Three weeks had passed since Ethan's rebirth. To the clan, he was a quiet newborn. But inside, his thoughts never stopped.
His infant body frustrated him, but AURA kept his mind busy, feeding him fragments of analysis whenever she managed to stabilize.
Today felt different.
He was lifted from his cradle, Selene's cold hands supporting him with practiced ease. Her crimson eyes softened as she whispered his name.
"Ethan…"
Before he could process the warmth in her voice, the heavy doors of their chamber opened.
Kaelen's deep voice rumbled from the shadows. "The council awaits."
Selene's arms tightened around him for a moment, almost protectively, before she carried him into the grand audience hall.
The Veyron council chamber was carved from dark obsidian, lit only by flickering crimson torches. Seven figures sat in a crescent formation — the Elders. Their silent gazes were colder than the stone beneath them.
Lord Varos, his lined face shadowed beneath a high collar, leaned forward first. "Kaelen… the child. You claim his core has stabilized?"
Kaelen's voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. "It has."
Varos's crimson eyes narrowed. "Then why," he said, each word slow and sharp, "does his energy radiate five times denser than any Veyron newborn in three centuries?"
The silence stretched like a blade between them.
Selene shifted slightly but said nothing.
"The bloodline holds," Kaelen said finally, his voice firm, his presence dominating the hall. "That is all that matters."
One of the other Elders, Mirielle, tilted her head. Her voice was smooth, but there was danger beneath it. "Unusual or not, the child carries Veyron blood. That alone binds us to him. We protect our own."
A low murmur rippled across the council, but Varos said nothing more.
Ethan's tiny hand twitched involuntarily. He didn't fully understand the politics yet, but his instincts screamed something important: some of them wanted him gone.
AURA's faint voice whispered inside his mind, quiet and strained.
"Recommendation: maintain low profile. Three of seven individuals… hostile intent detected."
Ethan processed the warning carefully, forcing stillness into his body.
For now, survival meant staying invisible.