Chapter 139: Uninvited Guest
Lucen paused on the top of the stairwell, keys out but frozen in mid-air. The door to his apartment was cracked a foot open.
Half a front step inside, soft lighting cast warm angles across the floorboards, and there, standing by the kitchenette, was a woman he’d never seen before.
Her posture was easy, confident. Not threatening. But she was entirely out of place in his off-market, too-small, lived-in space.
She wore a sleek, dark blazer, hair pulled back in a precise bun, and her hand curled around a glass, something clear, maybe water or that purified mana drink.
Code-blue pulse lines traced across her sleeve; unmistakably guild-grade aura.
Lucen’s fingers traced the brass key in his pocket. He’d never left his door unlocked.
His voice came out flat. "You’re gonna invite me in or are you just camping here?"
The woman turned. Glass in one hand, another hovering by the sleeve. Her eyes flicked to his arms, thick but not too thick, then up. "Good evening, Lucen Ivara," she said, pitch steady. "Mind if I come out?"
Lucen stared at her like she was an orb floating midair. "My name’s on the lease. I live here. You mind telling me what you’re doing in my couch cushion territory?"
She stepped out, quiet footsteps, one inch at a time. She didn’t move like she was guessing space. She moved as if she owned every square centimeter, mentally mapped to the last dust mote.
"I’m here on guild business," she said. "You’ve recently drawn attention."
Lucen scoffed. "You don’t say." He locked the door, dropped the keys in his pocket. He lifted a shoulder like shrugging off alarm. "What kind of attention? The kind where I can keep living here, or the kind where I’m muting electric water coolers by dawn?"