Master Orin, who had gone unusually serious, folded his arms. "It's possible they crossed paths when she lived in Edistone with her grandparents."
Katherine shook her head. "If she met someone who looks exactly like the Emperor, she would remember. Anyone would."
Orin sighed. "You're assuming he always looked like this."
That made the room freeze again.
Arin frowned deeply. "Meaning?"
Orin spoke, "What if this face, the Emperor's face is not his original one?"
A sharp chill settled over the chamber.
Alaric felt his blood run cold.
Arin swallowed. "You mean he could have changed his appearance?"
Orin nodded. "Yes. Through medicine, through poison, through methods I don't even want to imagine. The Architect is a genius in chemistry. In anatomy. In manipulation. You've all seen his work."
Marcus whispered, horrified, "So the face we saw may not be the one the Princess met."
Aiden added, "He could've approached her as someone else entirely."
