into the hall. I could feel the signals, and if I concentrated, I could read them. That caused my head to ache. But when I stopped actively trying to listen in, the pain subsided. Had I used the ability so much that my body was adapting? Or, more worryingly, was I getting better at ignoring pain?
I returned to the suite and collapsed on the sofa. I would have liked to take a nap, but I needed to update my siblings. I sent a series of messages to our group channel. I laid out what we knew, what had happened, and how Father had reacted. I left out the information about Pierre until I could talk to Hannah directly.
I was staring at the ceiling, trying to decide if I’d forgotten anything when Catarina waltzed in, her nose in her com. “Well, you don’t seem to be under house arrest, so that’s good. I’ve scheduled breakfast with Hannah. She needs support and you need to be there.”
I knew it was true, but I gave the sofa a longing glance before I allowed Catarina to pull me up.
Somehow, I made it through the day. Hannah was furious that she’d missed the signs of betrayal, but between us, Cat and I managed to persuade her that it wasn’t her fault and murdering Pierre wasn’t worth the prison sentence.
Breakfast was followed by lunch, then an afternoon tea, then dinner. Hannah and Cat both declared I needed to see and be seen with the full support of the House to squash any remaining rumors.
By the time I pleaded a headache, it wasn’t even a lie. My head throbbed. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been, but I wasn’t miraculously cured. The improvement gave me hope, at least.
I’d messaged Ian a few times throughout the day, just to check in and ensure Father hadn’t done something terrible, but after spending a week with him constantly around, the change jarred. I missed him.
When I arrived at my suite, I went straight for my bedroom. The bed sang a siren song of wireless protection and horizontal comfort.
It took me a few seconds to realize it was already occupied.
I had a blaster in hand before I recognized Ian. I huffed out a breath and ordered my heart back into my chest. “You could’ve warned me.”
“Sorry, wasn’t thinking,” he murmured sleepily. “Your bed ambushed me.”
I smiled at him. “It does that. Are you going to explain how you got into my suite?”
He propped his head up on his arm. His hair was back to its usual dark blond and he’d shaved. He’d left his suit jacket and tie draped over the chair in the corner. His crisp white shirt was open at the collar. He looked so delicious I almost missed his reply.
“Nope,” he said.
“I’ll figure it out,” I warned.
“I have no doubt. You’re going to force me to become sneakier.”
I kicked off my heels and crawled into bed beside him. I closed the curtain behind me and blissful silence fell. I sighed in relief.
“The curtains block the signals?” Ian asked. He rolled me onto my stomach and massaged the tense muscles in my neck and upper back.
I hummed my agreement, then melted as his fingers worked their magic. I’d only give him a year or twelve to stop.
“I talked to Albrecht,” Ian said, ruining all of the relaxation I’d achieved.
I rolled over to face him. “And?”
“He offered me a million credits to leave today and never contact you again.”
It was a fortune several times over. With a million credits wisely invested, he could easily become a new lower house in the Consortium. I was actually kind of shocked that Father thought I was worth so much. “You declined?”
“I declined,” he agreed.
“What did he do?”
“Yelled and threatened, mostly. Told me I’d never get my hands on any of House von Hasenberg’s money, even if I married you. But it seems like I still have a job, for now. What about you, how did it go?”
“As well as can be expected. I’m not disowned, at least not yet. We’ll see after I read the contract he’s sending over.”
He frowned. “What did you agree to?”
“I’m pretty sure I agreed not to start a civil war in the House.” When he didn’t smile, I told him about the negotiations.
“That seems suspiciously reasonable,” Ian concluded. “He probably thought he could convince me to take the money and run.”
“Yes, and now that you didn’t, I’m assuming the contract will be a real piece of