The estate walls loomed higher the closer he got. Worn stones covered in creeping moss, half-hearted patrols pacing along the top. It wasn't guarded like a military post—it was guarded like a man trying to look careful without drawing real attention.
Lucius crouched in the underbrush, Kael beside him, utterly still. The dragon was invisible again, of course. Only a faint pressure beside him let Lucius know he hadn't wandered off.
The beastkin child stirred lightly inside his satchel. A sleepy sound. He adjusted the strap, whispering something quiet.
"Almost done."
He didn't say it for her. He said it for himself.
The place reeked of secrets.
But Lucius hadn't come to fight. Just to confirm.
From the shadows, they moved. Kael led the way, a whisper of wind with claws. Lucius followed—no magic, no presence, just deliberate steps and a cautious heart.
The back of the estate had a cellar door half-hidden beneath a rotted trellis. Locked, but not watched. Kael shifted it open with practiced claws. Inside was darkness—and the kind Lucius knew well.
Storage crates. Old blood. Shackles on walls.
Empty.
It had been cleaned recently.
Too recently.
Lucius exhaled, breath slow and controlled.
"They moved it."
"Not surprised," Kael muttered, his voice brushing against the stale air like silk dragged over glass. "Smells like fire. They torched the evidence."
Lucius nodded once.
He found no prisoners. No beastkin. Just traces. Scratches on the stone where cages had been. Burned scraps of contracts, half-crumpled by someone in a rush.
They'd been warned.
Lucius didn't need more.
This place had value. Not in what it held, but what it hinted at.
A noble family moving rare species. A hidden branch estate. No witnesses, no records.
Yet.
He stood slowly and turned toward Kael, who had let himself be partially visible again—just the outline of his scales shimmering like oil in moonlight.
"I'm done here."
Kael raised a brow. "No fire? No righteous fury?"
Lucius smiled faintly. "What would that accomplish?"
"Send a message."
"I'm not ready to be loud," Lucius said simply. "Not yet."
Kael chuckled. "You're either smart or a coward."
"Both," Lucius said without pause. "That's why I'm alive."
They left without another word, slipping through the trees as easily as they came. No one followed.
No one even knew they'd been there.
By morning, the estate behind them was a forgotten blot on the horizon.
The beastkin girl slept curled inside his cloak, tail twitching slightly in dreams. He didn't know if she understood what he'd done. He didn't need her to.
Kael walked beside him, visible again, thoughtful.
Lucius finally broke the silence. "I'm heading home."
The dragon turned his head. "Now?"
"There's a herb my father needs," Lucius said simply. "And I've been gone too long."
"…You're the strangest noble I've ever met."
Lucius didn't argue.
He just adjusted the sleeping child on his back and kept walking.