The Compound didn’t sleep after Elias’s envelope.
It didn’t calm.
It didn’t settle.
It didn’t breathe.
Every Serpent moved like the walls themselves were under threat.
Every hallway hummed with tension.
Every door was reinforced twice over.
But Lucien didn’t leave me.
He stayed close — closer than ever — his hand on my waist, his body angled toward mine, his eyes flicking to me every few seconds like he needed to confirm I was still there.
He wasn’t just protective.
He was on edge.
And Lucien Blackthorn on edge was a storm waiting to break.
The Morning After the Envelope
Lucien hadn’t slept.
I could see it in the tightness of his jaw, the way his shoulders stayed tense, the way his hand never left me — not even when he poured water, not even when he spoke to Rhett, not even w
