Arik followed Liam into the next room and the one after that, listening while his future husband explained—with increasing certainty—which walls would have to come down, which conduits were salvageable, and which decorative choices constituted crimes against engineering.
By the time they completed the eastern side of Felix's private wing, Liam had already decided that the old receiving room could become a materials analysis hall, the archive would be repurposed for secure records, and at least half of the ornamental partitions would be removed on principle.
"Those screens serve no useful function," Liam said, stopping before a carved divider of pale metal and dark lacquer. Gold filigree curled through its frame in an aggressively decorative pattern. "They obstruct sightlines, trap dust, and create unnecessary dead corners."
Mezos, who had been watching Liam redesign the seized palace in real time, glanced at Arik. "He is nesting."
