“What’s this?”
“Hayce meant to give it to you the other day. If for nothing else, at least a compensation for your stolen inheritance.”
Oh. “He sent it with you?”
“No,” Calia said. “He doesn’t know I’m here.”
Ehlian gave her a grateful look. “Thank you… for coming.”
“I’m doing it for my brother.” Calia said. “He’s been through a rough four years, and if there’s any way I can make it easier for him, I will. I can only advise you the same. Hayce went well out of his way to keep you safe.”
With that, Calia was gone, swallowed by the crowd in the street.
“Don’t listen to her.” Willian stepped out from behind the curtain. “She’s a bit biased. If you choose to work things out with Hayce, do it for yourself.”
“You’re a bit biased too.”
“Absolutely, I am. Do it for me too,” Willian spread his arms wide. “You know. About those discounts…”
“You’re impossible,” Ehlian smiled, then peeked into the gift bag.
A single box lay inside. He took it out, the gold letters catching the light:Vair.
He pulled off the top, revealing most exquisite holowatch he had ever seen—elegant, refined, unapologetically delicate. The silver edges were encrusted with tiny diamonds, and the face shimmered with a shade of pearl. The screen mimicked a traditional dial so flawlessly it looked genuinely real.
It looked so fragile Ehlian didn’t dare touch it.
“Well, fuck me,” Willian said next to him. “That’s theVairline. Only ten exist on the whole planet. You’re practically rich.”
Ehlian tried to blink away the tears gathering in his eyes. “I was too harsh to him, wasn’t I?”
“Maybe, but you had every right to be angry.” Willian shrugged. “And you’re also too hard on yourself. You’ve been through two rough years too, so give yourself a little break.”
There wasn’t only Hayce, or only himself in Ehlian’s head anymore. If he did this, if he risked exposing all his feelings, he wanted to do it for both of them.
*
The black airship Calia sent for him parked on the rooftop of Ehlian’s apartment building.
The Cartivair’s personal pilot greeted him briefly before opening the door of the spacious passenger compartment. Squeezing the box of theVairholowatch nervously in his hands, he slid into the leather seat. The pilot wasted no time, and before Ehlian knew it, they were already in the air, flying toward the outskirts of Alkrion, the green hills emerging in the distance.
It was a short ride. Within half an hour, they touched down in the yard of a mansion, its wings stretching wide in every direction. And there, in the garden, a familiar figure was waiting for his arrival.
“Long time no see, 465,” Aric greeted him. “Follow me.”
Ehlian had little time to absorb the view or even react; Aric was already striding ahead. But the moment they stepped inside, Ehlian faltered. He stood still for a breath, overwhelmed by the sheer opulence around him: the gilded accents, the silver inlays woven into the pillars like veins, the floors so polished they reflected the ceiling above.
The noise gained strength in his head again. The opulence of that prison cell, the blinding opulence of this mansion—this was what Hayce demanded and had been used to his entire life.
Hayce would want an omega who mirrored that wealth too. Ehlian was no perfect fit for that.
“Already changed your mind?” Aric asked.
Ehlian forced away those thoughts, refusing to give them strength. “No.”
They ascended the grand staircase, portraits of long-dead members of the Cartivair family staring down at them from either side. There were a few gaps between the paintings, Sandar nowhere to be seen.
“Did you know that Larik was a spy?” Ehlian finally found his voice.
