Chapter 45: Terms

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Terms

Sebastian had expected Nero to keep him close.

After the flight, the constant pheromonal contact, and Nero’s increasingly obvious conviction that letting Sebastian out of reach constituted a security failure, being assigned to the same wing would hardly have surprised him.

The same suite was irritating.

The same bedroom was worse.

Sebastian stopped several steps inside the room and stared at the enormous bed occupying the center of the far wall.

At least there were two bathrooms.

He could see both doors from where he stood, one beside the dressing room and another opening from the sitting area, which suggested someone involved in designing the villa had possessed enough foresight to understand that even compatible couples occasionally preferred privacy.

The rest of the suite was difficult to criticize without being dishonest. Christopher’s influence was obvious in the restrained architecture: pale stone, warm oak, dark metal, and broad windows overlooking the wooded slope behind the villa rather than an unnecessary quantity of decorative gold. A low fire burned behind glass near the sitting area, while the terrace beyond the windows curved around the western side of the building.

Sebastian still looked at Nero.

"One bedroom."

Nero removed his black coat and passed it to an attendant waiting near the entrance. "There are several rooms in the suite."

"Only one contains a bed."

"A very large bed."

"That does not create a second one."

Nero’s mouth threatened to curve.

Sebastian pointed at him. "Don’t."

Nero apparently valued his continued survival enough to control the smile.

Hale entered behind them with Duncan, both men still dressed in dark security suits despite having spent most of the day traveling. Duncan stopped outside the bedroom proper, positioning himself where he could see the corridor and the suite entrance without hovering directly over Sebastian.

Hale was carrying his tablet.

Sebastian remembered something more important than the sleeping arrangements.

"My luggage."

Hale did not hesitate.

"It was delayed."

Sebastian slowly turned toward him.

"Delayed?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"The transport schedule changed after departure from Palatine."

Sebastian’s gaze moved to Nero.

Nero had crossed to the side table and was removing his gloves one finger at a time, his expression displaying exactly the amount of concern appropriate for someone hearing unfortunate news for the first time.

Which was none.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

Nero noticed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"That sounded accusatory."

"I’m thinking."

"Dangerous."

Sebastian ignored him and looked back at Hale. "When does it arrive?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

That was suspiciously precise for a delay supposedly caused by changing transport arrangements.

Sebastian stored the information for later.

"What about my staff?"

Hale’s expression became more serious. "Your staff were not brought into the secured area."

Sebastian’s irritation sharpened immediately. "Why?"

"Because this residence is operating under dominant-event containment protocols. Melanie is a beta with no specialist training for exposure to an uncontrolled pheromonal event, and both Irena and Timi are dominant enough that their presence could complicate containment if your regulation fails."

Sebastian knew that.

Professionally, he would have made the same decision.

Personally, he disliked hearing it applied to people who had spent years working at his side.

"Irena has handled pheromonal incidents."

"She has," Hale agreed. "She has not handled yours."

Sebastian glanced toward Duncan.

The dominant alpha remained near the doorway, far enough from Nero’s field that he was not adding unnecessary pressure to the room.

That positioning was deliberate.

So was keeping Sebastian’s own people away.

"When I’m stable enough that I’m no longer considered a walking evacuation order, they return."

"Of course."

"To the villa?"

Nero answered this time.

"To Altera."

Sebastian turned.

"Altera?"

Nero had finished with his gloves and was now leaning against the edge of the sideboard with entirely too much ease.

"My residence is there."

"I know where you live."

"Excellent. That saves an explanation."

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed.

Nero continued before he could say something unpleasant.

"When you’re stable enough to leave medical isolation, we return to Altera. Your staff can join you there without the same containment restrictions."

"My staff can join me at your palace?"

"Yes."

"You’ve skipped several administrative stages."

Nero looked genuinely puzzled. "Which ones?"

"The one where we decide I’m moving into your palace would be useful."

"You are my fiancé."

Sebastian’s expression went flat.

"Publicly."

"For the moment."

Sebastian folded his arms, then regretted the pressure against his still-sensitive ribs and lowered them again.

"What does that mean?"

Nero’s purple eyes warmed with unmistakable amusement. "It means that once you are medically stable enough for an actual engagement event, we can stop relying on a press release."

Sebastian stared at him.

"There is an event."

"Of course."

"Why?"

Nero looked briefly offended. "Because we are royalty."

"That has never been a sufficient justification for anything."

"In Saha, it frequently is."

Sebastian closed his eyes for a moment.

He could already imagine the clothing, the cameras, the guest list, the ceremonial speeches, and several thousand people pretending the entire situation had developed through a respectable courtship instead of seven years of refusal followed by a biological crisis.

When he opened his eyes again, Hale was still standing nearby.

"Phone."

Hale reached inside his jacket and handed him the secure service device without argument.

Sebastian unlocked it.

Trevor and Lucas were listed first. Claude followed, then Melanie.

At least someone understood priorities.

"I want to speak with my parents."

Nero nodded. "You should."

Sebastian looked at him suspiciously because agreement had become increasingly difficult to trust.

"And I want the engagement announcement."

"You can have it."

"The complete statement, including whatever was sent between both households before release."

"Yes."

"I also want the legal terms attached to it."

That made Nero pause.

Only briefly, but Sebastian caught it.

"There are terms," Sebastian said.

"There are always terms."

"I want to read them."

"You will."

"Now."

Nero pushed away from the sideboard.

"No."

Sebastian stared at him.

Nero crossed the room until he stood several feet away, near enough for his pheromonal field to remain comfortably around Sebastian without crowding him physically.

"You’re having a full medical evaluation first."

"Claude examined me on the aircraft."

"Claude established that you were conscious, breathing, and not actively coughing blood onto another expensive shirt."

Sebastian’s mouth twitched despite himself.

"That seems medically promising."

"It is not enough."

Nero’s amusement disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

"You started transitioning less than three hours ago. Nobody knows what your baseline should look like now, and the monitoring system spent days insisting nothing was changing before you collapsed in front of half the imperial council."

Sebastian could not dispute that.

Nero gestured toward the eastern side of the villa.

"The Sahan team is already here. They have experience with my pheromonal structure, Claude has your complete medical history, and they are reviewing the data together. I want them to examine you before you start spending the next several hours reading legal documents and arguing with everyone involved."

"I can multitask."

"I know. That is part of the problem."

Sebastian looked down at the phone.

Several messages were waiting from Lucas.

Trevor had sent one.

Call when you’re settled. Eat before you begin declaring war on anyone.

Sebastian stared at it for a second.

Nero leaned slightly, trying to see.

Sebastian turned the screen away.

"Privacy."

"I wasn’t reading."

"You were about to."

"I was assessing your expression."

"That is somehow worse."

Nero smiled.

Sebastian slipped the phone into the pocket of Nero’s borrowed trousers.

"I call them first."

Nero considered him.

"Ten minutes."

Sebastian’s face flattened.

"You do not get to ration conversations with my parents."

"Fifteen."

"That is still rationing."

"It is also approximately how long the medical team needs before they start coming upstairs to retrieve you."

Sebastian glanced toward the door.

Duncan did not react.

Hale remained equally neutral.

Everyone had apparently conspired to be reasonable enough that Sebastian could not justify throwing anything.

"Fine."