Chapter 17: No One Touches Him
He exhaled through his nose, slow and cold. "Acknowledging everything now would be a disaster for the image of the imperial family. A son, hidden for nearly two decades. Sold. Reclaimed through adoption. It would invite too many questions we can’t afford to answer publicly."
"So," Caelan said, sitting back down, "Serathine offered a compromise. She would adopt him under House D’Argente. A male omega raised outside the palace, protected from scandal. Trained. Presented as a noble debut, a prince hidden until adulthood."
Lucius’s expression didn’t shift. But his tone was knife-sharp.
"And what would he be told?"
Caelan hesitated, then:
"That Grand Duke Trevor Fitzgeralt is seeking a partner. That House D’Argente is offering him one. No more than that. Enough to place him in the right social tier. Enough to make Velloran back off."
Sirius blinked once. Slowly.
"Trevor Ariston Fitzgeralt? The Grand Duke who’s refused every offer since the East fell? The one who told the foreign delegation he’d sooner be exiled in hell than be matched through politics?"
Lucius let out a dry, mirthless laugh. "The same Trevor who once responded to a marriage inquiry with a ten-page essay on the benefits of solitude and an attached reading list?"
"The very same," Caelan said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Serathine claims he agreed to help."
Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
"She didn’t say."