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I bring the whiskey to my mouth and wish I hadn’t.

I did that. I brought danger to his doorstep.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped treating Rowan like a target and started treating him like he was already safe. Safe because he was with me. Turns out that was a stupid fucking assumption.

“Every person who learns what Rowan knows becomes another reason for somebody to come after him, and I refuse to let my baby brother die because of it.”

He’s in danger.

“No,” I snap. “I’m getting real fucking tired of everybody in this room talking about protecting Rowan while he’s out there alone not answering a single one of my messages. If you’re not going to do something, I will.”

“Ciaran, darling, wait.”

I’m halfway toward the door when her voice makes me freeze. Slowly, I turn to face Mom, who’s still sitting on the stage, against the wall, the Noctis tucked between her legs. I forgot she was there. “What is it, Mom?”

“He knows the melody.”

“What melody?” Sola asks.

“The one I wrote a long time ago. It’s not just a song—not to me. But the music sheet was stolen and I considered it lost. Until Rowan played the melody.”

“Well, I doubt—” Dad begins, but one lifted hand has him swallow the rest of the words.

“It’s not just music. It was stolen from me because of its value.”

“Are you saying it appeared again?” I stare at her.

The same sequence Mom recognized at the Legacy Gala? What are the fucking odds?

And knowing Mom, she never just writes music. If it’s important to her, it’s important to us. To our entire family.

“Maybe—” someone begins, but the rest disappears beneath rising voices while guards from both families edge closer to their weapons.

“Enough!” Dad snaps, but nobody listens.

A loud bang crashes against the glass walls, and it’s enough for every weapon in the room to fly up.

Another bang follows, and Rafe jerks his chin toward the windows. “What the fuck?”

The pavilion doors burst open, cold night air rushing inside as Adrian stumbles across the marble floor.

Half the guards swing their guns toward him.

“What the fuck’s he doing here?”

Adrian freezes with both hands flying into the air. “I saw them!” he shouts, clearly flying high as a kite.

“Yeah, did you?” Lucan snorts. “I bet you saw a lot of other things flying.”

Adrian looks half out of his mind, dark hair damp against his forehead, breathing uneven like he sprinted half the cliffs to get here. He shakes his head hard. “No, you have to believe me. I saw them. The Orlovs. I saw the people who ruined my family.”

“The ban is still active,” Dad snaps. “They aren’t allowed on Sero.”

Adrian laughs, breathless, and points back toward the trees. “Yeah? Then somebody should tell them that. They’re about to take off. There are four of them, armed. And they’re dragging someone through the woods.”

Every nerve in my body locks. I’m already sprinting toward the pavilion doors, but a violent rush of wind tears through the trees below the cliffs as massive shuttle engines ignite somewhere beyond the forest.

“What the actual fuck?”