Kaelis was feeling too many things at once.

Too many emotions that he honestly didn’t know how to explain properly anymore.

Ezra finally knew the truth.

After all these years—

After all the lies, misunderstandings, silence, and bitterness—

Ezra knew.

And somehow, Kaelis hadn’t even needed to force it.

Didn’t need to manipulate the situation.

Didn’t need to beg.

Didn’t need to defend himself desperately the way he always imagined he would if this day ever came.

But despite wanting this for years—

Kaelis hadn’t actually been prepared.

Not for the questions.

Not for the way Ezra looked at him now.

Not for the fact that Ezra actually listened.

And definitely not for Ezra thanking him.

That part alone still didn’t feel real.

’I think I would’ve been happy even if today ended right there,’ Kaelis thought quietly, still feeling strangely lightheaded from it all.

Because somehow—

Somehow, there was finally progress between them.

Real progress.

Not forced tolerance.

Not arguments.

Not Ezra glaring at him like he was some persistent disease.

It was small.

But it felt real.

And Kaelis had wanted that for so long that it almost scared him how much relief it gave him.

Everything had been going well.

Shockingly well.

But then—

"Maman!"

Lior’s distressed scream tore through the room so suddenly that Kaelis immediately turned around on instinct.

Ezra moved just as fast beside him.

"Lior, what’s wrong?" Ezra asks immediately.

But Lior didn’t answer.

And the second Kaelis properly saw him—

His own chest dropped violently.

"What’s going on?" Kaelis asks quickly, already getting up from his seat.

Lior was crumpled on the floor beside the small table.

Crying.

Actually crying.

Both tiny hands pressed tightly over his eyes while his whole body trembled hard.

Lior looked like he was in pain.

Real pain.

And seeing that made something inside Kaelis panic immediately.

"Lior, what happened—"

Kaelis was already moving toward him, his thoughts racing too fast now.

Had someone hurt him?

Did he hit something?

Was this another attack somehow?

Every horrible possibility slammed into Kaelis’ head all at once.

But he needed to check.

Needed to see what happened.

"Maman...Kakay..." Lior cries brokenly between sobs. "It hurts...it hurts..."

"Come on, we’ll take you to a doctor—" Kaelis says quickly, already reaching down to pick him up.

But suddenly—

"What—"

Kaelis gasped sharply when someone grabbed him hard by the arm and yanked him backward with enough force to completely throw him off balance.

THUD.

Kaelis hit the floor heavily.

The impact itself didn’t hurt much.

He was too stunned to even process it properly anyway.

Especially when he looked up and saw who pushed him.

"Ezra?" Kaelis breathes out, completely confused now.

Ezra was crouched protectively over Lior now, almost shielding him completely with his own body.

"Shh," Ezra whispers shakily, one hand trying to hold Lior close. "It’s okay, Little One. It’s—"

"M-My eyes..." Lior sobs loudly, shaking harder now. "My eyes...they’re hurting so much...Maman, please help me..."

"I know," Ezra says quickly, though Kaelis could hear panic slipping into his voice now, too. "I know. We just need...we just need the—"

Then Ezra suddenly looked down at Lior fully.

And gasped.

Not softly.

Like he had just seen something horrifying.

That immediately made Kaelis sit up straighter.

"Ezra," Kaelis says quickly, his own heartbeat speeding up now. "If he’s hurt, we have to—"

"Please get out."

Kaelis blinked.

"What?"

"I said, get out," Ezra repeats.

But now Kaelis was genuinely confused.

No—

Worried.

Deeply worried.

"Ezra, what’s going on?" Kaelis asks, standing up again carefully. "What happened to him?"

He takes another step forward instinctively, trying to see Lior properly.

Trying to help.

But then—

"GET OUT!"

Ezra screamed it this time, taking Kaelis aback.

And when Kaelis finally saw Ezra’s face clearly—

His stomach dropped.

Because Ezra looked terrified.

Not angry.

Terrified.

"Ezra..."

Kaelis wanted to approach him.

Gods, he wanted to.

He wanted to go closer, kneel beside him, see what was happening to Lior, help somehow, do something instead of just standing there uselessly while the child cried in pain.

But that look on Ezra’s face—

That expression alone made Kaelis slowly step back instead.

Because Ezra didn’t just look panicked.

He looked protective.

Desperately protective.

Like an animal cornered with its child.

"If you need me," Kaelis says carefully, forcing himself to stay calm despite the anxiety twisting hard inside his chest, "just have someone summon me. I’ll be..."

He takes a slow breath.

"...close."

Ezra didn’t answer.

Didn’t even look back at him again.

His entire focus stayed on Lior, whose crying still echoed painfully through the room.

Kaelis could still hear him sobbing.

Still hear the pain in his voice.

And as much as those cries made Kaelis want to stay rooted exactly where he was, he forced himself to turn around anyway.

’Lior...’ Kaelis thought heavily as he finally stepped outside and quietly closed the door behind him.

The joy from earlier was completely gone now.

Completely replaced by worry.

A deep, awful kind of worry that settled heavily inside his chest the second Ezra screamed at him to leave.

Kaelis exhales slowly, pressing a hand briefly against his forehead.

’Why do I feel so helpless?’

Because he was helpless.

Ezra was Lior’s parent.

His only parent.

Of course,e Ezra would know what was happening to him.

Of course, Ezra would know what to do if something was wrong.

But Kaelis...

What exactly was Kaelis here?

He had barely known Lior for a few days.

A few days.

That was all.

He had no authority.

No right.

No place interfering when Ezra clearly wanted him gone.

But remembering Lior from the night they found him after the kidnapping—

Remembering how terrified he looked back then.

And remembering how he looked just now on the floor, crying—

Kaelis’ chest tightened painfully.

Because somewhere along the way, without even realizing it—

Kaelis had started caring too much.

He only wanted the child to be safe.

Happy.

That was all.

That was why he rushed here the second he heard Helios had returned.

Because even though Kaelis knew Helios wasn’t stupid enough to openly do something inside the king’s palace—

He was still worried anyway.

And god, it actually stung.

’I guess this is what a parent feels like for their child,’ Kaelis thought bitterly, letting out a quiet, humorless chuckle as he glanced back one last time at Ezra and Lior’s closed door.

Too bad Kaelis was in no way a parent.

Nor did he ever plan on dragging a child into the disaster that was his family.

"I just hope he’s okay—"

"Your Highness."

Kaelis immediately stopped walking.

That voice was familiar.

Very familiar.

He turned around and saw—

"Captain Aamon, welcome back," Kaelis says, straightening slightly as Aamon dips his head politely in greeting.

"It is good to be back," Aamon says warmly, smiling faintly. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, uhm..." Kaelis rubs lightly at the back of his neck. "I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but—"

"I was joking," Aamon cuts in with a soft laugh. "I know why you’re here. I heard about Ezra’s move, and I heard you were here."

Then Aamon’s smile softened slightly.

"I came here for you."

Kaelis blinked in confusion.

"Pardon?"

"His Majesty has asked me to summon all his sons," Aamon explains calmly.

Kaelis’ eyes widened slightly.

"Oh. That would be difficult," Kaelis says dryly. "I think he’s on son number twenty-six now?"

That earned an actual chuckle from Aamon.

"Your humor has always been refreshing, Prince Kaelis," Aamon says fondly as he gestures for Kaelis to follow him down the hall. "Like your father when he was your age."

Kaelis immediately laughed at that.

"You always say that, but I can hardly imagine my father laughing genuinely," Kaelis says as he starts walking beside him. "Let alone cracking a joke."

"Oh, but he was quite the jokester," Aamon says with surprising confidence. "He could make me laugh for hours with his ridiculous antics."

Kaelis shakes his head in disbelief, still laughing faintly under his breath.

"That sounds fake."

Aamon only smiles knowingly at that.

After that, they continued walking in silence for a while.

But Kaelis found himself glancing at Aamon occasionally.

’Father thinks Aamon is a suspect despite them being friends since childhood,’ Kaelis thought quietly.

And honestly—

Kaelis still didn’t fully understand it.

Samson had been strangely vague when explaining it.

Only mentioning some disagreement between them years ago that he believed could become a motivation.

But Kaelis didn’t buy it.

Not really.

Kaelis considered himself a good judge of character.

And growing up, he had never heard Aamon speak badly about Samson.

Not once.

If anything—

Aamon admired him.

A lot.

Actually, Aamon was probably the only person Kaelis knew who consistently spoke well about Samson without fear or obligation attached to it.

And strangely enough, despite Samson’s suspicion toward him—

Samson never truly spoke badly about Aamon either.

’Those two are odd,’ Kaelis thought quietly.

But honestly, he couldn’t focus on that for long.

Because no matter how much he tried distracting himself—

His thoughts kept drifting back toward one person.

Lior.

The way he cried.

The way Ezra panicked.

The way Ezra looked was genuinely terrified.

Kaelis’ chest tightened again.

’I really hope he’s okay.’

And somewhere in the back of his mind, Kaelis had already made a quiet decision.

Once this meeting with Samson was over—

He was going back to check on them again.