A Reward

"Sis, you should know why I'm here," Jason said with a calm smile, his tone light and teasing as if they were standing in the warmth of a peaceful garden rather than in the middle of a tension-choked situation. "Mom didn't want you stirring up more trouble, so she sent me all the way down to the mortal worlds just to keep an eye on you. And guess what? She was right."

He shook his head, half amused, half exasperated. "You just can't stay away from trouble—whether it's in the Divine Realm or down here."

Lucia's face darkened, her expression tightening as Jason's words pierced deeper than they seemed to. But when he mentioned it was their mother who had sent him, a flicker of genuine annoyance flashed across her eyes.

Her jaw clenched, and her eyes swept once more toward Max—no longer with pressure or threat, but with unreadable coldness. "You're lucky," she said at last, her voice low, emotionless.