Vivienne POV
I was still unpacking when a knock came at the door, the first polite one I'd heard since arriving.
"Come in," I said, half expecting the silver-haired woman again, already bracing for another set of clipped instructions I wouldn't fully understand.
Instead, an older man stepped inside. Silver touched his temples, but unlike most of the people I'd encountered since arriving at the estate, he wasn't dressed in a severe uniform.
He wore a dark, well-worn jacket, and his expression was relaxed enough to make him look almost out of place in a house where everyone seemed trained to guard their reactions.
"You must be Vivienne," he said, offering a small, genuine smile. "Owen. I'm Killian's Beta."
"I don't actually know what that means."
"Second-in-command, more or less. Adv
