The offer hung between us. Genuine and warm and everything I'd been craving without realizing it.
Someone who saw me. Someone who cared without demanding. Someone who understood the weight without adding to it.
It felt too good. Too perfect.
But maybe that was just trauma talking. Maybe not everyone had ulterior motives. Maybe some people really did just want to help.
“Thank you,” I managed. “That means more than you know.”
“Good.” Marcel's smile was soft. Real. “Now, I should let you get to whatever you were doing. I know you value your time away from all this.” He gestured at the palace around us. “Just remember. You're not alone, Sebastian. Not anymore.”
He turned to leave, then paused. Looked back.
“One more thing. Be careful with Mr. Volkov.”
My spine stiffened. “Excuse me?”
“I don't mean anything sinister.” Marcel's expression was careful now. Concerned. “He's good at his job. Excellent, even. But men like him, men who've lived in violence for so long, they don't always know how to turn it off. How to be gentle when gentleness is what's needed.”
“Viktor would never hurt me.”
“Not physically, no. I'm sure of that.” Marcel's eyes were kind. Sad. “But there are other ways to hurt someone. Ways that don't leave bruises you can see. Just, be careful. Protecting your body isn't the same as protecting your heart.”
He left before I could respond. Left me standing in the corridor with Apollo pressing against my leg and my mind spinning.
Viktor appeared from wherever he'd been lurking. Materialized like smoke given form. His eyes tracked the empty corridor with that intensity I'd learned meant he was cataloging threats, mapping exits, calculating how fast he could get me somewhere safe if everything went to hell.
“You okay,” he said. Not a question. An assessment.
I nodded. Couldn't quite find words yet. My throat felt tight with everything I wanted to say and couldn't, not here, not in a corridor where anyone could hear.
We walked in silence. Apollo trotted between us, tail wagging, completely oblivious to the tension threading through every step. Staff nodded as we passed. I smiled back automatically, the mask sliding into place like muscle memory. Prince Sebastian. Charming. Composed. Not at all like someone whose world had just tilted sideways.
The door to my chambers clicked shut behind us. Viktor locked it. I heard the bolt slide home, that final sound that meant we were alone, really alone, and I could finally breathe.
Apollo immediately went to his toy basket, emerging with a ropethat had seen better days. He dropped it at Viktor's feet with a hopeful whine.
“No,” Viktor said flatly.
Apollo sat. Tail wagging. Staring up at him with those big golden eyes that had convinced half the palace staff to sneak him treats.
“I said no.”
More tail wagging. A soft whuff that somehow sounded like pleading.
“He's not going to give up,” I said, moving to the windows. Needing to do something with my hands. “He's relentless when he wants something.”
“I am aware.” Viktor picked up the rope. Apollo exploded with joy, jumping and spinning like Viktor had just given him the secrets of the universe. “This is stupid.”
“He loves you.”
“He loves everyone.” But Viktor threw the rope anyway. Apollo bounded after it, all golden fur and pure enthusiasm. “This is waste of time.”
“It's called playing.”
“I do not play.”
“You're literally throwing a toy for my dog right now.”
