The reaction was infinitesimal, a hairline fracture in an otherwise impenetrable facade.

Athea's blue eyes, usually so sharp and calculating, went flat and cold for a single, terrifying heartbeat. Her pupils dilated almost imperceptibly, twin black holes of shock that swallowed the light before her mask of cool detachment snapped back into place with the precision of a steel trap closing.

It was a crack in the glacier, and for Viora, it was enough. More than enough. It was confirmation, revelation, and a dozen new questions all at once.

Why was her mother so visibly bothered by this single image, however briefly, by the image of this male that Valerie was showing off so casually? What connection did Athea have to him that could pierce through her legendary composure, even for a fraction of a second?

Viora returned her attention to the selfie, studying the man with renewed intensity. Her eyes squinted slightly as she committed every detail to memory. It was already clear, but she just had to make sure.

'Yes,' she concluded with absolute certainty. 'This is definitely the same male Mother was looking at. He's grown now, and his hair has darkened, but he's the same person from that photograph. The boy has become a man, but those features don't lie.'

The question was: why did he matter so much?

Athea was frozen in place, every instinct screaming at the casual horror unfolding before her. The son she had hidden away, the secret that could bring down her entire lineage and see her tried for treason, was now a casual selfie on a royal Omni-pad.

But as the seconds stretched and the reactions around the table remained nothing more than idle curiosity, a wave of cold relief washed over her. The quiet murmurings were of surprise, not scandal. Aphrodite's bored critique, the others' passing interest—none of them saw what she saw. Even Calyra, who knew who Zaeryn was, expressed only murmured amusement. Her secret, for now, was safe.

"Calyra. A word. Now." She rose with composed authority.

Calyra's lips curved into a slow, knowing smile. "Of course, sister," she purred, rising from her seat with an elegance that matched Athea's own. "Ladies, try not to have too much fun without us," she added to the table at large, before following Athea from the solarium.

The moment they were gone, Viora rose from her seat, her movements fluid and silent. The casual curiosity from before had sharpened into a hunter's focus.

The tension radiating from her mother had been palpable, a physical force in the room that had nothing to do with courtly matters and everything to do with the picture of that boy.

It was already clear that Athea had some connection to the young man in the picture. Now what she wanted to find out was: what? Did she really have a secret son?

Her instincts screamed that this was the moment, the thread she needed to pull to unravel the entire mystery.

Meanwhile, Athea led Calyra down a quiet gallery corridor, the walls lined with ancient, pre-Scorch Fall artifacts that seemed to watch them with silent judgment.

The air was still and cool, a perfect sanctuary for a secret conversation. The moment the solarium doors hissed shut behind them, Athea's control shattered.

She spun on Calyra, her blue eyes blazing. "Explain. Now. How does Valerie have a picture of him?"

"Why are you mad at me? I have nothing to do with it," Calyra replied, holding up her hands in mock surrender, a flicker of amusement in her eyes at her sister's rare loss of composure.

Athea took a steadying breath, pressing her fingers to her temple. "I'm not mad. I'm… concerned. How did Valerie even cross paths with him?"

Calyra's calm returned. "Relax, sister. It seems your little secret has a life of his own." She took a moment before explaining, "Apparently, Zaeryn was at Stellan Innovations when Valerie went to deliver the invitation to Sage Stellan."

The news hit Athea like a physical blow. Her blood ran cold. Stellan Innovations? The corporate heart of Sector Seven? "How is that possible?" she hissed, her voice a low whisper of disbelief. "What was he doing there?"

The idea of Zaeryn, her hidden son, moving freely in such a high-profile location was a risk she couldn't comprehend. Ysmeine had always been so careful, keeping him shielded within the quiet confines of their life. This level of exposure was a catastrophic failure of protocol.

Athea's ignorance was a revelation to Calyra, who watched her sister's genuine shock with a flicker of pity. Ysmeine had clearly been feeding Athea information on a strictly need-to-know basis, and apparently, her son's love life hadn't made the cut.

But on second thought, Calyra couldn't blame Ysmeine for the omission. After all, it was Athea herself who had maintained a strict, agonizing distance for years, cutting off contact and never asking for the details of her son's life beyond his basic safety.

How was Athea supposed to know who he was dating when she had made it clear she didn't want to know anything at all?

Calyra began to explain, enjoying the dramatic reveal. "It seems our Zaeryn is dating Sage Stellan. How did you not know this? Didn't Ysmeine tell you that her…" Before Calyra could finish, she stopped herself, noticing a shift in the air.

Athea's head snapped up too.

Both Calyra and Athea felt the same thing, their senses honed by years of courtly intrigue and Vitae mastery, catching a faint disturbance, a shift in the air, the barest whisper of a shadow where there should be none.

Athea's gaze shot toward a large marble pillar at the turn of the corridor.

"Someone just started eavesdropping," Calyra spoke at full volume, wanting whoever was listening to hear her.

The air grew heavy, the silence absolute. Then, Athea's voice, no longer panicked but cold and sharp as a shard of ice, echoed down the empty gallery.

"Step out from behind that pillar. .. Viora."

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