The question Lucien asked the night before remained between them long after the screens went dark. He didn't do anything else after looking at the legacy death archive. He had only looked at Seraphina with a calm that was too heavy and said the one thing she had been avoiding since the warnings started coming in.
What really happened when I put all my faith in you? He asked again.
She had not answered, not because she wanted to lie, but because the answer was strong. It carried blood, grief, and the memory of watching everything she built around him collapse while he stood at the centre of it.
By morning, the question still lingered in the quiet spaces between them. Yet Ashford Tower did not pause for personal truths.
The day's schedule demanded a public appearance at the Aurelia Global Infrastructure Summit, the first major media-facing event since the Helios Accord had been restored under Maris's oversight.
