Lucien Kael didn't come to her with a pitch.
He came with proof of devotion.
The neural chip now lay in Aeris's hand—no larger than a fingernail, but humming with enough power to rewrite memories, intercept thought patterns, and permanently alter behavioral responses. Military-grade tech that even the most advanced shadow agencies hadn't perfected.
And here he was, offering it like a wrapped flower.
"Where did you get it?" Aeris asked.
Lucien shrugged casually, like handing her the future wasn't treason.
"Stole it. Killed four people. Bribed twelve. Traced it back to a blacksite in Istanbul and burned the place to the ground."
"And you're giving it to me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Lucien stepped closer, and this time, she didn't stop him. His voice lowered—not seductively, not softly, but reverently. Like he was speaking to a goddess he'd worshipped for years.
"Because I saw you in fire. And I never stopped seeing you."
Aeris didn't move. Didn't breathe. Her pulse remained a perfect 60 bpm.
But the silence cracked—internally.
No one ever mentioned the lab. Not even her enemies.
Lucien Kael had just broken the one unspoken rule.
And she hadn't killed him for it.
Yet.
---
Later that night.
ValeCorp's private system scanned the neural chip. Her AI, Zero, processed the results with clinical precision.
"Technology authentic. Impossible to trace. User interface seamless. Subject Kael remains statistically unstable."
"Meaning?" Aeris asked.
"He's telling the truth. But his motivations are… erratic."
Aeris stared at the glowing chip. Then at the black glass of her office, where Lucien now stood on the balcony, watching the city like it owed him something.
"Monitor him. No interference unless ordered."
"Understood."
She approached the balcony.
Lucien didn't turn.
"You're not used to people giving you things," he said.
"People don't give without expecting something in return."
"What do you think I want?"
"Power. Leverage. Access."
He turned to face her. Close enough now that she could see the faint scar running across his neck—an old, jagged thing from a collar once meant to kill.
"No," he said. "I already have those. What I want… is to be near the only person who understands what I became."
"You're romanticizing me."
"I'm remembering you."
Aeris frowned.
"You remember me as a child strapped to a table."
"No," Lucien said. "I remember you not screaming."
---
That night, Aeris watched him on the surveillance feed.
He didn't sleep in the suite she provided.
He stood at the edge of the window until dawn, unmoving.
Waiting.
---
Elsewhere in the world, chaos whispered.
Three tech CEOs vanished within 48 hours—each tied to a coalition planning to seize ValeCorp patents. Their bodies never found. Their companies folded. Their secrets erased.
Aeris didn't order it.
But she didn't have to ask who did.
---
One week later.
Lucien entered her office without speaking. He placed a steel case on the desk.
Inside: a severed hand wearing a World Intelligence Alliance ring.
"He sold your data to a third party. Now he won't do it again."
Aeris stared at the hand.
Then at Lucien.
"You're making a habit of killing for me."
"Only when you need it."
"And if I tell you to stop?"
"I won't."
---
She could have him killed.
But she didn't want him dead.
She wanted to see how far he'd go.
Aeris Vale ruled the world. She didn't need allies. She didn't want lovers. She didn't trust anyone.
But Lucien Kael wasn't asking for trust.
He was offering himself.
As a gift.
As a weapon.
As an offering.
And somewhere in her frozen, scorched chest…
She wanted to keep him.