Marcus Valerius arrived on a gray afternoon.
Lyra watched from her window as the black car pulled through the estate gates. Her father had told her to wait inside. To be presentable. To remember that whatever had happened in the tunnel, the world above still had rules.
She wore a dark blue dress. Her hair was pulled back. Her palm was healed now, the scar invisible. But she could still feel Kael's blood, warm and foreign, beneath her skin.
The doorbell rang. She heard her father's voice in the entryway, smooth and welcoming. Then footsteps on the stairs.
Marcus Valerius was handsome in a way that felt manufactured. Blond hair. Blue eyes. A jaw that looked like it had been sculpted rather than born. He wore a suit that cost more than most humans made in a year, and he smiled at Lyra like she was a painting he'd already purchased.
"Lyra. It's been too long."
"Fifty years," she said. "Montreal."
"You remember." His smile widened. "I'm flattered."
She didn't return the smile. "My father said you're here to investigate something."
"The Council received reports of unusual activity. A disturbance in the old tunnels. They asked me to look into it." He paused. "I was already planning to visit. Our families have... matters to discuss."
The marriage. He meant the marriage.
Lyra led him to the sitting room. Her father joined them, and they made small talk—the weather in Zurich, the state of the Council, the latest territorial adjustments. Marcus was charming. Attentive. He asked Lyra about her interests, her reading, her music. She gave short answers and watched his eyes.
He wasn't curious about her. He was cataloging her. Assessing his investment.
"The tunnels," she said finally. "What exactly are you investigating?"
Marcus set down his teacup. "Three bodies were found near the industrial district. Drained. No wounds. The local authorities are baffled, but the Council recognized the signs. Something old was active down there."
"Was?"
"The activity stopped two nights ago. Abruptly. Whatever was hunting appears to have gone dormant—or been neutralized." He looked at her directly. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
Lyra kept her expression neutral. "Why would I?"
"No reason. But you've lived in Portland for years. I thought you might have heard something."
"I don't involve myself in Council business."
"Of course not." Marcus smiled again. "Forgive me. I'm used to Zurich, where everyone involves themselves in everything."
The conversation shifted to other topics. When Marcus finally left to settle into his guest room, Lyra found her father in the hall.
"He suspects something," she said quietly.
"He suspects everyone. That's his job." Cassius paused. "But he doesn't know. Not yet. We need to keep it that way."
"And the marriage?"
Her father's expression flickered. "I'm working on it."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I have."
Lyra returned to her room and pulled out her phone. She typed a message to Kael.
"He's here. Marcus Valerius. He's asking about the tunnels."
The response came quickly. "Does he know?"
"Not yet. But he's looking."
A pause. Then: "Be careful."
"You too."
She set down the phone and looked out the window. The gray sky was darkening. Somewhere out there, Kael was waiting. And somewhere in the house, a man who wanted to marry her was searching for a truth that would destroy them all.