Marcus Valerius returned three weeks later.
This time, he didn't come alone. Two Council enforcers accompanied him—vampires Lyra recognized from her father's security briefings. They were efficient, silent, and watched everything with the flat attention of predators.
Marcus requested a private meeting with Lyra. Her father couldn't refuse without raising suspicion. They sat in the same sitting room as before, the gray Portland light filtering through the windows.
"I've been thinking about you," Marcus said.
"Have you."
"Zurich is lovely, but it's lonely. The Council keeps me busy, but there's no one to come home to." He smiled. "I was hoping that might change."
Lyra kept her expression neutral. "My father mentioned the arrangement. I haven't given him an answer."
"I know. That's why I'm here. Not just for the investigation. To give you a reason to say yes."
He reached into his jacket and withdrew a small velvet box. Inside was a ring—a sapphire surrounded by diamonds, old and expensive.
"This belonged to my mother. She wore it until the day she died. I'd like you to have it."
Lyra stared at the ring. It was beautiful. It meant nothing to her.
"Marcus. I don't know you."
"We have time. Immortality, remember? We can learn each other slowly."
"That's not what I want."
His expression flickered. "What do you want?"
Kael, she thought. I want Kael.
"I want to make my own choices. Not have them made for me."
Marcus closed the box and returned it to his jacket. "The Council doesn't work that way. Neither do our families. We serve something larger than ourselves."
"And if I don't want to serve?"
"Then you'll be alone. Is that what you want?"
She didn't answer. Marcus stood.
"Think about it. The investigation will take a few more days. I'll be staying at the Council's residence in the Pearl District. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."
He left. Lyra sat in the silence, the weight of the ring's absence heavy in the air.
That night, she called Kael.
"He proposed. Officially."
A pause. "What did you say?"
"I didn't say yes. But I didn't say no."
Another pause. "What do you want to say?"
"I want to say no. But if I do, he'll investigate harder. He'll find something. He's already suspicious."
"Then we give him something else to find."
"What?"
"The old alliance. Like we talked about. We plant evidence. Lead him to the history, not the present."
"And if that's not enough?"
Kael was quiet for a moment. "Then we leave. Together. The Pearl Coast. Somewhere else. I don't care."
"You'd leave your pack?"
"I'd leave everything. If you asked me to."
Lyra closeda her eyes. "I'm not asking. Not yet."
"But you might."
"Yes. I might."