Victor's knuckles stilled against his knee.
The hum of the car's engine felt suddenly inadequate, too smooth, too slow for the sharp spike that lanced through him.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice a razor's edge.
"There was an intruder," Adam replied immediately. "He bypassed the motion wards. Likely ether‑trained. Robert and the others are securing him now."
Victor's jaw flexed. His gaze dropped to the phone in his hand, but in his mind, he was already back there, in that dim room, the faint scent of imperial irises still in the air, Elias's pulse fluttering against his lips.
"And Elias?"
"He's unharmed," Adam said. "Shaken. Matteo is still on the line with him, distracting him, he doesn't know. Robert's with him now."
Victor's lids lowered, crimson eyes gleaming faintly in the shadows of the car. The tether in his chest, that strange resonance he never stopped feeling, throbbed hot and insistent. 'Unharmed isn't enough.'