~ Lucien ~
The air in the private suite was stagnant, smelling of industrial cleaner and the faint, bitter scent of the espresso I hadn't touched. I stood by the window, watching the rain-slicked streets thirty stories below. This was a "safe house" of sorts—a neutral space that belonged to neither the Blackwood Group nor the Vale empire. It was a sterile, glass-and-marble box designed for negotiations where the participants didn't trust each other enough to meet in their own territory.
The door clicked open. I didn’t turn immediately, giving her a moment to adjust to my presence.
Seraphina walked in, and the shift in the room's pressure was instantaneous. She looked exhausted. There were shadows under her eyes that no amount of expensive concealer could fully hide, and her shoulders, u
