat down very slowly. "Dean is ten. If Sebastian goes anywhere near those rooftops, Dean will follow him. And if Dean climbs onto royal architecture..."

Trevor nodded grimly. "Dax will encourage him."

Windstone closed the tablet with the solemnity of a man praying for patience.

"Shall I draft a polite response, my lord?"

Lucas and Trevor exchanged a long look.

"No," they said in unison.

Trevor reached for his phone and sat, thumb hovering above the contact list with the kind of resignation one usually reserves for dentist appointments or international crises.

Lucas watched him with a mixture of sympathy and dread. "You’re actually calling him?"

Trevor nodded once. "If we don’t, he’ll assume something is wrong and fly here."

Windstone, who had been silently recalculating his life choices for the past ten minutes, grimaced. "Majesty Altera arriving unannounced usually requires three advance security protocols and a notice to the aviation authority."

Lucas winced. "Last time he showed up with no warning, he nearly crashed the garden drone system."

Windstone cleared his throat. "Yes, sir. And nearly decapitated my hydrangeas."

Trevor pinched the bridge of his nose. "All the more reason to call."

He tapped the screen, selecting Dax’s name. The phone barely rang twice before the call connected with the bright, overly confident chime of a man who had never once doubted he would be answered.

"Trevor!" Dax’s voice boomed through the speaker, sounding entirely too awake for someone who had just caused this level of chaos. "I was about to call you again. Five minutes and thirty seconds of silence is unacceptable."

Trevor breathed out slowly. "Good morning to you too."

Lucas leaned in, mouthing, ’Speaker.’

Trevor shook his head sharply. ’Absolutely not.’

Lucas mouthed back, ’Coward.’

Trevor ignored him.

"I got your message," Trevor said, keeping his tone even.

"Excellent," Dax replied. "I assume you celebrated the boy’s dominance properly? Cake? Confetti? A ceremonial breaking of something? Chris insists we should have done that with the children, but unfortunately we had to take those labs a week after their birth."

Trevor stared at the wall for a beat, because the mental image of Dax giving "newborn dominance announcements" with confetti cannons felt too believable.

Lucas covered his mouth to smother a laugh.

"We did not break anything," Trevor said, adjusting the phone against his ear. "And there will be no confetti."

"You’re depriving him of cultural milestones," Dax said solemnly. "Also me from having fun, but I assume the word would get out soon and he would be swarmed by opportunists."

"We did not break anything," Trevor said, adjusting the phone against his ear. "And there will be no confetti."

"You’re depriving him of cultural milestones," Dax replied, grave as a judge. "Also depriving me of having fun, which is frankly rude. But I assume the moment this leaks he’ll be swarmed by opportunists, so fine, no fireworks."

Lucas muttered, "He says that like he wasn’t the first opportunist when he met Chris."

Trevor elbowed him gently.

Dax continued, undeterred. "Really, though, Trevor, if you want to avoid a diplomatic circus, you should at least let me stage-manage it. Do you know how many bored aristocrats will wake up today thinking they’ve suddenly acquired a new long-term strategy?"

"Yes," Trevor said flatly. "Unfortunately."

"Well, now they’ll have a dominant Fitzgeralt heir to obsess over," Dax said. "And dominant teens are like blood in the water for nobles who think their family trees need updating."

Lucas snorted, leaning closer. "Dominants pair only with dominants, Dax. You know that."

"Exactly," Dax said triumphantly. "And we all know how rare that is. Which means you need defenses."

"Sebastian has defenses," Trevor said.

"Yes, but does he have me?" Dax asked, sounding deeply offended by the concept of not being included.

Trevor closed his eyes. "We are not enlisting the King of Saha as Sebastian’s personal anti-rumor artillery."

"You should," Dax said without hesitation. "I’m excellent at artillery. Metaphorical and literal."

Chris’s voice echoed faintly in the background, followed by what sounded like a tablet being snatched away.

"Chris says I cannot threaten the Empire before breakfast," Dax reported dryly. "Which is hypocrisy because he does it all the time, just with nicer vocabulary."

Lucas muffled his laughter in Trevor’s shoulder.

Trevor stayed focused. "The rumors are manageable. We’ve dealt with worse."

"That’s exactly what you said before your wedding," Dax reminded him. "And then half the continent tried to RSVP."

Trevor pressed a hand to his brow. "This is different."

"In what universe?" Dax demanded. "He’s your heir. Your dominant heir. And you’re both public figures. I give it three hours before someone writes an article titled ’Fitzgeralt-Heir Choice Market Projection."

Lucas’s face fell in immediate horror. "They wouldn’t."

"They absolutely would," Dax said. "It’s already trending in Saha."

"What is trending?" Trevor asked warily.

"There’s a poll," Dax said. "A very stupid poll I am trying to get deleted. It’s labeled ’Which Dynasty Should Unite with Fitzgeralt?’ The options are embarrassing."

Trevor inhaled sharply. "Dax."

Dax coughed. "Fine. I may have accidentally voted for Saha three times."

Lucas covered his face. "Why would you..."

"Support," Dax said simply. "And spite. Mostly spite."

Trevor tried to decide which emotion to process first: exhaustion, amusement, or the faint, creeping dread that came with knowing Dax was only beginning to get involved.

In the background, Chris’s voice rose again. Dax sighed.

"All right," Dax said, tone softening. "I’ll behave. For now. But you tell Sebastian something from me, and you make sure he hears it clearly."

Trevor straightened instinctively.

"Tell him dominance is not a burden," Dax said. "Tell him it’s power, and it’s choice, and it’s his life."

Lucas’s hand closed gently over Trevor’s.

"And," Dax added, "if anyone tries to corner him, send them my way. I’m in a very good mood this month, which means I’d love to ruin someone else’s."

Trevor couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at his mouth. "I’ll tell him."

"Good," Dax said. "Now please hang up before Chris steals my phone."

Trevor ended the call.

Lucas leaned back, exhaling. "Well. That could’ve gone worse."

Windstone passed by at that exact moment, stricken with quiet dread. "I heard... enough. Should I prepare diplomatic statements or a fire extinguisher?"

Trevor rubbed his temples. "Both."

Windstone nodded. "Very good, my lord."