The question hung heavily in the air.
"What's stopping them from trying again?"
No one answered immediately.
Caspian watched both of them carefully.
Her mother looked uneasy.
Riven looked… resigned.
That silence told her everything.
"So nothing is stopping them," she said quietly.
Her mother sighed and rubbed her temples.
"You were never meant to become visible again," she said.
Caspian frowned.
"Visible?"
Riven stepped forward slightly.
"The night I died," he said, "your existence should have disappeared with me."
Her heartbeat quickened.
"What does that mean?"
Riven didn't answer right away.
Instead, he looked at her mother.
"As usual," he said calmly, "you told her only half the story."
Her mother's eyes hardened.
"And you think telling her everything will help?"
"Yes," he replied simply.
Caspian stepped between them.
"Stop talking like I'm not standing here," she snapped. "If my life is in danger, I deserve the truth."
Her mother looked at her for a long moment.
Then she spoke.
"You were never supposed to grow up with us," she said.
The words hit harder than expected.
"You were meant to stay hidden until you were moved somewhere safer."
"Moved where?" Caspian asked.
Her mother hesitated.
Riven answered instead.
"To the people you actually belong to."
Caspian's stomach twisted.
"You mean my real family?"
Neither of them spoke.
The silence was confirmation.
Her voice became quieter.
"Who are they?"
Her mother looked toward the window.
Like she was remembering something she wished she could forget.
"You don't want to know," she said softly.
Caspian's patience snapped.
"Stop saying that!"
Her voice echoed through the hallway.
"For once, just tell me the truth!"
Riven finally spoke again.
"You weren't just hidden," he said.
"You were protected."
"From who?"
His gaze darkened.
"From the same people who tried to kill you."
Caspian felt the tension in her chest tighten even more.
"Why would anyone hunt a child?" she whispered.
Riven held her gaze.
"Because of your name."
Her heart skipped.
"My name?"
"Not Caspian," he said.
"Not Velora."
A cold silence filled the hallway.
"Then what?" she asked.
Riven's voice dropped.
"The name you were born with."
Caspian stared at him.
"Which is?"
Her mother suddenly stepped forward.
"That's enough."
Riven didn't look at her.
"You kept her in the dark for too long."
"And you think dragging her into this will save her?" her mother shot back.
Caspian looked between them, frustration rising again.
"Someone just say it!"
Riven's eyes returned to her.
And for the first time—
there was hesitation in them.
"Your real name," he said quietly,
"is the reason people are still looking for you."
Caspian felt her pulse race.
"Then tell me."
The air felt impossibly heavy.
Finally—
Riven spoke the one word her mother had tried to bury for years.
A name Caspian had never heard before.
And the moment she heard it…
she knew her life had just become far more dangerous than she ever imagined.