Kamal inclined his head once toward Liam.

"Lord Liam."

The title was perfectly delivered.

And somehow carrying the faint implication that Kamal could absolutely have someone buried beneath the diplomatic palace if scheduling permitted.

Liam stared at him for another second before looking slowly toward Arik.

Arik smiled in a way that made Liam question even the idea of resisting this mess of a future relationship. "Steward Kamal, this is Liam Sienna Canmore. My fiancee."

"Not officially if you ignore George’s announcement," Liam said with a grimace.

Arik’s expression softened with faint amusement, but his posture remained composed beneath the dark imperial coat.

"George has a regrettable tendency to mistake political ambition for permission."

"That is an elegant way to describe public kidnapping by stationery."

Noah quietly looked away toward the windows.

Mezos remained near the doorway, arms crossed, visibly deciding not to involve himself.

Kamal, meanwhile, studied Liam in silence.

The older alpha’s gaze moved once across the suspended projections hovering above the low table - the Nurian relay structures, the Agaron stabilization grids, and the rotating adaptive conversion chamber still glowing in pale blue ether light.

"A pleasure, Sir Liam." Kamal said at last with a slight inclination of his head. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to take over the household from Noah."

The sentence was delivered with calm professionalism.

Which somehow made Noah look personally attacked by its efficiency.

The Claymore heir straightened immediately from where he had been leaning near the doorway, the expression on his face carrying the exhausted relief of a man watching salvation arrive in tailored clothing.

For the first time in days, Noah felt spiritually liberated from the administrative nightmare that was managing Arik Lyon’s schedule, security requests, diplomatic meetings, unofficial operations, and an increasingly complicated relationship with a dangerous engineer from Wrohan.

He could finally return to his actual role within the delegation: representative of House Claymore and logistical liaison.

A position significantly less terrifying than ’temporary steward to the Crown Prince of Agaron.’

"You have my deepest gratitude," Noah said solemnly to Kamal.

Kamal regarded him for a moment.

"How many incidents occurred?"

Noah hesitated.

"That depends on whether we are counting the legal ones separately."

Mezos closed his eyes briefly.

Arik looked entirely unrepentant.

Kamal inhaled once through his nose with the composure of a man already regretting every decision leading to this moment.

"I see," he said quietly.

Then his attention shifted back toward Arik.

"Your Highness, I will review the household structure, staff rotations, security access, and diplomatic schedules before tonight."

"Of course."

"And I would strongly advise against creating additional administrative complications for at least twenty-four hours."

Arik’s expression remained perfectly calm.

"I rarely create complications."

Noah looked at the ceiling.

Liam stared openly now.

Even Mezos appeared offended on reality’s behalf.

Kamal was silent for one long second, then said, "I will revise the schedules immediately."

Arik smiled faintly at that, entirely aware of what the answer actually meant.

Kamal inclined his head once more toward Liam before turning toward the door.

As he passed Mezos, the two exchanged the brief, measured look of experienced men silently and professionally assessing each other.

Then Kamal left the suite with Noah following beside him, already speaking about staffing structures, diplomatic requests, and which ministers had attempted to bypass security in the last forty-eight hours.

The door closed behind them softly.

Silence settled across the room afterward, quieter now without Noah’s commentary filling the air.

Liam’s eyes remained on the closed door for another moment before shifting slowly toward Arik.

"...You collect alarming people."

Arik opened one of the clasps of his coat, already preparing to make himself comfortable within the suite as though he had long since decided the space belonged partly to him.

"You are one of them," he replied calmly.

Liam watched him remove the coat with far more attention than was professionally necessary before forcing his focus back toward the projections.

"Weren’t you supposed to go to the lab after you finished your schedule?" he asked. "These are nice"—he gestured toward the suspended blueprints—"but I need to see the Vanguard. And you need to see it either way."

His gaze lowered pointedly toward the owl brooch pinned against the collar of Arik’s white shirt.

The atmosphere changed a little at once.

Mezos, still near the doorway, straightened almost imperceptibly.

Arik noticed the look immediately. Of course he did.

His fingers brushed once against the gold-and-red owl pinned near his throat.

The diplomatic restraint device looked elegant from a distance. Decorative, even.

Liam knew better now.

The thing restricted ether absorption so aggressively that even standing near the Vanguard would feel different for Arik compared to anyone without suppression locked directly against their channels.

Arik’s expression remained composed, though something about it turned faintly colder around the edges.

"I am aware."

Liam’s gaze lingered briefly on the owl brooch before returning to Arik’s face.

"I didn’t mean to offend you," he said more carefully this time. "But you used ether to... help me while I was in heat." His voice lowered slightly at the admission. "I’m fairly certain your ether channels are screaming right now."

For the first time since entering the suite, Arik looked away fully.

Only for a moment.

His hand settled over the dark coat now draped across the back of one of the chairs, fingers still against the fabric as though grounding himself through the motion.

"I’ve had worse," he said at last, calm but quieter than before. "But thank you."

The answer carried enough honesty to make Liam regret pushing the subject so bluntly.

Then Arik’s attention shifted toward Mezos immediately, composure settling back into place.

"Prepare a car," he ordered evenly. "And have Shadows on standby for Lab V."

Mezos straightened at once.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The Shadow commander moved toward the door, already pulling up security routes across his wrist display.

Liam watched him leave, then looked back toward Arik again.

"I can go with Mezos or whoever you trust if there’s something else on your schedule," Liam said, his fingers tracing absently along the edge of one of the projection tablets.

Arik looked at him for a moment without answering.

"You think I would send you there without me?"

Liam frowned slightly.

"It’s your schedule, not mine."

"But you are technically my fiancée now."

The answer came calmly, but there was something immovable beneath it.

Arik stepped closer to the hovering projections, his gaze settling briefly on the rotating conversion chamber before returning to Liam.

"I will not let you go anywhere without me."

"You’re a Crown Prince," Liam replied eventually, quieter now. "You’re not supposed to disappear into illegal infrastructure beneath hostile territory personally."

"Probably not."

"That wasn’t sarcasm."

"I know."

Arik’s mouth curved faintly despite that.

Then he reached for the projection tablet near Liam, adjusting the hovering model slightly with familiarity around ether interfaces.

"I need ether from the Vanguard," he said quietly. "And... I want to see the Gate again."

The Gate.

The unfinished relic hidden beneath Lab V.

The structure built from schematics written in a dead language and signed by a man who technically should not exist anymore.

Liam studied Arik carefully.

The alpha’s expression remained controlled, but there was something sharper beneath it now. Not curiosity alone.

Recognition.

Or perhaps the fear of it.

"You think it reacted to you," Liam said slowly.

Arik’s golden gaze lifted toward him.

"I think it recognized something."

The absolute certainty in the answer sent a faint chill down Liam’s spine.

Because the Gate had pulsed when Arik approached it, not randomly, but almost like waking.

Liam rose from the sofa at once, shutting down the nearest projection tablet with one precise movement.

"Then let’s go."