A few minutes earlier before Zaeryn collided with Valerie.

The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, and Princess Valerie stepped out into the pristine hallway of Stellan Innovations' executive wing.

She was flanked by her entourage, General Rostova and Captain Nyx, a presence that made her feel simultaneously protected and suffocated.

Honestly, she didn't really need their protection. In this world, an attack on a royal was almost unheard of. The Matriarchy's grip was absolute, and even if not everyone was happy with the status quo, no one was foolish enough to act on it.

One might think the disenfranchised male population would be a source of rebellion, but that was hardly the case. Centuries of biological conditioning had rendered them almost entirely passive. An attack from a male was about as likely as an attack from a houseplant.

Sage Stellan and her mother, Cassia, walked beside the princess. Sage's expression was warm and welcoming as she gestured down the corridor. Rostova and Nyx followed a respectful two steps behind, their trained eyes scanning every angle, every shadow.

"—and this corridor leads to the primary research labs," Sage was explaining, her voice bright with professional enthusiasm. "We have fourteen separate divisions, each specializing in—"

But Valerie wasn't listening anymore.

Something had shifted. It wasn't in the hallway; it was inside her. A faint hum, a thrum of energy from deep within her own core. Her Vitae, usually a calm river of power, was stirring, resonating with a signature it somehow recognized.

The sensation was familiar, achingly so, though she couldn't place why. It was like her mind was trying to translate the feeling into something she could understand: the faint melody of a lullaby she couldn't quite name, or the scent of woodsmoke and rain on stone, the smell of a home she'd never lived in.

Her pulse kicked up, not with anxiety but with something stranger: anticipation. The kind that came before reunions, not first meetings. An inexplicable sense of rightness, a pull from her very essence, drew her gaze forward.

Her attention snagged on movement at the far end of the hallway, where a figure emerged from around a corner. He was tall, his dark hair slightly disheveled, wearing the sleek, dark uniform of the Vitae Academy. He carried himself with an easy confidence, a grace that was almost predatory.

Something in Valerie's chest settled. It wasn't just attraction, though that hit her like a physical force. It was recognition. Like spotting a wild hawk in a garden full of domesticated songbirds.

"Who's that?" she asked, cutting Sage off mid-sentence.

Sage followed her gaze, and her expression softened into a knowing, almost proud smile. "Ah. That's Zaeryn."

Seeing him too, Cassia's reaction was immediate and visceral. Her hand tightened on the data-slate she was holding, her frown sharp enough to curdle milk. "Sage, why is he wandering these halls unsupervised?" she said sharply, her tone brittle with disapproval. "Males require oversight, especially in executive areas."

Behind them, General Rostova and Captain Nyx exchanged a glance. Their professional focus had shifted entirely to the approaching male, their bodies falling into that particular stillness of warriors evaluating an unknown variable.

"Does Stellan Innovations create humanoids now?" Rostova asked, her voice deadpan.

"Why do you say that, General?" Captain Nyx asked, her own gaze narrowed in assessment.

"Well, he looks remarkably handsome for a male," Rostova stated flatly. "And the way he walks…"

Sage frowned at the comparison. "He is not…" she started to say, but her mother cut in before she could defend him.

"We do not create humanoids here," Cassia replied with a scoff. "And if we did, we certainly wouldn't create that one."

"Of course we wouldn't, because we simply can't replicate someone like him" Sage shot back, her voice laced with an affection that was lost on her mother. "He's one of a kind."

Zaeryn was lost in his own world, riding the high of his triumph in the lab. He replayed Sasha's stunned face and his own small victories in his mind. He registered the approaching group—all extremely attractive women. Two even looked like they were Warladies, but the data point was filed away under 'unimportant.' He was on top of the world, and in his mind, the world would naturally part for him.

He didn't break stride.

'Wow, look at him.' Valerie's grin spread across her face, the kind that usually preceded trouble. Seeing his distraction, she adjusted her trajectory slightly, deliberately placing herself directly in his path.

Captain Nyx tensed, her hand instinctively moving toward her sidearm before General Rostova gave a barely perceptible shake of her head, a silent 'stand down.'

The collision was exactly as satisfying as Valerie had hoped.

"Oof"

She felt the solid impact of his body against hers, warm and surprisingly sturdy, and immediately reached out to grip his shoulders. It was an excuse to steady him, but really, she wanted to touch him, to see if he was real and how he'd react.

The fabric of his uniform was soft under her palms, but the lean muscles beneath were nice to the touch.

His scent hit her nose a second later, something unique and sharp, like winter air and something darker she couldn't quite identify.

"Whoa...!" His voice was a low rumble, and when his eyes focused on her, she found herself looking into a familiar shade of blue.

Those eyes, she thought. They remind me of someone. He just felt so familiar.

Up close, he was even more striking. Dark hair, sharp features that bordered on severe but were softened by genuine surprise, and those eyes, intelligent, assessing, and utterly unintimidated.

"My apologies," he said, his voice smooth as aged whiskey. "I was lost in thought. You alright?"

She made a show of checking his balance, her hands still on his shoulders, before letting go. "I'll survive," she replied playfully, brushing an imaginary speck of dust from her own shoulder. "Though for a second there, I thought I was about to be tackled by a rogue security drone." She patted her chest dramatically. "You're built pretty solid for a male. Good thing I wasn't holding a drink."

His smile was immediate and genuine. "Good thing for both of us. I get the feeling spilling a drink on you would be a capital offense."

"Oh, absolutely," she agreed, her eyes dancing with mischief. "It would have been a diplomatic incident.' She tilted her head, studying him with open curiosity. "So, what has made you so distracted you're running into strange women in corridors? Plotting to overthrow the establishment?"

He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms, and she couldn't help but notice how naturally he fell into the banter. No deference, no nervous stuttering. Just... conversation.

"Something like that," he said easily. "And you? You don't look like you work here." His gaze traveled over her, appreciative but not leering, curious rather than presumptuous.

Her grin widened. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yes, it is," he admitted without hesitation.

She liked him already.

"I'm Zaeryn, by the way," he offered, and she noted the deliberate omission of a surname.

"Valerie," she replied, matching his casual simplicity even as she felt Sage's shocked silence and Cassia's radiating horror somewhere behind her.

The corridor seemed to shrink down to just the two of them, and for the first time in months, she felt genuinely entertained.

"Ahem."

Sage's fake cough was soft, but it cut through the charged air between them like a blade. Both Zaeryn and Valerie turned, pulled from the bubble they had created.

It was only then, as Sage got his attention, that Zaeryn's focus finally expanded past the woman in front of him.

He was suddenly aware of the other people in the hallway: Cassia, whose radiating annoyance with him was impossible to miss, and the two Warladies standing behind Valerie.

He didn't know them, but he could tell by their sharp, unfamiliar uniforms and the quiet power in their stance that they were elites.

He shot Sage a quick nod, the kind that acknowledged her without making a fuss. "Hey, Sage. I didn't see you there."

Understatement of the year, but it landed light, no awkward scramble to explain himself. He'd learned early on that owning the mess-up without groveling kept things smoother in a world that loved to trip you up on protocol.

Sage stepped forward, "Clearly," she said, her tone teasing but soft. "You look like you just cracked the code on something big. Lab stuff?"

"Something like that," he kept it vague. "Just killing time 'til you came back."

Cassia's voice sliced in before Sage could reply, sharp as a data-knife. "Killing time in restricted corridors isn't allowed, Zaeryn. Who even allowed you here?"

"Sasha," he replied simply.

Sage sighed, annoyed. "Mom, stop it. As my boyfriend, Zaeryn can go anywhere he wants here."

"Oh, he is yours?" Valerie's question was light, but her eyes held a new, calculating curiosity as she looked between them.

Sage nodded, and with a smile that was all sweet poison and playful ownership, she closed the distance. She didn't stop beside him; she moved behind him, her arms sliding around his waist in a hug that was both an embrace and a claim. She pressed her body flush against his back, resting her chin on his shoulder, her lavender scent a familiar and intimate marker of her territory. "Yes, he is mine."

"Oh, and are these the guests you had to leave me for?" Zaeryn asked, the memory of their interrupted session in the lab still fresh.

Sage laughed, a soft sound against his ear.

"Yes, unfortunately." She kissed his cheek from the side and sensually whispered, "But don't worry, I'll make it up to you."

Cassia always got annoyed seeing them like that. She had raised Sage to be perfectly composed, yet because of Zaeryn, her daughter was now someone she couldn't control at all. The sight of them cozying up to each other was intolerable.

"Sage," Cassia commanded, her voice dangerously quiet. "The Princess is waiting for her tour. Unhand the... boy... and let us proceed."

Sage rolled her eyes at her mother's tone but agreed anyway, her professionalism kicking in. "Sure, let's go." However, in a small act of defiance, she didn't unhand him. Instead, she took Zaeryn's hand, lacing her fingers through his and pointedly keeping him at her side.

They continued walking, with Sage leading the way, transforming from a possessive girlfriend back into a brilliant and engaging host.

She guided the princess and her entourage through the pristine, gleaming facilities of Stellan Innovations.

They moved through labs where bio-luminescent flora pulsed in containment fields and into sterile chambers where robotic arms assembled quantum processors with microscopic precision.

Almost an hour passed. Throughout the tour, Valerie seemed less interested in the groundbreaking technology and more interested in the handsome anomaly walking beside her. He moved with an easy confidence she found captivating, listening to Sage's explanations with an intelligent focus that belied his casual posture. 'Too bad he's Sage's boyfriend,' she thought with a pang of something that felt suspiciously like disappointment.

Throughout the entire time, she consistently directed her questions not to Sage, but to Zaeryn, her tone light and playful.

"So, Zaeryn," she asked as they observed a massive, humming Vitae conductor, "I noticed you're wearing a uniform. Does that mean you are a student?"

"Yes, I am," Zaeryn replied. "In fact, I just came from school before I came here," he revealed.

Cassia, who had been listening with mounting irritation, finally had a good look at him, and her eyes narrowed. "Isn't that the uniform from the Aureth Vitae Academy? What are you doing wearing it?" Her voice was sharp, laced with accusation, as if she'd caught him in a stolen garment.

"Well, that's because I go there," he revealed simply.

Cassia let out a short, incredulous scoff. A male? In the Lyceum? The idea was so preposterous it was insulting. "On what grounds?" she demanded.

Before he could answer, Sage stepped in, a proud smile on her face as she possessively kissed his arm. "It's true. Zaeryn got accepted into the Aureth Vitae Academy." She deliberately chose her next words with care. "For a male, he possesses a genius mind, and that is why." She wasn't about to reveal that he was a Vitae wielder. That was a secret that would surely become public soon, but for now, she refused to give the already-too-interested princess another reason to be fascinated with her boyfriend.

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