"Yelena?" he said. "You're the last person I expected to see here."
She recognized him immediately.
Lucian Arcturus.
A younger family cadet, still at the academy track, bright enough to be useful and lazy-looking enough to trick people into underestimating him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Lucian shrugged and closed the panel he had been reading.
"Filling in," he said. "There are not enough people around, so one of the elders decided I could be helpful instead of idle. Apparently, my future is bright enough that they trust me not to mess up archive access."
"Do they not have classes to keep you busy?"
"Not today. Besides, if I am going to pass the commander trial one day, I may as well learn how the family actually functions instead of pretending logistics are beneath me."
That answer was more sensible than she expected.
Yelena did not waste time on teasing him.
