Chapter 588: Wedding chaos.

By the next morning, the Crown Prince Palace had stopped pretending it was a residence and fully surrendered to the wedding.

People moved through the private corridors carrying garment bags, flower samples, document folders, jewelry cases, trays of food nobody seemed to have time to eat, and enough ribbons to suggest Saha had temporarily exhausted its national supply.

Dean watched two attendants hurry past the breakfast room with an enormous arrangement of white flowers between them.

A third followed carrying scissors.

Nobody explained anything.

"That one looked urgent," Arion said.

Dean took another sip of coffee.

"I’m afraid to ask."

Theo sat between them at the long table, eating toast with one hand while the wooden dragon occupied the chair beside him. He had dressed himself that morning with limited assistance and wore soft grey trousers, a cream sweater, and one sock slightly higher than the other because he had refused to correct it.

The palace doors opened somewhere beyond the corridor.

A familiar voice followed.

"Where are they?"

Dean smiled before Lucas appeared.

His father entered the breakfast room wearing pale trousers and a soft green shirt beneath a lightweight jacket, blond hair falling neatly around his face despite the wind outside. Trevor followed a few steps behind in charcoal and warm brown, carrying two gift bags and the look of a man who had already accepted that Lucas would reach everyone first.

Theo slid from his chair.

"Grandpa!"

Lucas barely had time to put down his phone before Theo reached him.

He bent and caught the child against his chest, lifting him high enough that Theo laughed and wrapped both arms around his neck.

"There he is."

Trevor placed the bags on a sideboard and came closer.

Theo immediately leaned toward him too.

"You brought things."

Trevor looked at Dean.

"Wonderful greeting."

"He learned diplomacy from Arion."

Arion calmly buttered another piece of toast.

"Interesting accusation from a Fitzgeralt."

Lucas kissed Theo’s cheek before putting him down.

"Where is Sebastian?"

Dean gestured vaguely toward the upper floors.

"Somewhere inside the disaster."

"And Nero?"

"Probably making it worse."

That proved accurate less than a minute later when Nero crossed the corridor outside at considerable speed, carrying three garment covers over one arm while speaking into an earpiece.

Sebastian followed.

"Nero."

"I heard you."

"You are carrying the wrong set."

Nero stopped.

Looked at the garment covers.

Turned around.

Sebastian took one from him.

"This is tomorrow evening."

"They look identical."

"They are labeled."

"The labels are small."

Sebastian stared at him.

Nero kissed his forehead and continued walking.

Lucas watched them disappear.

"They seem prepared."

Dean laughed.

Trevor took the empty chair beside Arion.

"I heard Sebastian threatened a florist yesterday."

"He corrected a florist," Dean said.

"Repeatedly."

"The florist survived."

Lucas sat beside Theo and began inspecting the wooden dragon.

"And this?"

"Dragon."

"I can see that."

"He came from Draxil."

Lucas looked toward Dean.

Dean gave him a tired expression.

"Do not encourage it."

A low chuff sounded from the corridor.

Everyone except Theo looked toward the door.

Theo brightened.

"Niva."

The tiger appeared a moment later.

Her handler followed at a discreet distance, but Niva clearly had no interest in being led. She moved through the doorway with slow confidence, white coat almost luminous against the darker wood of the room, pale silver stripes visible along her shoulders as she passed through a shaft of morning light.

Her purple eyes found Sebastian’s abandoned scent trail first.

She sniffed.

Then Theo.

Niva altered course immediately.

Trevor slowly leaned back in his chair.

Lucas stared.

Dean smiled.

"You haven’t met her."

"I have heard about her," Lucas said.

"That is not remotely the same experience."

Niva stopped beside Theo and lowered her enormous head.

Theo placed one hand carefully between her ears.

"Morning."

The tiger chuffed.

The handler came closer.

"She has been very calm with him."

Theo looked up.

"Can I sit on her today?"

Dean nearly inhaled coffee.

Lucas turned toward him.

"You allow this?"

"We have not allowed anything yet."

The handler crouched near Niva and checked her posture before looking toward Theo.

"For a moment, if she stays relaxed and you sit where I show you."

Arion was already standing.

Dean noticed.

Theo approached without rushing, waited while Niva settled onto her stomach, and only moved closer once the handler guided him.

"Hands here," she said, showing him where to rest them against the thick fur above Niva’s shoulders. "No pulling. If she moves, you come off."

Theo nodded seriously.

Arion lifted him rather than letting him climb.

For one brief moment, Dean saw the absurdity of it from the outside.

His four-year-old son was sitting carefully on an albino tiger in the middle of a royal breakfast room while his grandfather held a croissant.

Theo’s feet barely reached halfway down Niva’s sides.

He looked delighted.

Niva looked indifferent.

Which, according to the handler, was ideal.

"She’s warm," Theo said.

Lucas covered his mouth.

Trevor looked toward Dean.

"This family has deteriorated considerably since I last visited."

Dean pointed at him.

"This is Saha’s fault."

A muttered voice came from the doorway.

"Only a Titan would own a tiger."

Matthias stood there with his arms folded, watching Nero’s newest household member with profound suspicion.

Dean looked toward him.

"Dax and Chris had one."

Matthias frowned.

Dean gestured toward Niva.

"Tania. Same line, generations back. She was their wedding gift from Draxil."

Matthias stared.

"Dax had a tiger?"

"Chris too."

Matthias seemed to process this information with visible difficulty.

"That does not make it better."

"It does ruin your theory."

"No," Matthias said slowly. "It makes me concerned about the entire family."

Arion laughed.

Theo leaned forward slightly, careful not to pull Niva’s fur.

"She likes me."

Niva turned her head just enough to look back at him.

Her ears stayed relaxed.

A moment later, she gave another soft chuff.

Lucas smiled.

"I think she does."

Nero appeared in the doorway again, this time without garment bags.

He took in the scene.

Theo on Niva.

Lucas and Trevor at breakfast.

Matthias looking spiritually exhausted.

Dean holding coffee like it was medication.

His expression brightened.

"Excellent."

Sebastian appeared behind him.

His gaze immediately found Theo.

"Nero."

"I did nothing."

Dean glanced at Sebastian.

Sebastian caught his eye.

A silent exchange passed between them.

Dean flicked his gaze toward Nero.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed in warning.

The robe.

Still secret.

Dean smiled into his coffee.

Sebastian looked ready to kill him.

Nero noticed.

His head turned.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," both brothers said at once.

Nero became instantly suspicious.

Lucas looked between them.

Trevor quietly reached for another pastry.

The wedding had not even started yet.

Dean was already enjoying himself.