The doors slid open to a wave of cool, filtered air and the faint hum of machinery beneath the floor.
Elias had been here before, more times than he wanted to admit, always as a guest, escorted through these corridors like a rare and fragile specimen. Victor's omega. Victor's mate. The whispered titles followed him then, wrapped in a strange mix of reverence and curiosity.
But this time was different.
Now he wasn't here to be protected… Who was he lying to? Of course, he was to be protected too, but as a main quest, he was here to work. Officially. Publicly. Unfortunately.
The research floor stretched out before them, a vast expanse of gleaming glass, black marble, and faint ether light. Screens floated in the air, flickering with data; the faint scent of ozone lingered like a heartbeat under the surface. Every sound, footsteps, voices, and the pulse of the ether conduits appeared abnormally clear.
