Chapter 65 The Hunt Begins
Lucian’s private study looked different in the aftermath of the security breach. Mirrors that had once seemed like tools of knowledge now felt like potential windows for enemy surveillance. He’d spent hours methodically checking each reflective surface, running diagnostic spells that made the glass shimmer with ethereal light before confirming whether it had been compromised. Most came back clean, but the few that didn’t had been shattered immediately.
Lilith sat near his desk watching him work, fascinated by the precision of his movements. Every gesture was deliberate, every incantation spoken with perfect clarity, and she found herself wondering how someone had managed to breach security this thorough in the first place.
“You’re thinking too loudly,” Lucian said without looking away from the mirror he was examining. “I can practically hear the questions.”
“How did they do it?” Lilith asked. “You’re Envy, you see everything, you’ve spent centuries building these security protocols. How did someone slip past without you noticing?”
The mirror flashed green, clean, and he moved to the next one. “Because they had help, either from someone with intimate knowledge of my systems or from Armageddon himself. The breach points were too precise, too specifically targeted to be random.”
“Which means the spy has been planning this for a long time.” Lilith watched him work. “Do you have any suspects?”
Lucian paused, his mirror eyes reflecting her concerned expression. “I have forty-three people who have the technical access and knowledge required. That includes advisors from all seven kingdoms, several high-ranking guards, three members of my personal staff, and two from Father’s inner circle.”
“Forty-three people,” Lilith repeated. “That’s manageable, but not exactly a short list.”
“It gets worse. I’ve eliminated eleven based on alibis, they were provably elsewhere when specific breaches occurred. That leaves thirty-two potential suspects.” He pulled out a leather-bound journal filled with notes. “Most of them have legitimate reasons for accessing my systems regularly, which makes identifying unusual behavior more difficult.”
He turned the journal so Lilith could see the list. Her eyes caught on one entry near the middle, and her stomach dropped.
“Malachi. He’s on the list?”
“He has master-level access to almost every system in the Vestibulum, including mine,” Lucian confirmed carefully. “He’s been Father’s most trusted servant for over three centuries. If someone wanted comprehensive surveillance without raising suspicion, having Malachi’s cooperation or access codes would make it significantly easier.”
Lilith wanted to argue that the man who had brought her here couldn’t possibly be a traitor, but she’d learned enough about deception to know that trust and truth were rarely the same thing. “Have you questioned him?”
“No, because if he is the spy and I alert him, he’ll either destroy evidence or flee before we can stop him,” Lucian said. “Right now, everyone on this list thinks they’re above suspicion, which means they’re still acting normally and potentially making mistakes.”
The logic made sense even though Lilith’s instincts screamed for immediate action. “So what’s the plan? Just watch everyone and hope someone reveals themselves?”
“Watch them, track their movements, monitor communications for inconsistencies,” Lucian confirmed. “I’ve set up secondary surveillance on the top fifteen suspects. If any of them do anything unusual, contact anyone unexpected, or access systems they don’t normally use, I’ll know within minutes.”
“What do you need from me?”
Lucian considered her question. “You can help me observe. You’ve spent time in multiple kingdoms and interacted with advisors and staff in different contexts. If I bring you into interviews with suspects, you might notice things I miss.”
“You want me to help interrogate people?”
“You’ve been learning to read people through training with Asmodeus, learning to see patterns through our sessions. Those are exactly the skills we need.” He moved to his desk and pulled out a sealed folder. “These are movement patterns for personnel under review from the past week.”
Lilith moved closer to see the documents, detailed logs of activities for several names from his suspect list. “How are you gathering this much information without anyone noticing?”
“Because I’m Envy and surveillance is what I was built to do,” Lucian said with dark humor. “Every mirror in this palace is potentially my eyes. The spy turned my tools against me, but now I’m using them to hunt them down.”
He pointed to a specific entry marked in red ink. “Look at this. Three days ago, one of my senior advisors accessed the mirror network at two in the morning. He accessed a specific set of coordinates with no legitimate reason.”
“Which coordinates?”
“The mirrors in your chambers,” Lucian said quietly. “The ones I specifically restricted after we discovered the breach. He accessed them for fifteen minutes, listed it as routine maintenance despite that not being his responsibility.”
The violation sent cold anger through Lilith’s veins. “Is he the spy?”
“Possibly, or a collaborator, or this could be a test,” Lucian said, making notes. “I need to investigate further, but he’s moved significantly higher on my priority list.”
“What’s his name?”
“Councillor Theron. He’s been with my household for two centuries, handled sensitive intelligence throughout multiple conflicts, and never given me reason to doubt his loyalty until now.”
Two centuries of service potentially masking treachery. Lilith found herself wondering how many other people were wearing similar masks.
“I want to be there when you question him,” she said. “If he’s the spy or knows who is, I want to see his face when he realizes we know.”
Lucian studied her before nodding. “Alright, but understand something. If he’s involved and realizes we’re onto him, he might do something desperate. People who’ve been lying successfully for extended periods often react unpredictably when cornered.”
“I understand the risks. When do we move?”
“Tomorrow morning. I’ll summon him for a routine briefing, nothing that would raise alarms. If he’s innocent, we eliminate him from the list. If he’s guilty…” He trailed off, the implication clear.
Lilith felt the weight of that possibility. Tomorrow might bring answers or raise more questions.
“Get some rest,” Lucian said. “Tomorrow is going to be difficult regardless of what we discover.”
Lilith nodded and moved toward the door, pausing to look back. “Thank you for trusting me enough to include me in this.”
“You deserve to be part of finding whoever violated your privacy,” Lucian said. “Besides, you’re stronger than most people give you credit for. Tomorrow you’ll get a chance to prove that.”
Lilith left his study and returned to her chambers, mind still racing. Tomorrow they would question a potential traitor, tomorrow they might finally get answers, and tomorrow everything could change.
She fell asleep wondering if she would recognize guilt when she saw it, wondering if she was ready for whatever truth tomorrow would bring.