Chapter 86. A Father’s Worry

Lotus’s POV

The palace finally goes still. After hours of laughter, shouting, and a flurry of overprotective chaos, the brothers scatter. Levi is off to organize new security patrols, Louis is cornered by the medics for follow-up scans, and Lennox vanishes with the promise to “check on something.”

I almost believe I’ll have a moment to myself. Almost.

A soft knock breaks the quiet.

“Come in,” I say, already knowing who it is.

Lennox steps inside, closing the door behind him. He doesn’t speak at first, just stands there in the half-light, shoulders heavy with thoughts he hasn’t found words for yet.

He’s still in uniform, coat unbuttoned, the faint smell of snow and engine oil clinging to him. His dark hair’s damp from the melting frost, and his eyes, gods, those eyes, hold the storm and the calm all at once.

“You should be sleeping,” I murmur.

“So should you.”

He crosses the room slowly, his gaze searching mine like he’s tr