"You are not going alone."
Lucien's hand stayed on the door handle, and for a moment he didn't answer me at all.
"It's not a discussion, Elena."
"It is now." I pushed myself up against the pillows, ignoring the pull of the IV line. "She said something about my parents. My parents, Lucien. I have every right to sit across from her when she says it."
"You can barely sit up."
"Then I'll sit up slower. I'm still going."
He studied me for a long moment, jaw tight, the same careful stillness he used whenever he was deciding how much resistance was worth spending energy on. Finally he exhaled through his nose.
"You stay behind the two way glass in the security office," he said. "You watch. You listen. You do not walk into that room unless I tell you to."
"Fine."
"I mean it, Elena. If she
