Third POV
Renata sat in her dining room, glaring at the spread before her. The table was full of all her favorite dishes, but the sight of them only fueled her anger. Her hand twitched to grab a fork, but it was useless. Her body felt stiff, unwilling to respond. She sat there, seething, when a man in a black cap stepped forward, interrupting her thoughts."Care for a smoke?" he asked, his voice calm, unbothered.Renata didn’t even look up. “When did you get here?”The man smirked, his expression hidden beneath the cap. "Not long ago. Take the cigar." He handed it to her, the scent of tobacco thick in the air as he placed it between her fingers.She held it for a moment, glaring at it. Then, she snorted and took it. “What now?”He ordered the maid to clear the table and bring out the liquor. The servant quickly left to do as he was told. The man stepped back, watching her with a steady gaze.“You’re sure about this?” His tone was casual, but there was anThird POVThe sun was already high in the sky when Gavin woke up to the sound of waves crashing outside and someone humming in the kitchen. He rolled over and yawned dramatically, arms flailing until one smacked Axel across the chest.“Morning,” Axel grumbled.“You snore like a dying walrus,” Gavin replied, crawling on top of him.“You drool like a broken faucet.”“And yet, you still love me,” Gavin smirked, planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek before hopping off the bed. “BEACH DAY, BAAAABYYYY!”Axel groaned into his pillow. “Why am I dating a cartoon?”Ten minutes later, Gavin had burst into Julian’s room shirtless, wearing a pineapple-patterned swimsuit and slathering sunscreen on his face like it was lotion.“Get up, sad boy! We’ve got sea, sand, and SPF 50!”Julian blinked from where he sat by the window. “I’m already dressed.”“Oh.” Gavin looked him over. “You’re wearing black to the beach?”“I’m not trying to be roasted like you last
Third POVThe mansion was unusually quiet for a late morning. Miss Maria had just finished cleaning up after the chaotic breakfast Axel and Gavin had left behind—half an omelet stuck to the fridge and flour where flour should never be.Julian sat curled up on the couch in the sunroom, a book open in his lap that he wasn’t reading. His eyes kept flicking to the door, like he was expecting someone. But the person he truly wanted to walk through that door hadn’t been seen in over five months now.Just as the melancholy threatened to settle again, the front doors swung open with a dramatic bang.Lucian entered, wearing sunglasses indoors like some mafia agent out of a movie, holding a sleek tablet and a smirk that could kill.“Get your sulky butts off the couch, people!” he announced. “We’re going on a vacation!”Julian blinked slowly. “Come again?”Lucian dramatically pulled off his glasses. “Concert. Beachfront. One-week getaway. All of you. No excuses.”
Third POVAxel entered the living room with his shirt inside out and a lopsided apron tied over his chest like a toddler attempting cosplay. Gavin trailed behind, hair ruffled, smudges of flour on his cheek, and a metal whisk in one hand like it was a weapon of mass confusion. They both paused dramatically when they saw Julian on the couch with a blanket tucked around him like a burrito.Julian didn’t even glance up from the old novel he wasn’t reading, the dog-eared pages barely shifting.“We have come,” Gavin declared with a flourishing bow, “to lift your spirits and sprinkle sunshine into your soul.”Julian didn’t flinch. “You two are the depression.”“Harsh,” Axel said, placing a hand on his chest. “My tender little heart—”“Is as cold as your chicken from last week,” Julian mumbled.Miss Maria walked in just in time, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “Boys, if you’re here to make more mess, I swear on my holy recipes—”“We are helping today,” Gavi
Third POVJulian’s fingers curled into the blanket.Lucian added softly, “He asked us to take care of you. All of us. He trusts us.”Julian stared at the far wall for a long while, jaw clenched tightly, then turned his face toward the window. His lips trembled. “He didn’t even say goodbye…”Lucian didn’t speak.Julian swallowed, his eyes beginning to sting. “I didn’t even get to tell him I love him.”Lucian’s voice was gentle. “He knows.”“No,” Julian whispered. “You don’t understand. He… he’s always thinking for me. Making choices for me. Even this… he made this decision without even asking how I felt.”Lucian lowered his gaze. “He’s never stopped loving you.”“That’s not the point,” Julian snapped. “Love isn’t disappearing into the night and leaving someone behind to wonder if they mattered enough to be chosen.”Lucian sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I get it. I do. But he thinks this is the only way to keep you safe. You mean every
Third POVLater that afternoon, Cassiel called everyone into the private lounge adjacent to Julian’s recovery suite. The air was tense and quiet, only the occasional beep of hospital machines in the background. Enzo stood near the back wall, arms crossed, unreadable as always. Lucian sat beside the window, gaze flicking to Cassiel now and then. Miss Maria was next to Gavin, holding a folded handkerchief in her lap, just in case. Axel leaned beside the door, vigilant and calm.Cassiel stood in front of them, hands clasped behind his back. The tension in his shoulders was palpable, but his voice came out even.“I need to leave.”No one spoke for a second.Miss Maria was the first to react. “Leave? After everything? Now?”Cassiel nodded. “Yes. Now.”“But Julian just got out of danger,” she pressed. “He needs you. You can’t just abandon him again.”“I’m not abandoning him,” Cassiel said quickly. “This is to protect him. If Emiliano’s network isn’t complet
Third POVCassiel parked the black SUV right in front of the rusted iron gates leading into Moreau’s lab—an isolated, cold facility deep within an unregistered perimeter of the city. He stepped out without haste, shutting the door and taking a moment to scan the surroundings. The building loomed ahead like a forgotten fortress, vines crawling up its walls, windows tinted black.The night air was sharp, biting through his jacket, but Cassiel remained unaffected. From the inside of his coat, he retrieved a compact square device, no bigger than a thumb. He crouched near the rear of the vehicle and stuck the sensor to the chassis, directly above the fuel line. Once it blinked green, he pressed a sequence on his phone, activating it. The device would signal his phone the moment the car’s lock was breached or moved. It would also detonate upon his signal—an insurance policy.Cassiel didn’t look back as he walked into the entrance, the heavy metal doors sliding open with a groa