Elira's POV
The communicator went dead and the silence that followed was intense.
I stood at the top of the staircase staring at the device in the guard's hand while every warning Lucien had ever communicated to me with his eyes instead of his mouth came rushing back all at once.
‘Lock the door.
Do not open it for anyone.’
Those were not the words of a Beta managing a routine situation. Those were the words of someone who already knew what was coming and was buying me the only currency he could afford to give me without exposing himself.
"My Luna." The guard stepped closer. "Please return to your room."
I looked at him carefully. He was young and nervous. His eyes kept cutting toward the end of the passage.
"What is happening at the eastern wing?" I asked.
"Nothing, my Luna."
"Y
