In the royal library, Queen Lyra paced between tall shelves while Emperor Caelis sat, reading the scroll she'd retrieved from the Forbidden Archive.
"You were right," she said. "The third heir isn't just real — he's alive. And he's here."
Caelis looked up slowly. "You believe it's Sebastian."
"I know it is."
Caelis frowned. "And you're sure you want to reveal this?"
"I don't know," Lyra admitted, running her fingers along a leather-bound volume. "But if we wait too long, someone else will."
The Emperor set the scroll down. "Then what are you suggesting?"
Lyra met his gaze. "Let's bring him into the fold. Train him properly. Make him understand the weight of the crown, even if he never wears it."
Caelis leaned back. "And what of Noah?"
Lyra hesitated. "He must never know."
The Emperor exhaled. "You know as well as I do — he already suspects."
"Yes," she said softly. "And that makes him dangerous."
