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“Stop being melodramatic,” Milanov chided mildly.

Ryneth couldn’t help it. He laughed.

Daven shot him a look, then blinked at his uncle. “Excuse me?”

Around them, the Luminary shifted into formation as Kylix strode across the grounds, his clipped voice already cutting through the air as he started issuing orders.

“You heard me, nephew. And I don’t blame you.” Milanov’s gaze flicked briefly to Ryneth. “Your fated is in danger. We all may be. And still I let them land on our planet.”

Ryneth looked from the road where Concordant was already disappearing to the Luminary line breaking apart under Kylix’s orders.

And then he understood.

This wasn’t trust. It was strategy.

He looked back at Daven and caught his hand. “That’s why you let them land. They said they could give us more on Attica.”

Milanov nodded once. “Exactly. We don’t trust anyone. But right now, Attica is the fire closest to our door.”

“What?” Daven snapped.

Kylix joined them, glaring at his multi-slate. “Stop being melodramatic.”

“I’m being melodramatic?” Power rolled off Daven in a sharp pulse. The air tightened around them hard enough to make Ryneth’s throat constrict.

Kylix did too, because he looked up from his wrist with a snarl. “You know you are. We have no proof against Concordant, but we can put the blame on Attica. Light knows we have wanted to destroy those motherfuckers⁠—”

“How would you feel if someone put Mirel in a cage, hm? If they sold him to a stranger, and that bastard came back to claim his fucking property?”

“We take Attica down first,” Kylix snarled. Fire flashed through his eyes, bright enough to make Ryneth flinch, and the air around him turned hot so fast it stole the breath from Ryneth’s lungs.

“But how would you feel⁠—”

“Patience,” Milanov rumbled.

Ryneth blinked when the world seemed to tilt. Everything around them just… stopped.

The fire. The tight pressure on his throat. The shouts.

Everything was paused.

Milanov had stilled the world with a flick of his will.

Kylix stood frozen mid-snarl, his eyes bright with banked fire, his teeth bared.

Beside him, Daven was all tension and fury, fists clenched around power he could no longer throw.

“Always so proud,” Milanov tutted. His voice was the only sound that broke through the silence. His body the only thing that moved as the Imperial stepped between the two fighting statues and took Ryneth’s hand.

“I apologize for the trouble, Ryneth. My nephews aren’t always so hotheaded.”

“No?” Ryneth couldn’t help but mutter, lips curling up in astonished amusement.

“Daven’s right, of course.” Milanov let out a sigh. “And perhaps I have lost my mind. But sometimes all we have is a risk to take and no better option. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes.” Ryneth looked at Daven, at the man who had fought for him in public.

The memory made his chest swell.