Selene entered without ceremony and stopped a few feet from the desk.
Lucian did not pretend surprise. He had already sensed her before the door opened, and by the time she spoke, his attention was fully on her.
"You've caused enough noise for three cities," she said.
"That suggests you came to complain."
"It suggests I came because you've stopped being careful."
Lucian leaned back slightly. "Those are not the same thing."
"No," she said. "They are not."
For a moment neither of them moved. The room held the kind of tension that did not need raised voices to make itself known.
She was the one who broke it.
"You were never meant to make yourself this visible."
Lucian's expression did not change. "Visibility became necessary."
"That is not what I'm talking about."
He regarded her quietly.
She continued, "You know exactly what I mean."
Lucian did not answer that at once, which only confirmed that she was closer to the truth than he wanted to acknowledge.
