Kael told himself he wasn't hiding it.
He was analyzing it.
There was a difference.
He stood in the west observatory long after the compound quieted, watching the city flicker below like living circuitry. The skyline felt steadier than people did. Predictable. Structured. You could measure architecture. You could calculate weight and load-bearing strain.
You couldn't calculate belonging.
The transmission shimmered into existence without theatrics. No distortion. No dramatic glitch.
Selene Arcturus stood in the projection field as if she had always been meant to occupy it.
"You left the channel open," she observed.
Kael didn't turn fully toward her. "I wanted to see if you'd be predictable."
She tilted her head slightly. "And?"
"You're persistent."
"That's not the same as predictable."
He folded his arms. The movement was deliberate, controlled. "You said you had something to explain."
"I do. But I wanted to see if you'd come back voluntarily."
His jaw tightened. "I don't volunteer. I evaluate."
She smiled faintly at that.
"You stabilized her mid-air without touch. Do you know how rare that is?"
"I didn't ask for a statistic."
"Good. Because it isn't one."
She stepped closer in the projection. "You felt her molecular rhythm. That means your helix isn't simply mimicry."
He hated the way she said that — as if she were peeling something open.
"Don't romanticize it."
"I'm not. I'm correcting you."
Silence stretched between them.
"You're reconstructing architecture, Kael. Not copying. You're building it from memory."
His hands flexed slightly at his sides.
"That's interpretation."
"It's design."
Before he could respond—
The observatory doors burst open with far too much energy.
Lyra stormed in holding a pastry tray like it was ceremonial armor.
"Okay, so I brought emergency carbohydrates because you looked existential at dinner—"
She stopped mid-stride.
Stared at Selene's projection.
Then slowly turned to Kael.
"…Why is there a beautiful ominous woman in the hologram?"
Kael closed his eyes briefly.
Selene's lips twitched.
Lyra approached the projection, squinting at it.
"You have villain posture," she announced. "Very upright. Slightly condescending chin tilt."
Selene actually laughed under her breath.
"You must be the youngest."
"The best," Lyra corrected.
She extended a pastry toward the projection instinctively.
"Do you want one? It's almond. Very stabilizing."
Kael rubbed his forehead. "Lyra."
"What? If she's recruiting you into genetic rebellion, we should at least be polite."
Selene studied Lyra with visible curiosity.
"You're very protective."
"Obviously. He's broody. Broody people make bad decisions."
Kael looked out at the city again, but something in his chest felt… warmer.
More complicated.
Selene's voice softened.
"Be careful who defines you, Kael."
Lyra immediately stepped between them and the projection.
"See? That's ominous. That's villain phrasing."
The transmission faded.
Silence returned.
Lyra turned slowly toward him.
"You're not joining a secret anti-helix club, right?"
He didn't answer immediately.
And that was the part that frightened her.