The next morning, the Matten estate returned to its normal routine.
The air carried the scents of polished wood, sun-ward stone, and the faint aroma of herbs used by the kitchen maids. Guards patrolled their routes with stoic discipline, and the sweeping of brooms and clinking of dishes created a soft background noise of normalcy.
Yet Ezra could feel it, like a stone under the bed of silk. The feeling of sothing yet to co.
Because there was still one prince from the Daylight Court who hadn't sent any gifts.
Prince Romanus.
The Prince that sees all.
And that absence, that silence, was deafening.
Ezra knew better than to assu forgetfulness. Romanus never forgot. Not when he had Omnia, the relic that allowed one to see all that is hidden and all that was in the open. To see the truth of things.
No, his delays were always deliberate. Strategic. The kind that made old n sit up straighter and pompous idiots double-check their wards at night. The power that even fools with no sense of preservation feared.
That was why Ezra was seated in his throne room this morning, alone.
He needed to deal with this before his actual guest arrived later. The guest he wanted to deal with. He still didn't know when HE would be coming, but it was near.
Sunlight filtered through the arched windows of the hall. His throne stood at the far end, simple but elevated. It was carved from a very dark granite, but its base was different. It had been designed with etchings of a dragon, curling around the base in elegant loops.
Valaren. His relic. His burden. His edge.
Ezra sat upon it, his posture casual but alert. This ti, none of his wives were in the hall. He would spare them this conversation.
Then, a flutter of movent. A steward entered, bowed deeply, and announced, "Your Highness. An envoy from the Daydream Court. He carries a gift from Prince Romanus."
Ezra's lips twitched. Finally.
He nodded once. "Send him in."
The doors opened, and the envoy stepped forward like a shadow given form, slender, pale, with the grace of soone who'd spent centuries mastering the art of not drawing blades unless he ant to kill.
Ezra recognized him at once. It was the sa man who had delivered the gift that bore the warning to be wary of Akiko from Romanus at his Coronation down in Rivermount, Caspian's capital city.
"Calior." Ezra said, his voice flat.
The vampire bowed low, his expression neutral. "Your mory honors , Prince Ezra."
Ezra did not smile. "Hard to forget a man who delivered a veiled threat on the day of my coronation."
Calior straightened with the faintest smile. "It was a veiled blessing, Your Highness. Many have confused the two."
Ezra gestured for him to approach.
The envoy stepped forward, cradling a polished wooden box in both hands. The wood was dark, lacquered to a sheen that caught the morning light like ripples across water.
"I bring greetings from Prince Romanus and the Daydream Court." Calior said with a smile. "His Majesty sends his heartfelt congratulations on the birth of your daughter."
Ezra's eyes didn't leave the box. "We accept."
Calior opened it.
Inside lay a sword, small, clearly ceremonial, and beautifully crafted. A child's weapon, but with the elegance of true artistry. The blade shimred with inlaid gems, and the hilt had been carved to fit a smaller grip.
"A training blade." Ezra noted.
"For the first of her kind," Calior replied, "so that her first step into power will be one of strength."
Ezra's eyes flicked up. There was a certain poetry to the gift. An acknowledgnt that his daughter would not be a figurehead, but a force. Romanus had seen sothing.
He gestured. A servant approached silently, took the box, bowed, and disappeared with it.
Ezra expected that to be the end. But Calior stood there awkwardly.
Then he cleared his throat.
"My prince," Calior said, voice lower now. "I would humbly request a private audience. The ssage I carry beyond this gift is... delicate."
Ezra's eyes sharpened. There it was.
Without a word, he raised a hand. The servants all lted away.
Then, with a slow curl of his fingers, a do of darkness fell over the hall. It swallowed the light, weaving shadows into walls. Silence filled the room, the air growing still. No sound could escape. No thod of listening could pierce it.
Only Ezra and the envoy remained.
Ezra didn't move. "Speak."
Calior hesitated. That was unusual.
"What I am about to say," he began carefully, "cos directly from Prince Romanus. It is not a threat. It is a... vision."
Ezra's brow furrowed. "A vision?"
"Omnia," Calior said, "has seen a plan. One we could not follow, only glimpse. In that future, your daughter is taken. Not killed. Not hard. Simply… gone."
The temperature in the room dropped several degrees.
"Taken?" Ezra leaned forward dangerously.
"Yes." Calior's tone remained neutral. "Not by us. Not by the Daydream Court. Prince Romanus does not know who. The vision is... fragnted. Clouded."
Ezra's hand curled on the armrest of his throne, knuckles whitening. "And you bring this now? Without answers?"
"It is because we have no answers." Calior replied, bowing his head. "We cannot trace the source of this plan. It is too well-shielded. Hidden, even from Omnia."
Ezra stared at him. "That's not possible. Omnia sees everything."
"Almost everything." Calior said quietly. "Unless the plan isn't fully ford. Unless it's being deliberately left vague. Incomplete. The kind of abilities that you yourself are known for."
Ezra's eyes narrowed. That was deliberate. A way for Romanus to tell Ezra that he knew he had a way of hiding things from him. Letting Ezra know that he was not the only one who can keep secrets.
"You an to tell ," Ezra said slowly, "that all you know is that there is a plan that might not even be a plan?"
"Yes."
"And yet Romanus still sends a warning?"
Calior t his gaze. "That is because vague or not, the pain in the vision was real. He believes the danger is genuine. And while Prince Romanus does not seek alliance, neither does he seek war. Not now. Not over this."
Ezra's jaw clenched. Silence filled the room. It was like that for a few seconds, then, he asked, "What does he want in return?"
"Nothing." Calior spread his hands. "Only that you remain vigilant. That you prepare. And that you understand. We are not your enemies in this."
Ezra rose slowly from his throne.
The do dissipated.
Light returned.
Calior bowed low again, then turned and walked out, his steps as silent as they had been when he arrived.
Ezra stood there, alone, the storm of thoughts beginning to spin in his mind.
He turned toward the nearest window, the golden sunlight spilling across the floor like liquid fire. Sowhere out there, soone was already plotting. Already preparing.
A plan that wasn't a plan.
A threat that wore no face.
That didn't matter. "Let them co."
If soone wanted to take his daughter, they'd have to co through hell first.
And hell was already sharpening its claws.
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