’I wonder if he understood what I was trying to say.’ Kaelis thought as he rode his horse, the steady rhythm of hooves against the ground filling the silence around him.

The night air was colder out here, sharper, brushing against his face as Pyraeon Spirehold loomed in the distance, faint but familiar.

He kept his gaze forward, but his mind stayed behind.

Back with Ezra.

Ezra was smart.

He always had been.

Well...

Ezra was smart when he wanted to be smart.

Kaelis exhaled slowly, his grip on the reins loosening just slightly as the thought settled.

There were moments where Ezra could read through anything, connect things faster than most people could even process.

And then there were times he acted like he didn’t see anything at all.

Like he chose not to.

Whether that was intentional or not...

That was the part Kaelis couldn’t figure out.

"The sooner he realizes, the easier it will be for him to accept," Kaelis mumbles under his breath, the words carried away by the wind before they could linger too long.

Because Ezra would realize.

Eventually.

Kaelis knew that much.

He had already given him enough to start connecting things on his own.

And once Ezra started thinking, really thinking, it wouldn’t take long.

Kaelis shifts slightly in his saddle, his posture straightening as his thoughts moved back to what actually mattered.

The suspects.

Kaelis had two main suspects.

Helios and Aurien.

The names alone sat heavy in his mind, heavier than anything else in this investigation.

Because they were his brothers.

Though his father also suspected Aamon for his own personal reasons, Kaelis never fully aligned with that.

He didn’t dismiss it, but it didn’t feel like the center of it.

No.

Helios and Aurien stood out more.

And it wasn’t without reason.

Motive alone—

Both Helios and Aurien had the biggest motives, mostly stemming from their own issues with their mothers and the throne.

Aurien.

Kaelis’ gaze flickers slightly, his thoughts sharpening as that name settled first.

Aurien was kind.

That’s what everyone said.

Kind. Gentle. Harmless.

And a coward.

That was the word most people used.

Kaelis almost scoffed at that.

He had seen it too many times to believe it.

The way Aurien lowered his head, the way he let others speak over him, the way he allowed his own knights to push him around even when it crossed the line.

It didn’t feel real.

It felt...performative.

The extreme kindness.

The silence.

The submission.

All of it felt too clean, too consistent, like something carefully maintained rather than something natural.

’You’re not that weak,’ Kaelis thought, his jaw tightening slightly.

Because he had seen the difference.

The Aurien others saw was not the Aurien Kaelis knew.

The Aurien Kaelis knew could fight back.

The Aurien Kaelis knew would speak up without hesitation if the queen so much as insulted his mother.

There was steel there.

And that made him dangerous in a way people didn’t recognize.

One could say he really was just a coward.

But Kaelis never believed that.

And because of that—

He couldn’t ignore him.

’Always suspect those who seem a little too perfect,’ Kaelis thought, the idea settling in with a quiet certainty.

Which led him to the next name.

Helios.

The great and perfect eldest son.

Kaelis lets out a quiet breath through his nose, his grip tightening again as that thought came forward.

Helios was...simpler to read.

Not easier.

Just more obvious.

Helios didn’t hide the fact that he was different with different people.

He just hid it well enough that most people didn’t question it.

He showed what people wanted to see.

The perfect prince.

The reliable son.

The kind leader.

And then something else underneath it, something Kaelis had seen too many times to ignore.

Especially with Ezra.

’Ezra doesn’t even realize it,’ Kaelis thought, his expression hardening slightly. ’How different Helios is with Ezra compared to everyone else.’

If Kaelis were being honest—

Helios was the biggest suspect.

Especially now.

Especially considering Ezra was more involved with the Cultists.

It didn’t feel like a coincidence anymore.

Helios, who had an odd attachment to Ezra.

Helios, who loved his mother.

Helios, who was supposed to be the crown prince by default until the king changed everything and gave all three sons a chance.

Helios, whose mother...

Kaelis’ jaw tightens slightly at the thought.

She was unstable.

And deeply rooted in everything that went wrong in that palace.

Kaelis had stepped away the moment he understood his own mother’s condition.

He had abdicated without hesitation.

It was the easiest decision he ever made.

And yet—

That didn’t protect him.

Didn’t protect his mother either.

They still became part of something ugly.

A hidden secret.

Something no one outside the palace even knew existed.

’It was never about the throne alone,’ Kaelis thought, his gaze darkening slightly.

Because if it was, it would’ve been simpler.

But it wasn’t.

Kaelis could recall a day.

Clearer than he wanted to.

A day where Helios and Aurien both argued.

That moment—

Stayed with him.

Because it was one of the reasons why, for Kaelis, either of his brothers could actually be the root cause of everything that’s been happening inside the kingdom.

Fifteen years ago...

"Aurien!" Helios screams, the sound cutting sharply through the quiet of the library, making Kaelis look up from his book almost immediately.

The silence that had filled the room moments ago didn’t just break. It shattered.

Both Kaelis and Aurien had been doing their free study, seated across from each other, pages turning softly, the only sound in the room.

It was peaceful.

It was their routine.

Something they were used to.

Up until their older brother came.

Kaelis didn’t even need to look fully to know something was wrong.

From the corner of his eyes, he sees Aurien’s face.

Frightened.

Not surprised.

Not confused.

But frightened.

That alone was enough for him to understand.

Kaelis stood up instinctively, the chair behind him shifting slightly as he moved, his body already positioning itself between Helios and Aurien without him thinking too much about it.

"Brother, what has gotten you so angry so early after your return from—"

"Stay out of this."

Helios doesn’t even let him finish.

The words come sharp, immediate, and before Kaelis could react, he’s shoved aside, his balance shifting just enough to force him to step back.

Helios doesn’t look at him again.

His attention was already locked onto Aurien.

He grabs Aurien by the collar without hesitation, yanking him up from his seat hard enough to make Aurien gasp, the sound short and strained.

"B-Brother..."

"Don’t brother me."

Helios’ voice was cold.

And very angry.

There was no hesitation in it, no restraint.

Kaelis watches as Helios drags Aurien back, forcing him against the wall, the impact dull but heavy enough to echo faintly in the quiet room.

Aurien’s back hits first.

Then his head follows, just slightly.

’Why is he in such a bad mood?’ Kaelis thought, his brows pulling together as he steadied himself, his gaze flicking between them.

Helios didn’t usually lose control like this.

Well...

At least, not at Aurien.

"My mother, YOUR QUEEN, has told me that you disrespected her while I was gone."

The words were sharp.

Each one placed carefully, like Helios wanted it to sink in.

"I-I didn’t—"

"So you’re saying my mother lied?"

Aurien’s breath catches.

Kaelis sees it.

The hesitation.

Aurien shakes his head quickly, his eyes wide as he looks up at Helios.

"N-No... It’s... I didn’t mean to..."

"Brother, please calm down."

Kaelis steps forward again, more careful this time, placing a hand gently on Helios’ shoulder, not pushing, not forcing, just enough to get his attention.

"Let Aurien explain, look at him, he’s scared." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Helios doesn’t move.

Doesn’t turn.

Doesn’t acknowledge Kaelis at all.

It was like he wasn’t even there.

His gaze remained fixed on Aurien, hard and unwavering.

"Tell me what you did?" Helios says again.

Aurien swallows, his throat moving visibly, his fingers curling against the wall behind him as if he needed something to hold onto.

"She... the queen... she called my mother a mistress—"

Helios doesn’t react the way Kaelis expected.

If anything, his grip tightens.

"Isn’t she a mistress? Your mother and Kaelis’ mother. None of your mothers are the legal wives."

Kaelis’ eyes widen.

Not because of what Helios said.

But because of how easily he said it.

Like it didn’t matter.

Like it was nothing.

’Why is my mother suddenly involved?’ Kaelis thought, his jaw tightening slightly, his hand slowly dropping from Helios’ shoulder.

"Maybe it hasn’t sunk into you because despite your cowardice, our father seems to spoil you."

Helios leans in slightly as he speaks, his voice lowering, sharper now.

"You may be in the running for the throne, but you will never be seen as a legitimate son by the law. YOU are a bastard, and your whore mother—"

"DON’T YOU DARE CALL MY MOTHER A WHORE!"

Aurien’s voice breaks through the room.

It doesn’t sound like him.

Not the soft Aurien everyone knew.

Kaelis freezes for a second, caught off guard by it.

Aurien moves before anyone can react.

He grunts, his hands pushing hard against Helios’ chest, using all the strength he had.

Helios stumbles back a step.

Just one.

But it was enough.

Enough to break the hold.

Enough to change the space between them.

Kaelis stares.

Because this—

This was new.

This was the first time he has heard Aurien raise his voice like that.

The first time he has seen him push back without hesitation.

Aurien’s chest rises and falls quickly, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his whole body tense in a way Kaelis had never seen before.

"You..."

Aurien’s voice trembles slightly, but not from fear anymore.

"...shut your mouth, Helios."