Duke Thaddeus remained still. His sharp gaze bore into the young man before him, not in a glare, but in assessment. The cavern walls flickered with the eerie glow of the bioluminescent rock, casting shifting shadows along the stone and water—but none of that mattered now.
Because this Luca was standing right in front of him.
Alive.
And that—
That was the most impossible thing of all.
Thaddeus' expression remained unreadable, his voice slow, deliberate.
"Yes," he said at last. "I have heard of you."
Luca's smirk widened slightly, his posture still relaxed, casual—but there was something unspoken lurking beneath that amusement.
The Duke continued.
"Eryndor vouched for you."
Luca blinked, his smirk tilting slightly, as if caught between curiosity and genuine surprise.
"Did he now?"
