LUCIUS POV.
I pressed my palm against the ache on my cheek until the pain disappeared. Father's hand had been heavy…but it was his words afterward that set the match to my temper. I could feel his anger and mine rising again, slow and sure.
"Did you come back from overseas just to cause more trouble?" he asked, keeping his voice low but hard. "Why do you like bringing up trouble on purpose?"
He looked at me like I'd lost the sense of the room. For a moment his old, tired compassion softened his features and I almost believed I'd been mistaken. Then he sighed.
"Marissa came to the garden while I was showing them around," he said, voice careful, as if choosing stones to build a bridge.
