CHAPTER 470: CHAPTER 470: THE END.

The manor felt strangely hollow after the envoy departed, its long hallways holding the echo of too many unspoken emotions. Sebastian had withdrawn to his wing with a stiff nod, Dean had disappeared with a kind of quiet resolve, and the house finally exhaled.

Trevor and Lucas stood alone in their sitting room overlooking the city, neither speaking at first. The lights of Palatine glowed softly against the windows, steady and indifferent to the turning of their family’s world.

Trevor rubbed the back of his neck, the exhaustion catching up with him in a slow wave. "I thought I’d be stronger when this day came," he said quietly. "Prepared, at least."

Lucas stepped closer, brushing their shoulders together. "We were prepared. Prepared doesn’t mean ready."

Trevor let out a soft, broken laugh. "He’s still so young."

"He’s young," Lucas agreed, "but he’s not helpless. And he didn’t make the decision out of fear. He made it because he understood exactly what was at stake. That matters."

Trevor stared out at the city, jaw tight. "I hate that he had to choose."

"I know," Lucas murmured. "But he chose well. He chose early. And he chose on his own terms. That’s more than many adults get in their entire lives."

Trevor’s shoulders eased, just barely. "Do you think he’ll be safe?"

Lucas didn’t hesitate. "Yes. Arion meant every word he said. And Dean wouldn’t have accepted if he didn’t feel it too." He paused, softer now. "And we didn’t raise a fool."

Trevor closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. "I just... I keep seeing him as the kid who used to hide in my coat whenever we walked through the palace."

Lucas laughed under his breath. "He outgrew your coat at fourteen. You just never accepted it."

Trevor leaned his forehead against Lucas’s, eyes tired. "They’re adults now. Both of them."

"Yes," Lucas said. "And it is terrifying how much time had passed from the day we met. There is no danger, no Benedict, or looming of a life repeating. Both our sons survived this time. "

Trevor let out a shaky breath, the weight of years slipping into his expression. "I still wake up sometimes expecting the old threats. The old patterns. Like some part of me hasn’t caught up to the life we actually built."

Lucas slid his hand along Trevor’s jaw, fingers warm. "We’re living in the version where they survive. Where they grow up. Where they get to make choices we never had." His thumb brushed lightly across Trevor’s cheek. "And now we have to learn how to live like parents who get happy endings, not ones waiting for disaster."

Trevor huffed a quiet, humorless laugh. "I don’t know if I’m any good at that."

"You’re better than you think," Lucas said. "You loved them like they’d stay. That’s enough."

Trevor’s throat tightened. "You think Dean knows how much..."

"He knows," Lucas said before he could finish. "Sebastian too. They’ve always known."

Trevor nodded, though the movement was small and fragile. "He’s going to leave, isn’t he?"

Lucas rested against him. "Eventually. Arion won’t rush him, but Dean said yes. And that means the next steps will come." He paused, thoughtful. "And when Sebastian finds his match... we’ll go through this again. They will want their own family and story."

Trevor’s face fell. "God."

Lucas smiled softly. "You’ll handle it better."

"I doubt that."

"Well..." Lucas leaned his head against Trevor’s shoulder, "you might cry less loudly."

Trevor groaned into his hands, and Lucas laughed, warm and low, wrapping an arm around him. For a moment they simply stood there, anchored together against the slow ache of realizing their children had crossed the line into adulthood while they were busy worrying over them.

"You can work in silence now." Lucas laughed, remembering the bickering of their children.

Trevor dropped his hands and let out a weary sigh. "Silence. I barely remember what that sounds like."

Lucas nudged his shoulder gently. "You’ll survive it. Maybe even enjoy it."

"I won’t," Trevor muttered, but the corner of his mouth twitched, betraying him.

Lucas smiled. "You will. And when they visit, it’ll be loud all over again. And chaotic. And you’ll pretend to hate it while secretly living for every second."

Trevor glanced down at him, expression softening. "You know me too well."

"It’s been years," Lucas said with a shrug. "I’d hope so."

They stood together at the window, watching the pulse of the city lights spread across Palatine. For once, there was no sense of urgency tugging at them, no enemy rising in the shadows, and no old ghosts clawing their way back into the world. Just the quiet hum of a life they had earned.

Trevor’s voice went quiet. "Do you ever think about what it would’ve been like... if things hadn’t changed? If we hadn’t survived everything?"

Lucas shook his head. "No. I’m done looking backward." Then he reached for Trevor’s hand, intertwining their fingers. "I’d rather spend the next decades watching our boys grow into the men we knew they could be."

Trevor’s eyes darkened with something tender, almost awed. "You make it sound easy."

"That’s because we finally got to the part where it is easy," Lucas said. "Not perfect, but ours."

Trevor leaned down and kissed Lucas’s forehead, slow and lingering. The kind of kiss that held gratitude more than passion.

"They’re going to be okay," Trevor murmured.

Lucas nodded. "They already are. Sebastian is strong enough to handle whatever comes next... and Dean made the choice that felt right to him. That’s all we ever wanted."

Trevor exhaled again, this time lighter. "We did it, didn’t we?"

Lucas wrapped his arms around him. "We raised two good men. Strong, stubborn, loud, dramatic..."

Trevor groaned. "Too dramatic."

Lucas laughed softly. "Wonder where they get that from."

Trevor narrowed his eyes. "Are you implying..."

"Yes," Lucas said simply.

Trevor snorted, unable to hide a smile. "Fine. Maybe a little."

They stayed like that for a moment, letting the weight of the day finally melt into something softer.

Lucas rested his cheek against Trevor’s chest. "Tomorrow we’ll worry again. Because we’re parents. It’s what we do."

Trevor slipped an arm around his waist, pulling him close as they looked out over the city, the lights, the night, and the empire their children would inherit in ways neither of them could have predicted.

Their sons were growing and their futures were unfolding.

And no matter what came next, Trevor and Lucas would meet it together.

Quietly, Lucas murmured, "It feels like the end of something."

Trevor pressed a kiss to his hair. "Maybe it is."

Lucas leaned against him, softly, firmly. "But endings only mean we’re ready for the next Chapter."

The End.