The truth did not arrive gently.
It arrived in pieces—sharp, undeniable, impossible to ignore.
Selene stood in the war chamber, staring at the final document laid before her. The last missing piece.
The one she had hoped.
Would never exist.
Kael didn't speak immediately. He watched her instead, as if measuring how much this would break… or strengthen her.
"Say it," Selene said quietly
Her voice didn't tremble.
But it wasn't untouched either.
Kael stepped forward, his tone lower than usual.
"It's your brother."
The words settled into the room like something final.
Selene didn't react at first.
Didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
Because somewhere deep inside—
She had already known.
The patterns.
The timing.
The precision.
It had never felt like chaos.
It had felt… personal.
"He wasn't meant to inherit," Kael continued. "Not while you were alive."
Selene let out a slow breath, her gaze still fixed on the parchment.
"So he corrected that."
A pause.
"Or tried to."
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Memories surfaced—brief, unwanted. A younger version of herself. A brother who once stood beside her, not against her.
Gone now.
Replaced by ambition.
By fear.
By something colder.
"Why?" Kael asked carefully.
Selene finally looked up.
Not broken.
Not shattered.
Just… certain.
"Because I was in his way," she said.
A beat.
"And he believed I would never fight back."
Kael studied her.
"He underestimated you."
Selene's lips curved faintly.
"Everyone does.
She stepped away from the table, her movements calm but deliberate.
"So this war…" she continued.
"It was never about Varyon."
Kael nodded slightly.
"It was about removing you."
Selene's gaze hardened.
"Then he's already failed."
A pause.
"No," Kael corrected quietly.
"Not yet."
Selene met his eyes.
And for the first time—
There was no distance between them.
Only understanding.
Only alignment.
"Then we end it," she said.
Not as a suggestion.
As a decision.