I stand there and watch them argue.
Lucian grips the bars of his cell with deliberate calm while Axel and Atticus stand rigid in front of him, both of them vibrating with restrained violence, and the air in the dungeon feels thick enough to choke on as their voices rise and overlap.
“I am not helping her,” Lucian says evenly, his gaze fixed on me rather than on them. “Not until I am released.”
“That will never happen,” Axel snaps immediately, his body angled protectively in front of me as if Lucian might somehow break free through sheer will.
“You want answers,” Lucian continues as if Axel did not speak. “Then you pay for them.”
“We owe you nothing,” Atticus growls, his hands curling into fists at his sides. “You do not get to bargain.”
Lucian’s expression shifts slightly, not to fea
