Chapter 318

He did not know why his mind went there immediately. His mother had made no attempt to speak to him privately after the Council hearing, and there had been nothing to suggest that she intended to visit him now. Still, after everything that had happened since his arrival in the Capital, he could not completely dismiss the possibility.

One of the Royal Guards stationed outside opened the door, and Zaeryn straightened slightly.

Then Princess Valerie stepped into the suite, and the tension left him almost immediately.

Her eyes found Zaeryn first, and she smiled at him before her attention moved past his shoulder. Her expression changed when she noticed Viora seated on the sofa.

"Uh, Viora, what are you doing here?" Valerie asked before looking back at Zaeryn. "You know Viora?"

Zaeryn shook his head, momentarily panicking as he struggled to think of an explanation for the princess’s presence. As far as Valerie knew, Viora had no particular reason to know him, much less be waiting inside his suite.

Valerie still did not know the truth about his family. As far as she knew, Zaeryn Noctis was exactly what he had always appeared to be: the son of a relatively unimportant noble household from another sector who had somehow developed abilities that had now attracted the attention of the Imperial Council.

She certainly did not know that Viora was his sister.

Viora, however, answered before he could think of anything to say.

"I came with Warlady Kayla," she explained.

Valerie’s gaze shifted towards Kayla, and the explanation appeared to settle the matter almost immediately.

"Oh, that makes sense," Valerie said.

There was nothing particularly strange about Viora accompanying an Imperial Warlady on a visit, especially when Kayla had already been responsible for escorting Zaeryn to the Capital in the first place.

Zaeryn almost smiled, relieved that such a simple explanation had been enough.

Kayla rose from the armchair before Valerie could ask anything else.

"We will take our leave now."

Viora looked at her, and Zaeryn noticed the slight pause before either woman spoke again. Apparently, his sister had not expected them to leave just yet.

Kayla ignored her hesitation.

"We should leave."

Understanding appeared in Viora’s eyes a moment later.

"Right," she said as she stood.

Zaeryn watched both women with growing suspicion as Kayla approached him on her way to the entrance. When she reached him, she stopped and looked directly at him.

"Take care of yourself," she said. "I’ll be back."

"Okay?" Zaeryn replied, staring at her.

Kayla gave him another glance before continuing towards the door.

For several seconds, Zaeryn wondered what that had been about.

Since when had she ever cared whether he took care of himself?

Then he remembered the role she had been playing whenever other people were watching.

Kayla had presented herself as his unusually attentive aunt, and abandoning the act in front of Valerie would only raise questions. If anything, taking Viora with her made their explanation for his sister’s presence even more convincing.

Viora stopped beside him before following Kayla.

"I’ll see you later."

"Yeah," Zaeryn replied with a nod.

She glanced briefly towards Valerie before leaving, and the door closed behind both women.

Zaeryn remained looking at it for another second. He had the distinct feeling that Kayla had deliberately taken Viora away so Valerie could speak to him without either of them present, although he had no idea why Kayla would concern herself with that.

When he turned around, Valerie was still standing several steps inside the suite, watching him with an expression that had become increasingly amused.

"Princess Valerie, what brings you here?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

Valerie smiled as she closed the remaining distance between them.

"Wrong? Not at all," she replied. Her voice carried that effortless, melodic cadence that made the space feel instantly smaller and much more intimate. "I thought I’d come and see how you were doing after all those questions. I couldn’t exactly leave you to stare at these walls all afternoon, could I?"

She stopped a little closer than Zaeryn had expected, and he immediately felt the familiar response of his Vitae to her presence.

When they had collided at Stellan Innovations, he had not understood the strange sense of recognition she stirred in him. His Eros System had subsequently explained it: Valerie was a confirmed member of the Lumina royal family, and his cousin.

Valerie still did not know that. Whatever she made of the familiarity between them, she clearly saw no reason to keep her distance.

Zaeryn leaned one shoulder against the wall beside him, keeping his posture relaxed despite the thoughts running through his mind.

Act normal. Don’t look at Sage.

"I’m managing," Zaeryn said, matching her breezy tempo.

"Only managing?" Valerie asked.

"The Council gave me an excellent suite and very large windows."

"How generous of us," Valerie said with a laugh.

Her eyes briefly moved around the residence before she continued.

"I suppose I should apologize on behalf of the Crown."

"For what?" Zaeryn asked.

"For the hospitality. You came to the Capital, and we’ve shown you a Council chamber, an evaluation room and this suite."

Zaeryn glanced towards the windows. "I’ve seen some corridors too."

Valerie laughed again, while Sage smiled at the exchange from her place on the sofa.

"I’m still thoroughly annoyed with my cousin," Valerie continued.

Zaeryn didn’t flinch at the word cousin.

"Which one?"

"Athea," Valerie replied, her blue eyes returning to his.

"Oh, Princess Athea is your cousin?" Zaeryn asked, feigning ignorance.

"Yes," Valerie said. "But enough about that. I spent all week trying to secure you a plus-one exception for the Lumina Gala. A majority of the Imperial Council actually endorsed it, but Athea shut it down. So, naturally, I had to come see the man who caused such a procedural scandal."

Zaeryn finally allowed his gaze to flick towards Sage, who was leaning back into the cushions and watching the interaction.

Sage knew exactly who his mother was, and she knew Valerie was currently standing entirely too close to her own blood relative.

Valerie turned her head slightly to address Sage without stepping away from him.

"I hope you don’t mind, Sage," Valerie said smoothly. "But since you’re busy running the Aegis Division, I fully intend to steal your boyfriend for a walk. The Crown Guest Residence is on the eastern perimeter, which is lovely, but he needs to see the actual palace gardens now that everyone has finished questioning him."

"Take him," Sage replied, her tone carrying an irony that Zaeryn understood perfectly. "He could use the fresh air."

Valerie turned back to him, her smile widening at Sage’s answer.

"You heard the brilliant doctor," she said. "You’re mine for the afternoon."