"Kaelis," Helios says smoothly, despite the irritation already creeping under his skin. "What’s wrong?"

Kaelis looked...off.

Frazzled.

Half-drunk, half-sober, his usually composed posture slightly uneven as if he had been rushing around for a while now.

His hair wasn’t as neat anymore, and despite the alcohol in his system, the concern on his face was obvious enough that even Helios immediately knew something must have happened.

And the fact that Kaelis was outside the ballroom at all—

That alone was already suspicious.

Kaelis loved attention too much to willingly leave a gathering like this unless something had pulled his focus away.

"Uh...have you seen Ezra? You were looking for him, right?" Kaelis asks, sounding uncertain for once.

Helios immediately tensed.

Not outwardly.

Not enough for Kaelis to notice.

But inside—

Something tightened sharply.

"What’s your concern?" Helios asks instead, his tone remaining calm despite the irritation threatening to rise higher.

Because knowing Kaelis, there was only one reason he would suddenly be this concerned about Ezra.

He was probably trying to get Ezra alone again.

Trying to talk to him.

Trying to do what he failed to do all those years ago.

’It’s sad, really,’ Helios thought coldly, though underneath the annoyance, there was still amusement. ’Still acting like some yearning little puppy even though Ezra absolutely despises him.’

"Aurien mentioned bumping into Ezra earlier," Kaelis says, rubbing the back of his neck, then frowning. "But he said Ezra looked..."

He trails off for a second.

"Sick," Kaelis finishes more quietly. "And scared, almost. You and I both know Ezra rarely shows any—"

"Where was this?"

Helios cut him off immediately.

His hand shot out before he even fully thought about it, grabbing Kaelis harshly by the shoulders.

Kaelis’ eyes widened instantly.

"Just around here," Kaelis answers quickly, visibly startled now. "That’s why I went here in hoping that—"

Helios shoved him away.

Not hard enough to make him fall.

But enough.

Enough that Kaelis stumbled a step backward in surprise.

"Did he actually manage to leave?" Helios whispers mostly to himself, his thoughts already racing too fast to focus properly.

"Hey, why did you—what is your problem—"

"Shut it," Helios snaps, the calmness in his voice cracking for the first time. "Ezra’s sick right now, let him be. I’ll be the one looking for him."

Then Helios narrowed his eyes at him.

"You heard what he said earlier. Though I’m sure you already noticed all these years..."

His lips curled faintly.

"He hates you. So stop constantly trying to get close to him. It’s pathetic."

Kaelis visibly stiffened.

And Helios almost smiled seeing it.

Almost.

But there were more important things right now.

Helios immediately turned away, his thoughts moving rapidly.

Ezra only had two options.

Either he stayed somewhere inside the king’s palace, trying to hide—

Or he attempted to leave and go home.

’He’s probably frustrated enough to try walking back,’ Helios thought grimly as he moved quickly through the halls. ’But he wouldn’t be stupid enough to wander around the palace during a heat.’

Not with this many nobles.

Not with this many alphas.

There was no chance Ezra was still calmly walking around here.

"I’m leaving to find Ezra," Helios says without turning back. "You go entertain people because that’s the only thing you’re good at."

He didn’t even give Kaelis a chance to respond.

Didn’t care to hear one either.

Helios just walked away immediately, his pace quickening the farther he got.

’I need to find him quickly.’

Because Ezra could be anywhere by now.

And all Helios could hope for—

Was that nobody else had found him first?.

Present...

That was Helios’ mistake.

He didn’t think Ezra would stay inside the palace.

Didn’t think Ezra, in that state, would hide instead of running straight toward the one place Helios expected him to go.

And somehow—

"Mother..." Helios whispers weakly, looking back up at Circe again, his expression tightening like he was finally forcing himself to say the one thing he had been avoiding this entire time. "Lior is...they said he had golden eyes."

His throat felt dry.

"They said...he was able to use Sunlight Rays."

This time—

Helios felt his mother’s body stiffen completely.

Not subtly.

Not slightly.

Completely.

It was immediate enough that even Helios noticed it despite everything clouding his head right now.

The warmth in her touch seemed to vanish.

And suddenly—

Circe felt cold.

"What?" Circe asks slowly, pulling back just enough to properly look at him now. "Tell me you’re joking, darling."

Helios wished he were.

Gods, he wished he were.

"The alphas..." Helios starts quietly, forcing himself to continue even as his stomach twists harder with every word. "I had them take him when I wanted to save him. He’s Ezra’s son, even though he isn’t mine, I thought..."

His voice weakened slightly.

"Maybe you could treat him like he’s yours and hope the knight sees you as a parent?" Circe finishes for him carefully.

"Yes."

Now that Helios was saying it aloud—

It sounded stupid.

Not just stupid.

Desperate.

Absolutely desperate.

But at the time, it made sense in his head.

Anything involving Ezra always did.

"But during the time they took him," Helios continues more quietly, "apparently...his eyes turned gold, and light from his palms burnt one of them."

Helios immediately looked away after saying it.

Like, even speaking about it made him uncomfortable.

Made it real.

He had been avoiding thinking about it since coming back.

Avoiding every implication attached to it.

Because once he fully acknowledged it—

There was no taking it back.

"Then that means..." Circe trails off.

She didn’t finish the sentence.

And Helios knew she stopped for his sake.

But even then—

He slowly nodded anyway.

"It means one of my brothers was there with him that night."

The words felt horrible leaving his mouth.

Heavy.

Final.

And suddenly—

Everything made sense.

Why did Ezra disappear afterward?

Why did he stay gone for years?

Why did he return with a child hidden from the kingdom?

A child with golden eyes.

A possible heir.

Helios shut his eyes tightly for a second, his jaw clenching hard enough to ache.

’One of them touched him.’

The thought alone made something dark twist violently inside his chest.

On the night of the ball—

Ezra had gone somewhere inside the king’s palace.

And somehow—

He ended up sleeping with one of Helios’ brothers.

Circe stayed quiet for a long moment after that.

Helios could practically hear his own heartbeat now, heavy and uneven inside the destroyed room. The shattered remains of the mirror glittered around them while candlelight flickered against the walls, making everything feel distorted somehow.

Then finally—

"Do you know which one?" Circe asks softly.

Helios slowly shook his head.

"Not yet."

The answer tasted bitter.

Humiliating, even.

Because Helios prided himself on knowing everything about Ezra.

Every habit.

Every expression.

Every little thing Ezra did without realizing it.

And yet somehow—

Another man touched him first.

One of his brothers.

’Who was it?’ Helios thought, his jaw tightening again. ’Who touched what was mine?’

But instead of looking angry, Circe suddenly looked...thoughtful.

Dangerously thoughtful.

Then slowly—

She smiled.

Not sweetly.

Never sweetly.

"Do you know what this means?" Circe asks quietly, her fingers brushing gently through Helios’ hair again.

Helios frowned faintly.

"What?"

Circe tilted her head slightly, her crimson lips curving just enough to make Helios uneasy.

"It means Ezra may be more loyal than you thought."

Helios blinked.

"What?"

"Think carefully, darling," Circe says patiently, like she was guiding a child through a lesson. "Ezra disappeared immediately after that night. He hid the child’s identity for years. He returned alone with the boy, but never once exposed who the father was."

Helios stared at her silently.

And slowly—

Something shifted in his expression.

"He could’ve exposed the child immediately if he wanted protection," Circe continues calmly. "A golden-eyed child would shake this kingdom apart. Yet instead, he hid him."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"For you."

Helios’ breath caught faintly.

"He..."

"He likely realized what would happen if people discovered the child belonged to another prince," Circe says softly. "Especially if that prince became a threat to your claim to the throne."

The more she spoke—

The more Helios felt something ugly inside him start softening into something else.

Something warmer.

’Ezra...’

"He went through all of that alone," Circe whispers. "All to make sure your position remained secure."

Helios genuinely hadn’t thought about it that way before.

Not once.

His thoughts had been consumed by betrayal.

By jealousy.

By rage.

But now—

Now, another possibility was being placed in front of him.

That Ezra might’ve hidden the truth because he was protecting Helios.

Protecting his future.

Protecting his throne.

And suddenly—

The ache in Helios’ chest twisted into something almost obsessive again.

’He still chose me.’

Even after everything.

Even unknowingly.

"He’s loyal," Helios whispers weakly, like he was trying to convince himself of it now.

"Of course he is," Circe says immediately. "That knight adores you. You simply lost sight of how to handle him."

Her hand moved to his cheek again.

"There is only one thing you should do now when it comes to Ezra."

Helios looked at her carefully.

"Get him to admit the truth about the child," Circe says calmly. "Make him fall for you again. Remind him why he devoted himself to you in the first place."

Her nails lightly brushed his skin.

"Show him the Helios he loved."

The words settled deeply inside him.

Because maybe—

Maybe Circe was right.

Ezra had changed because Helios stopped being careful.

Stopped acting like the man Ezra trusted most.

"And once he’s yours again," Circe continues softly, "you claim the child as your own."

Helios’ eyes widened slightly.

"As...mine?"

"Yes," Circe says simply, like there was nothing strange about it at all. "Because if Ezra truly wanted the real father involved, he would’ve revealed him already."

That—

That was true.

Ezra never once searched for the father.

Never exposed him.

Never even hinted at who it could be.

He wasn’t even claiming Lior to be his own child.

Which meant—

’He really is doing it for me.’

The realization made Helios’ heartbeat quicken slightly.

Maybe Ezra really did choose him.

Even after all this time.

But then another thought immediately followed it.

The real father.

Helios’ expression darkened again.

"What about him?" Helios asks quietly. "The real father?"

Circe’s smile returned instantly.

He knew that cruel smile.

The kind of smile Helios inherited from her.

"Find out who it is," Circe says softly.

Then her eyes narrowed slightly.

"And do what you’ve been wanting to do this entire time."

Helios already knew what she meant before she even finished speaking.

"Eliminate him."

The room suddenly felt quieter after that.

"He must never find out," Circe whispers. "Not about the child. Not about Ezra. Nothing."

And horrifyingly enough—

Helios didn’t hesitate.

Not even for a second.

"That sounds like a good plan, mother."