Present...

The scariest part of that moment wasn’t even at that moment when Helios and Aurien never spoke or acknowledged that fight.

It was everything that came after it.

The silence.

The way nothing was ever brought up again.

They never spoke about it.

Not once.

They didn’t acknowledge it, didn’t even hint that it happened.

They acted as if everything was normal.

Acted like brothers again, as if they’d just forgotten about it.

They still sat together during meals, still stood beside each other during public appearances, still spoke in that familiar tone that made it seem like nothing had ever been broken between them.

And that was what made it worse.

Because Kaelis knew what he saw.

He heard every word.

He saw the way they looked at each other.

That kind of hatred didn’t just disappear.

’They didn’t forget...they’re just pretending,’ Kaelis thought, his grip tightening slightly as the memory sat heavier the more he thought about it.

Kaelis wanted to believe growing up that maybe they both fixed their problem in private, that maybe they talked it out without anyone knowing, that maybe they were better than that moment.

He held onto that belief for a while.

Long enough that it almost felt real.

But he stopped believing that when he realized the two were just pretending.

Not fixing anything.

Not resolving anything.

Just...burying it.

And why?

Why would they openly pretend?

That was the question Kaelis kept asking himself over the years, every time he stood beside them in public functions, every time he watched them smile and laugh like everything was fine.

What was the point of pretending if nothing was actually resolved?

Another question was how much they actually hated each other.

Was it just words said in anger?

Or was it something deeper?

Something that had been there long before that fight?

Enough to have been the cause of the Dark Ones?

Enough to have children kidnapped?

Enough to destroy the kingdom from within?

It was easy to just suspect Helios for his aggression and two-faced nature, for the way he lost control, for the way he spoke without restraint.

That alone made him an easy suspect.

But it was easier to guess Aurien when things got worse at Helios’ worst moment.

Because Aurien wasn’t the type to explode.

Aurien waited.

Aurien held things in.

And people like that were harder to read.

Harder to predict.

The moment Helios lost the only person carrying his name and the Sunward Sentinels’ name.

Ezra.

Kaelis exhales slowly, his expression tightening as that thought settles in.

Helios’ reputation tanked the moment Ezra left for his ’vacation.’ The whispers didn’t take long to spread, and everything that followed only made it worse.

Which was why he had so many reasons to believe it was on purpose.

It didn’t feel like a coincidence.

It felt planned.

Kaelis immediately thought someone had threatened Ezra to leave for a long time, maybe he was taken, maybe something forced him out, something that didn’t allow him to stay.

That had always made more sense to Kaelis than Ezra simply choosing to leave.

But he didn’t want to open it to Helios.

He would never want to talk about Ezra to Helios.

Not now.

Not ever.

Not after...

"Kaelis, before I go. I want you to know that I’m bringing in someone who saved me. Someone who I’m sure will be loyal only to me."

The memory came back clearly.

"Why are you telling me that?"

"You’ll see."

And he did see.

He saw exactly what Helios meant.

And everything that followed after that only made things more complicated.

’...I should’ve known then something was off,’ Kaelis thought, his jaw tightening slightly as he pushed the memory away.

The thought didn’t leave easily.

It lingered, sitting somewhere heavy in his chest, like something unfinished, something he missed when he shouldn’t have.

But it’s too late for that now.

There was no use going back, no use picking apart moments that had already passed.

No use wondering what he could’ve done differently.

’Whatever, that doesn’t matter.’ Kaelis thought, shaking his head once, more to force himself forward than anything else, not wanting to relive too much of the past.

The road ahead stretched quietly before him, the rhythmic sound of hooves against the ground steady beneath him as his horse began to slow at the subtle pull of the reins.

The palace wasn’t far now.

The familiar silhouette of Pyraeon Spirehold rose in the distance, lit faintly by torches that flickered against the night.

But even as he approached—

His mind wasn’t there.

It stayed elsewhere.

With a certain knight.

With a certain child.

But in the topic of Ezra Belloren.

’I really think I should crash his tea party with Alyce tomorrow.’

The thought came naturally.

Kaelis pulled the reins of his horse again, slowing it further as he neared the entrance, his posture relaxing slightly, though his mind was anything but at ease.

If Kaelis was being honest with himself—

He didn’t want to let Ezra or Lior out of his sight.

Not even for a second.

The feeling didn’t make sense.

Not completely.

But it was there.

It was persistent and almost uncomfortable.

Especially now after everything that has happened.

Even though he knew Ezra was skilled enough to protect himself and his child.

He knew that.

Ezra wasn’t careless.

He wasn’t weak.

He wasn’t someone who needed to be watched over like a helpless person.

But still—

’That’s not what worries me,’ Kaelis thought, his brows pulling together slightly as his grip on the reins tightened again.

Knowing that the Cultists knew what Ezra was—

An Omega.

And knowing they could actually do something to subdue him—

That was what was with him.

That was what didn’t let him relax.

He couldn’t even imagine what could happen if they managed to corner Ezra properly.

If they planned it right.

If they used that against him.

Ezra wasn’t weak.

But he had his weaknesses.

And now that Kaelis knew that—

Really knew that—

Something shifted.

Something he didn’t quite like.

Something that felt...like more than concern.

Too close to something personal.

Now that Kaelis knows that, he feels somewhat overprotective.

The realization itself made him frown slightly.

’I want to keep them close.’ Kaelis thought, his gaze dropping for a brief moment, his expression tightening.

It sounded wrong in his own head.

Almost like possessiveness.

Like something he didn’t want to admit even to himself.

He lets out a quiet breath through his nose.

’That’s ridiculous,’ he thought, though the feeling didn’t go away.

He wanted to make sure Lior was safe.

That part, at least, made sense.

The child was involved whether he liked it or not.

The child was already a target.

And Kaelis had seen enough to know that children were not spared in whatever this was.

So that’s why...