Chapter 50: I’ve always known. 

The manor was too quiet.

Elias sat in the armchair where Victor had left him, one leg folded beneath him, the other planted on the carpet as though bracing himself against something that wasn't there. The embers in the fireplace had dimmed to a soft orange glow, shadows pooling thick in the corners of the room.

His hand rose again before he realized it, fingertips brushing over the tender spot just above his collarbone. The bruise pulsed faintly under his touch, not a claim, not anything so binding, just the undeniable memory of Victor's mouth, of the sharp sting that had ripped him out of that heated haze.

He exhaled slowly, staring at nothing, the faint taste of Victor's kiss still lingering as though it lived in his bloodstream now.

'What am I doing?'

Victor's touch still lingered everywhere, his voice looping back in Elias's mind like a whisper threading through the walls: Help me before I lose my mind.

It would be easier if it had been a lie. Easier if Victor was just another manipulator. But the look in his eyes when the light had caught those strange, pulsing lines on his skin… Elias had seen something raw there. Something that terrified him in its honesty.

His own instincts coiled low in his gut, that familiar sharp edge of panic and want tangling together. He'd spent years building walls, every connection carefully measured, every choice made to keep himself from harm. Matteo had tried for years to get close, and Elias had ignored him with surgical precision. And yet Victor… Victor had stepped into his life and undone everything in days.

Elias rubbed both hands over his face, feeling the heat creep up his neck again.

He'd kissed him back. He'd wanted to. He wanted even more than a kiss.

He dropped his hands into his lap, staring down at the faint marks on his own skin from Victor's grip.

"Fine," he muttered into the empty room, his voice rasping as if it might catch on the air itself. "Yes. You did something for me. No one else has."

The admission sat heavy but not as unpleasant as . He leaned back into the chair, closing his eyes, letting himself feel it for the first time without flinching.

Victor had saved him. He hadn't asked, hadn't bargained, and hadn't demanded. He'd simply done it. And Elias… Elias wasn't used to that kind of danger wrapped in that kind of care.

He pressed his fingertips to the faint bruise once more, a breath escaping him, quieter this time.

"Maybe," Elias said softly, almost to the flickering embers, "maybe I could give you a chance."

The words felt strange in the air, fragile and heavy all at once. He let his head sink against the backrest of the armchair, eyes slipping shut as a long breath escaped him, the quiet of the manor folding around him like a blanket he didn't quite trust.

Then his phone buzzed, a low vibration breaking the stillness.

Elias's eyes opened, unfocused at first. He turned his head toward the desk where he'd tossed it earlier.

'Did Victor finish his work?'

The thought rose unbidden, and he found himself standing before he even realized it, bare feet soundless against the carpet. He crossed the room, fingers brushing the cool wood of the desk as he picked up the phone, a flicker of anticipation curling through his chest.

But the name on the screen wasn't Victor.

It was Matteo.

The small bloom of hope inside him wilted before he could stop it, leaving behind a faint ache he hated admitting to. He unlocked the screen anyway, thumbing open the message.

'Are you okay?'

Elias stared at the words, feeling a sharp, unexpected twist of disappointment. He hadn't thought about Matteo in days, except, perhaps, with that distant amusement when he'd set him the impossible task: 'Bring me a rose with your apology'. A lie layered over a dare. He hadn't meant it seriously; it was something he did after Victor had scared him, knowing full well that he would most likely catch it. 

And yet here was Matteo, not with an answer, not with anything bold or certain, just those careful words, the same tone he'd always used.

Elias sank back into the armchair, phone still in hand, the dim light from the screen casting soft blue shadows across his face.

'I'm fine. Don't worry about me', he typed back, thumb hovering before he sent it.

The message icon flicked to blue within seconds.

Then his phone lit up with an incoming call.

Elias stared at the screen for a moment, debating whether there was even a point in answering. In the end, habit, or curiosity, won out. He swiped.

"Elias! You need to get out!" Matteo's voice hit him in a rush, raw and urgent, through the speaker.

Elias arched a brow despite himself. "Good evening to you too, Matteo."

"We don't have time for that," Matteo snapped, his words coming fast, ragged. "We found Ruo… or what was left of her. Victor killed her, Elias! You need to get out; he's on his way to get you!"

Elias sat forward sharply, heart thudding once in his chest. "What are you talking about?"

"Ruo was at the Numen estate," Matteo said, his voice climbing with desperation. "Victor killed her just two hours ago. He found her first."

For a heartbeat, the room seemed to tilt. Elias's mind churned, Ruo's voicemail telling Victor and Elias not to trust Matteo. 

'Was it fabricated?'

'No…' Elias's jaw tightened, thoughts racing. If Victor wanted me dead, he wouldn't have helped me. He wouldn't have begged me to help him…

'Crap.'

"Matteo, calm down," Elias said, voice low and controlled though his heart was thudding painfully. His eyes flicked toward the glass doors leading to the terrace, moonlight spilling in through sheer curtains. "There's no one here with me."

"Good," Matteo replied, his voice sharpening with relief. "I'm coming for you."

Elias's grip on the phone tightened. "What?"

"You're in the west wing of his manor, aren't you?" Matteo's tone was too certain, too steady. "The suite with a terrace on the first floor?"

Elias froze. A cold prickle ran down the back of his neck. His eyes darted to the terrace doors behind him, the faint reflection of the room shimmering in the glass.

'How do you know?'

The thought screamed through his skull. His throat closed around the words he wanted to throw back.

Slowly, he pushed himself up from the armchair, backing away from the terrace, each step careful and quiet, as though the night itself might be listening. The curtains swayed slightly in a draft he couldn't feel, and the shadows beyond the glass felt suddenly alive.

He edged toward the desk on the far wall, fingers brushing the smooth surface until they found the recessed button Adam had shown in case of emergency.

'If you ever feel unsafe, press this,' Adam had told him. 'Don't hesitate. Someone will come.'

Elias's hand hovered over the panic button, his pulse loud in his ears. The phone was still pressed to his ear, Matteo's breathing shallow and ragged on the other end of the line.

"You shouldn't know that," Elias whispered, the words trembling despite his effort to sound calm.

Matteo didn't answer right away. A soft, unsettling chuckle slid through the speaker.

"I've always known, Elias," he said finally, his voice low and far too certain. "I've always known where to find you."