I cross my arms, blood streaking my sleeves. “Are you going to punish me for it, then?”
Lucian glances at Elliot, who shrugs. “No,” he says. “Santiago got what he deserved.”
“Could have suffered more,” Elliot adds. “That’s my only criticism.”
I snort before I can stop myself. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Thank you.” Lucian’s gaze returns to me, and something unreadable flickers there. “For always being loyal. And for being…a good friend.”
The word hits harder than any blow.
Friend.
I’ve known Lucian for a long time, but he’s never called me a friend. Business partner, yes. His ward, maybe. But friend?
Never.
I stare at him, something tight and unfamiliar pressing behind my ribs.
“Someone has to clean up after you,” I scoff, not knowing how to handle it.
Lucian chuckles. “Get back to VMR, Vittoria. They need you there.”
I blink. “What about you?”
He gestures toward the door. “Elliot and I are going to spend some time in Europe. Maybe visit our international offices or maybe my childhood home.”
“Like some kind of vampire honeymoon?”
“Whatever you want to label it,” he says. “But I think I’ve earned a break.”
Elliot touches his arm and looks at me. “And he wants you to run VMR while we’re gone.”
“Wait,me?”
“I trust you,” he says simply.
Friend.
Trust.
It’s absurd, the way it settles over me. I’ve been alive long enough to know better than to mistake approval for affection, but this isn’t either of those things. Lucian doesn’t trust easily. He never has. Not after what the world took from him. Not after what he took from it in return.
Running VMR isn’t a favor. It isn’t a task handed down to keep me busy while he plays house in Europe. It’s power, it’s control he’s relinquishing, which speaks volumes.
For someone like me, that matters.
I feel it spread through my chest, warm and unfamiliar. I swallow it down before it can soften me. Ruin me.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let it burn,” I say because promises are easier when you phrase them like threats.
Lucian’s mouth curves in a slight smile. He knows exactly what I mean. “Just…don’t kill Andrew,” he says, only half joking.
“Now,thatI can’t promise.”
Lucian gestures for Elliot to go ahead of him. She steps over Santiago’s ruined body without hesitation and walks to the door. Lucian follows but pauses, his shoulder brushing the doorframe as he looks back at me.
“I’ll be checking in,” he says.
