The Reborn Sovereign of Ruin, Bound by His Star

Arik returned to work after leaving Liam with the pleasant tasks of surviving flowers, drawing the old Canmore foundation levels from memory and stolen drawings, and pretending he was not going to spend the rest of the day thinking about Gabriel’s meeting.

It should have been enough to improve Arik’s mood.

It did not.

The secure meeting room was already occupied when he arrived. Rex sat on the other side of the table, looking like Wrohan had personally chewed on him for two weeks and then returned him with paperwork. Noah was beside Arik’s chair, sleeves rolled up, three folders open in front of him, and the expression of a man who had not slept enough to be polite about other people’s incompetence. Mezos stood near the wall with a cup of tea, pleasant and composed in a way that made Arik wonder how many contingency plans had already been placed under the table.

Probably four.

Possibly seven.

Rex lifted his head when Arik entered. "You look better."

"I saw Liam."

"Ah," Rex said. "Emotional battery."

Noah did not look up from the financial summaries. "Dangerous phrase to say near him."

Mezos sipped his tea. "Accurate, though."

Arik took his seat and looked at all three of them with the calm dignity of a crown prince. "You are very comfortable for men currently depending on my goodwill."

Rex leaned back. "Arik, we have seen you after three days without sleep, covered in blood, arguing with Gabriel through a communication mirror because you did not want to take medicine. Your dignity is a collaborative illusion."

Noah finally glanced up. "A fragile one."

"Frequently maintained by others," Mezos added.

Arik opened the folder in front of him. "You are all terrible friends."

The familiar ease lasted for perhaps three seconds before Rex dragged a hand down his face and ruined it by looking every inch the exhausted crown prince of a kingdom rotting beneath his feet.

"I’m sorry, Arik," he said. "George has become a greater pain in the ass than usual."

Noah’s pen paused.

Mezos lowered his cup.

Arik read the marked treaty clauses and felt his expression cool despite himself. "That is a high bar."

"It is a historic achievement," Rex said. "I think he woke up and asked himself how to make governing feel like swallowing glass."

"He marked the Laboratory V section again," Noah said, turning one of the treaty drafts around with two fingers. "He wants a detailed inventory of what is inside."

Rex sighed and reached for his cup of black coffee. He had the expression of a man who had discovered that caffeine could no longer fix royal inheritance. "He wants to know what Felix is hiding there. They have been arguing over Lab V for the past two days."

Arik’s fingers stilled against the folder.

"Did they find out about the Vanguard?"

"No," Rex said immediately. "If they had, I would have entered this room screaming."

"Good to know your emergency protocol is clear," Noah murmured.

Rex gave him a tired look. "At this point, screaming is a policy position."

Mezos, who had been silent near the wall, smiled faintly. "A popular one, I imagine."

"No," Rex continued, looking back at Arik. "This is just another petty game between George and Felix. They are both at gunpoint now that Agaron is willing to sign in favor of the crown and not the Grand Prince. George knows Felix is losing ground, so he is using every clause he can touch to push back."

Arik leaned back slowly.

"So this is revenge."

"Yes," Rex said. "Delayed, cowardly, bureaucratic revenge, which is George’s preferred form of violence."

Noah’s mouth twitched. "At least he knows his strengths."

Rex pointed at him with his coffee cup. "Do not make me laugh. I am too tired."

Arik looked down at the marked section again. Laboratory V had been circled twice in George’s hand, with a note demanding royal access for verification of safety compliance, asset inventory, and technological sovereignty.

Technological sovereignty.

Arik almost admired the stupidity of writing those words near Liam’s work.

"George spent years allowing Felix to tighten his hand around the kingdom," Rex said. "Now that Agaron has made it clear that Felix is not the future we are signing with, George suddenly remembers that he is king. Unfortunately, instead of using that realization productively, he is trying to irritate Felix into making a mistake."

"That may still be productive," Mezos said.

Rex looked at him. "You say terrifying things very calmly."

"It is a skill."

"It is a disease."

"A useful one," Arik said.

Rex took a long drink of coffee and looked deeply offended by the fact that it had not restored his will to live. "George wants Felix angry. Felix wants George scared. Ray wants both of them distracted so he can pretend his legal objections are not pathetic. Meanwhile, I am apparently supposed to inherit the smoking remains and smile while doing it."

"You are doing well," Noah said.

Rex blinked at him.

Noah continued reviewing the paper. "Considering the smoking remains."

"That was almost comforting."

"I try not to overdo it."

Arik’s gaze remained on the Lab V section. "George cannot get an inventory."

"No," Rex said. "I know."

"He cannot get a guided tour, a compliance inspection, a symbolic visit, a ceremonial blessing, or whatever else Wrohan calls interference when dressed in official language."

Rex’s mouth twitched despite himself. "A royal technical review."

"If anyone uses that phrase near Liam, he may commit treason before lunch."

Mezos stepped closer to the table. "George’s request can be redirected. We concede a safety audit of peripheral facilities, not Lab V itself. Offer him a controlled report on inactive research annexes and a joint committee on future energy transparency."

Rex grimaced. "A committee."

Noah nodded. "Committees are where demands go to be politely buried."

"That is the first comforting thing anyone has said today."

Arik tapped the marked clause once. "Will this keep them busy?"

Rex’s expression thinned. "In theory, George will interpret the refusal as proof that Felix is hiding something from him. Felix will interpret George’s pressure as proof that the king is not a worthy pawn anymore."

"And Ray?" Noah asked.

Rex’s mouth twisted. "Ray will smell opportunity and take it the moment it arises."

Arik hummed, tapping his black-and-gold pen against the thick paper of the treaty. The sound was soft, measured, almost lazy.

"Then use it," he said. "Let George push. Let Felix think George is getting too close to something worth killing for."

Rex watched him carefully. "You want to turn Laboratory V into motive."

"I want Felix to believe he has no choice but to move forward with his plan to assassinate George." Arik’s gaze lifted, calm and cold. "It would be even better if Ray does it."

Mezos smiled faintly. "Ambition wearing Felix’s fingerprints."

Noah leaned back. "Convenient."

Rex stared at them, then sighed into his coffee.

"Friendship with all of you should come with legal warnings."