Chapter 27 What Cannot be Hidden
Lyanna
The door slammed open—hard enough that the lamp above the table swayed, chains rattling, light stuttering across the stone floor.
I flinched before I could stop myself.
Every body froze.
Lady Vespera turned first, irritation sharpening her features—then her eyes narrowed, calculation sliding neatly into place. Othran straightened near the table, predator’s interest flaring bright and ugly as he tracked the interruption.
I followed their gaze.
Elias Veras filled the doorway.
Broad shoulders. Dark coat fastened tight. Hair pulled back. He didn’t look at Vespera. Didn’t acknowledge Othran.
His eyes went straight to me.
The world collapsed to that single point.
My breath stuttered. My wrists still burned where the ropes had bitten earlier, phantom pain pulsing even though my hands were free now—useless, trembling faintly in my lap. My cheek throbbed, heat blooming beneath the skin where Othran had struck. My hair hung loose, veil gone, silver exposed. Fear written plainly across my body no matter how still I tried to hold myself.
I must have looked ruined.
Elias’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t rush. He calculated. Not just the threat in the room, but the consequences radiating outward—the Triune’s eyes, the political cost, the fragile life inside me.
He stepped forward.
Another.
One more.
Solid. Unyielding.
“Step away from her,” he said, voice low, sharp.
Othran laughed—then faltered. Blinked. “You—what? Are you serious?”
“Now,” Elias repeated.
Lady Vespera inclined her head, lips curling. “You are here, Lord Veras, trying to interfere in a matter of Triune interest?”
He didn’t answer her right away. Instead, his gaze swept the room—guards’ stances, exits, the distance between him and me. I could almost feel the measurements ticking behind his eyes—bloodshed, leverage, survival.
“You went to my house,” he said finally.
Vespera’s smile sharpened. “Drakovia does not bend at your threshold.”
Elias’s gaze returned to me. Not my face.
My hands.
The way my fingers shook despite my effort to still them.
Something tightened in my chest.
He moved. Three unhurried steps to my side. Close enough that his presence cut the air, his back turning deliberately into a barrier.
“You’ve overstepped,” he said again, voice steady.
Othran scoffed. “She’s nothing. A silent omega. Useless.”
Elias tilted his head slightly.
That single motion froze Othran mid-step. His grin died. He swallowed.
“She is to be released immediately,” Elias said, slow and controlled. “I will take her now.”
My heart slammed so hard it hurt.
Vespera’s eyes flicked—guards, Othran, the doorway—then back to Elias. Her smile thinned, irritation seeping through.
“My lord,” she said softly, “she is a servant of Drakovia. You have no personal claim over her.”
The silence stretched, heavy and sharp.
My pulse roared in my ears. Every second felt like a blade suspended over my throat. I felt a mix of shame and rage at how they were talking over me.
Elias didn’t answer.
He stepped closer to me instead.
Close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off him. Close enough that my breath hitched despite myself. I hated that my body reacted—relief, hope, terror all tangled together.
Vespera watched closely.
“You were given a choice once,” she continued, almost conversational. “An omega of your own household. You declined.”
Her gaze slid over me, slow and knowing. “So tell me—why the change of heart? Why this one?”
Elias’s eyes flicked to hers. Calculated. Contained. Every muscle tight with restraint. I could feel it in the space between us, the way he didn’t move, didn’t shield me further—yet.
He still didn’t answer.
For a terrible moment, I thought he wouldn’t.
Then he looked down.
Our eyes met—brief, electric. A warning there. Resolve. Something that felt dangerously like apology.
My pulse stumbled.
He looked away first.
Vespera smiled. “Ah. Now it makes sense.”
Her gaze sharpened. “You know she’s Aelorian, don’t you?”
My stomach dropped out from under me.
“She is,” Elias said evenly.
The words landed like iron—acknowledgment, ownership, protection. Not surrender. A line drawn.
Othran’s interest flared. “You knew?”
“I suspected,” Elias said, not looking at him.
Vespera laughed softly, delighted. “The missing noble omega. How fortunate.”
No. No, no—
“That makes her far too valuable to remain hidden in a servant’s quarters,” she continued. “She will be taken to the palace.”
The word hollowed me out.
My breath locked.
Elias went rigid. “No.”
Vespera arched a brow. “You forget yourself. She is to be given to the prince.”
“She is Aelorian property,” Elias replied evenly. “Not Triune stock. Touching her invites consequence.”
“Or opportunity,” Othran cut in.
His gaze dragged over me—slow, invasive. My skin crawled.
“She is pregnant,” Elias said suddenly.
The room tilted.
The words hit me so hard I thought I might faint.
Vespera’s eyes dropped to my stomach. Then lifted again, softening. “Oh. A child, then. Even better.”
This wasn’t mercy. I knew it with terrifying clarity.
This was leverage. But to who?
“You will not touch her,” Elias said, voice low.
Vespera met his gaze calmly. “And what gives you that right?”
“The Aelorian kingdom has asked for her,” he said. “You will start a war you are not prepared to finish.”
Silence pressed in from all sides.
Vespera studied him for a long moment, weighing risk against reward. I barely breathed.
Finally, she smiled thinly. “Very well. Temporary custody.”
Relief crashed through me so hard my vision blurred.
“For now,” she added. “Do not mistake this for mercy, Lord Veras. She will not remain under your protection indefinitely.”
“That will be my problem,” Elias replied.
Vespera nodded, a sly smile on her face as she turned towards the door. Othran glared, clearly displeased with the outcome before following her out.
The door closed behind us.
The room seemed to exhale.
Elias turned to me. Close now. I saw the fury barely contained beneath his control, the cost of it etched along his jaw. His hands clenched at his sides, then relaxed.
He crouched.
Carefully.
His hands hovered near my wrists—asking without words.
I nodded.
He helped me stand.
The world tilted violently. My knees buckled.
Elias caught me instantly, one arm solid around my back. My forehead pressed briefly into his chest. Warm. Steady. I clung without meaning to—just for a heartbeat longer than necessary.
Then he pulled back, eyes scanning my face.
“Stay with me,” he said quietly. “We’re going.”
I nodded—because trusting him felt safer than thinking about what this would cost.