Chapter 269: The Quiet Vow V
Seraphiel’s mouth curved faintly. "That sounds like Stephen."
Sekhmet’s expression did not change, but his eyes did.
"Yes."
Sekhmet looked directly at him then. "And were you sent only with a letter?"
Young Master.
Sekhmet noticed.
Elena folded the letter and laid it on the table beside her. "Stephen requests that we receive the envoy properly and respond by tonight if possible."
"Yes."
Mihos had arrived in the city. Not a rumor. Not pressure through proxies.
And now a letter had come through Stephen, the head butler of the main Dawn House. Not some loose outer servant. Not a wandering noble messenger. Stephen. Which meant the contact carried real internal legitimacy even if the reasons behind it were still half hidden.
Did Mihos know everything already? "Unlikely."
Was this about business only?
Nothing from that house was ever only one thing.
"No," Sekhmet said.
Seraphiel almost laughed. It was not a large sound, but it was enough to put Kess through a fresh layer of discomfort.
Kess did not dare acknowledge her directly.
Sekhmet watched him another second before asking, "Did Mihos send you personally?"
"Why you."
Then, "Because I can observe without provoking where others might fail."
Elena looked to Sekhmet. "He is useful."
Sekhmet believed that too. Which made the man more dangerous, not less.
Then Sekhmet would measure back.
"What exactly does the heir want to discuss."
Sekhmet almost smiled at that last phrase.
"Yes."
Kess did not react.
Lily’s eyes moved to Sekhmet then.
He could not afford to in front of Kess. Not like this. Not with too many fresh truths still unhidden under the same roof. But he knew she was watching him. He could feel the tension in her silence.
Sekhmet knew enough now to recognize it for what it was.
A god making everyone else in the room remember, very gently, how small their pace could be compared to hers.
Elena unfolded the letter once more and scanned a line. "No."
"Yes."
Sekhmet turned that over.
Expected from an ancient house.
The question was how sharp he intended to be and how much of that sharpness he had already concealed inside courtesy.
"Elena’s answer came quickly enough to show she had already been thinking ahead. "I think Stephen sent the letter before Mihos could choose a cruder path."
Sekhmet frowned faintly. "You think Stephen is trying to soften the arrival."
He considered that.
Possibly both.
"That was kind of him," Seraphiel said.
Seraphiel gave her a luminous expression of complete innocence. It was a lie, naturally.
"When and where does Mihos want to meet?"
Tomorrow.