Chapter 39: Catch up

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Catch up He was sure—painfully sure—that if he ever told anyone the truth, if he dared to say it plainly, I died once already, they would look at him the same way Misty had when he first learned to flinch: like a problem to fix, not a person to listen to. So he said nothing more. And Serathine, standing in the golden hush of his borrowed room, gave him silence in return—not the kind that demanded more, but the kind that folded around the moment without pressing it open. "You don’t have to meet any of them from now on," she said after a breath, her voice calm but firm, as though this decision had already been carved into stone. "The security is briefed. No one will approach you without your consent. Even then—if the main bodyguard feels it might be unsafe, he is authorized to intervene on your behalf." Lucas turned his head slightly, eyes flicking up to meet hers for the first time that morning. He didn’t speak right away—just let the words settle, their meaning clear. "Thank you," he said quietly, and meant it. Serathine shook her head once—not dismissively, but with a kind of steady guilt that had no room for self-forgiveness. "There’s no need," she replied. "I should have done it from the beginning." She paused then, as if weighing whether to shift the conversation, whether now was the right time to return them both to the world of physical things—of bloodwork and medical charts, of science trying to make sense of what memory couldn’t explain. "The doctor said we should expand the hormonal panel," she continued, her tone measured, almost clinical now. "He believes your body may still be under distress from the history of suppressants. What happened yesterday may have been the result of an overloaded response—delayed, fractured. He advised we avoid administering anything else for a while. No stabilizers, no artificial support. Just let your body catch up." Lucas blinked slowly, absorbing it—not surprised, not afraid, just... resigned. As if he had already known, deep down, that something inside him had been rewired long ago and was only now beginning to react. He nodded once. "Let it catch up," he echoed softly, like the words were unfamiliar on his tongue. And maybe they were. And letting his body remember what still hurt. He wasn’t sure if he wanted that. But Serathine—measured as ever, but softer now, like morning light against closed shutters—spoke before the silence grew too heavy again. "Good," she said, with a nod that didn’t demand agreement so much as offer stability. "Let’s have a nice breakfast and get from there. Nothing formal. Just something warm, familiar. You need nutrition and peace." She crossed back toward the door, her voice steady, her presence still wrapped in quiet authority. "The gala yesterday was the only thing we had to rush. It’s done. For now, you can take it easy. No more introductions. No obligations." Lucas didn’t smile. Not really. But something loosened behind his eyes. He nodded once. "Okay," he said. And for the first time in days, the word didn’t feel like surrender. — The shower helped. Not entirely. Not enough to make him forget. But the warmth grounded him, let his breath even out, and let his body feel present again. The water ran in slow sheets down his back, steam curling around his shoulders like something he could pretend was soft. He didn’t scrub too hard. Didn’t rush. Just stood there, letting the silence pool around him until the tension in his jaw slowly began to fade. By the time he emerged, dressed in a dark wool sweater and tailored slacks someone had laid out while he slept, his hair still damp and pushed back from his face, the house had begun to stir. But only barely. D’Argente Manor didn’t hum with noise. It breathed. Quietly. Rooms whispered more than echoed, and footsteps softened over rugs older than most bloodlines. There were no raised voices here. No slammed doors. Just the gentle awareness that silence meant safety, and stillness meant someone had thought ahead. Lucas moved through the hallways with the kind of care that hadn’t quite left him yet—shoulders not tense, but aware. Chin high, but not challenging. Eyes trained ahead, not in defense, just... reserve. He walked like someone still deciding what kind of space he was allowed to take up in a room he hadn’t chosen. When he reached the dining room, the doors were already open. It was a smaller room—one of the private salons, not the grand hall with its glittering chandeliers and too many chairs. Sunlight filtered through gauze curtains, softening the edges of the table and warming the pale wood floor. A low fire crackled in the hearth—not for heat, just comfort. Serathine sat at the head of the table, a porcelain cup of coffee in one hand, the other resting on a document she hadn’t yet opened. She was dressed in pale grey today, hair pulled into a clean twist, jewelry minimal, everything about her calm, deliberate, and aware. Trevor sat two seats down, legs crossed, one arm draped casually over the back of his chair, his own coffee cooling in front of him. He was dressed plainly—black slacks and a cream button-down with the sleeves rolled once. His expression was unreadable, though his eyes flicked up the moment Lucas entered. Neither of them spoke immediately. They just... looked at him. Not in pity. Not in curiosity. Just—present. Like they had waited, and were still waiting, but would not make him ask to sit. Lucas stepped into the room slowly, his fingers brushing the edge of the nearest chair as he moved to pull it back. The gesture was quiet, unassuming, but deliberate—like he still wasn’t sure if this seat was meant for him or merely offered out of courtesy. "I didn’t mean to make you wait for me," he said, voice even, if slightly raw around the edges. Not apologetic—just aware. Serathine looked up from her coffee, the porcelain cup still poised in her hand like it belonged there, like nothing in the world had truly shifted even though everything had. "You didn’t," she said simply, her voice low and assured. "Breakfast will be out in a minute." She didn’t say we were waiting for you. She didn’t have to. The quiet was not heavy. It was held—a space created for him, not pressed in around him. Trevor gave him a glance—sharp-eyed but easy, as though trying to read the lines in Lucas’s shoulders without making him feel seen. Lucas sat down, smoothing the hem of his sweater almost absently, his eyes flicking to the empty plate in front of him, then to the small, steaming carafe in the center of the table.