Chapter 10 Dante
The encrypted call came through while I was still staring at Seraphine’s window.Lucian raised a brow as the name flashed on the tablet.
KAEL DRAKOV.
“Well,” Lucian muttered, “what a delightful start to the morning.”
I answered.
“Dante,” Kael’s voice came low, sharp, irritated. “We need to talk.”
I hummed. “Funny. I was thinking the same thing.”
“Cut the pleasantries,” Kael said. “I’ve been informed you and the pond prince have been poking around my people.”
Lucian muttered, “Pond prince? How original. Did he write that down ahead of time?”
Kael heard it. He hissed, low and sharp. “Lucian, I swear—”
“Focus,” I interrupted. “If we’re discussing your consort trespassing onto my territory, then yes—this conversation is overdue.”
Kael scoffed. “Renee knows better. She wouldn’t walk into your club uninvited.”
“Except she did.” I nodded at Lucian. “Show him.”
Lucian already had the clip queued. Thirty seconds of pristine surveillance: Renee, platinum wig, dark silk dress, walking the dance floor under the glowing Obsidian Veil sign. Unmistakable. Deliberate.
Lucian sent it.
A chime sounded through the speaker—Kael receiving it.
“Check your phone,” I said.
A few seconds of silence.
A click.
The faint hum of video playback.
Then—
A sharp inhale.
Lucian grinned. “There it is. The sound of a man realizing he’s been cuckolded by his own consort.”
"Where did you get this?” Kael demanded, voice low and razor-sharp.
I allowed myself a small, humorless smile. “From my club. My cameras. My domain.”
“This could be anyone.”
Lucian practically choked laughing. “She’s wearing her consort mark, dumbass. Unless you gave someone else that fancy silver tattoo—pretty sure it’s her.”
Kael ignored him. “Renee doesn’t go anywhere without my permission.”
“Then she got bold,” I said. “Because she was in Obsidian Veil for nearly an hour. Dancing. Mingling. Observing. Doing God-knows-what.”
Lucian crossed his arms. “And unless she suddenly developed a brain stroke, she knew exactly where she was.”
"She must have… had a purpose,” Kael muttered.
“Then enlighten us,” I said. “Because trespassing is trespassing.”
Kael’s voice sharpened. “You’re making assumptions.”
“No,” Lucian cut in. “We’re making observations. Learn the difference.”
If Kael hadn’t been hundreds of miles away, I’m sure he would’ve tried to strangle Lucian through sheer willpower.
"This is Fire territory,” I said. “You know the rules. No consort—especially not a king’s—crosses domains without notice.”
“And here I thought you’d mellowed out with age,” Kael sneered. “But look at you—still territorial, still dramatic.”
“Still alive,” Lucian said sweetly. “Which is more than I can say for anyone who breaks the treaty.”
Kael growled.
"Dante. Call off whatever little investigation you think you’re entitled to do. Renee is mine. Not yours.”
“Then fix your house,” I said. “Because your house is leaking.”
Lucian added, “More like she punched a hole through the wall and moonwalked into someone else’s bedroom.”
“Lucian,” Kael snapped, “I—”
“You what?” Lucian challenged. “Come drown me? Baby, I am water.”
Kael inhaled sharply. “Dante. Control your pet.”
I smirked. “He’s not my pet. And he has a point.”
Kael’s voice dropped into something darker than anger—something ancient.
“Both of you. Watch your backs.”
Lucian scoffed. “Cute threat.”
“Not a threat,” Kael hissed.
“A promise.”
The line cut.
Lucian lowered the tablet slowly. “Well. Congratulations. You pissed off the Shadow King before breakfast. We’re officially on his ‘kill creatively’ list.”
I didn’t answer.
My eyes had drifted back to Seraphine’s window.
She was typing. Focused. Determined. Completely unaware of the storm building around her.
Lucian followed my gaze and groaned. “Oh gods. What now? What’s the Fire King thinking?”
“She’s connected,” I said quietly.
“To Kael? To Renee?” Lucian asked.
“To something,” I muttered. “Something they want. Something they’re circling.”
Lucian sighed. “I vote it’s her hair. That shade of red screams ‘ancient prophecy.’”
I didn’t laugh.
Instead, I leaned forward. “Lucian. Can you get into her computer?”
He blinked. “You mean… hack her?”
“Yes.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “Well, obviously I can. The question is—should I?”
“Yes.”
He wiggled a finger. “Ah-ah. Let me rephrase. What if she’s not an idiot? What if she has firewalls, trackers, alerts?”
“Then she’ll notice?” I asked.
He nodded. “Exactly. If she’s tech-savvy, she’ll see someone trying to poke around. And then she’ll go full journalist mode and dig back. She’ll trace it. Maybe even report it.”
I tilted my head. “Can she trace it back to me?”
Lucian snorted. “Trace it back to you? Sure. If she hacked the NSA. And God. At the same time.”
“Then start.”
Lucian blinked. “Wait, wait—seriously? You want me to hack her right now?”
“Yes.”
He looked at me like I’d grown two heads. “You do realize this is how villains in movies get caught, right? First they stalk the girl, then they hack her laptop—next thing you know, boom. Jump scare. Prison.”
I fixed him with a slow stare.
He sighed dramatically. “Fine. Fine. I’ll poke around. But if she notices and sues us, I’m telling the council this was your idea.”
“Good.”
“Good?” he echoed. “What do you mean good?”
“If she notices, she’s smarter than I thought,” I said. “And that means Kael and Renee will notice her too.”
Lucian swallowed. “Okay, officially uncomfortable. You’re not falling for her, right? Please say no. I can’t babysit you through emotional damage again.”
“I’m not falling,” I muttered.
Lucian folded his arms. “You’re hovering on the edge of a cliff with your toes dangling.”
I didn’t reply.
Because he wasn’t wrong.