The door had barely closed before I was already moving.
"No."
Selene's voice cut through the room instantly.
I stopped halfway to the door and looked back.
She was staring at me with the same expression people used when they saw someone preparing to jump off a cliff.
Unfortunately for her, I was already halfway over the edge.
"I'm going."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
For a moment, I understood exactly how Kairo felt whenever he argued with me.
It was deeply irritating.
Selene crossed her arms.
"You're not trained."
"Neither is common sense, apparently, and that hasn't stopped anyone in this family."
A brief flicker of amusement appeared in her eyes.
Gone a second later.
"That won't work on me."
"It was worth trying."
"Not really."
I sighed dramatically.
The door remained closed.
Kairo was already leaving.
Already moving toward a confrontation that could potentially become a disaster.
And somehow I was expected to sit here and wait?
Absolutely not.
"I need to go."
Selene studied me carefully.
"Why?"
The question caught me off guard.
Not because I didn't know the answer.
Because I knew it too well.
A few months ago, the answer would have been simple.
Curiosity.
Concern.
A desire to understand what was happening.
Now?
Now it was something else.
Something much harder to ignore.
"Because if something happens to him..."
The words caught in my throat.
The room became quiet.
Selene's expression softened slightly.
Only slightly.
"You love him."
It wasn't a question.
I looked away.
"...Yes."
The admission felt easier than it once would have.
Not because the feeling had become smaller.
Because it had become impossible to deny.
The silence stretched.
Then Selene sighed.
A long, exhausted sigh.
The kind people made when they realized they were losing an argument.
"I hate that look."
"What look?"
"The one you're making right now."
I blinked.
"I'm making a look?"
"Yes."
"What kind of look?"
"The exact same look Kairo makes before he does something reckless."
I froze.
Selene pointed at me.
"That."
"...I don't know if I should be offended."
"You should."
A pause.
Then she rubbed her forehead.
"Fine."
My eyes widened.
"Fine?"
"Fine."
"That's suspiciously easy."
"Don't make me change my mind."
I immediately shut up.
A survival instinct was important.
Even if it arrived late.
---
An hour later, we were on the move.
Well.
Selene was on the move.
I was sitting inside a vehicle trying very hard not to imagine every possible terrible outcome.
Unfortunately, my imagination was extremely cooperative.
The city outside rushed past the windows.
Busy streets.
Crowded intersections.
Towering buildings.
Normal life continuing completely unaware of the political disaster unfolding behind the scenes.
It felt strange.
How could the world keep moving so normally when everything felt like it was about to explode?
Across from me, Selene was reading reports.
Dozens of them.
She looked calm.
Focused.
Professional.
I hated it.
"Are you worried?"
"Yes."
The immediate answer surprised me.
I blinked.
"You admitted that very quickly."
"Because I am."
She closed another report.
"The difference is that panic doesn't solve anything."
Reasonable.
Annoyingly reasonable.
I slumped back into my seat.
The vehicle continued forward.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then something occurred to me.
"Kairo planned this."
Selene glanced up.
"What?"
"He knew Cassian wanted a confrontation."
"Yes."
"He knew this would happen eventually."
"Yes."
I frowned.
"Then why wait?"
The silence lasted longer this time.
Finally, Selene answered.
"Because he was waiting for certainty."
I sat up slightly.
"Certainty about what?"
Her expression darkened.
"Who the enemy was."
The answer settled heavily in my chest.
Of course.
Kairo wasn't the type to act without information.
Every move he made was deliberate.
Calculated.
Patient.
Cassian had spent months hiding behind intermediaries and political games.
Now he'd stepped into the open.
And Kairo had finally decided it was time to respond.
The realization wasn't particularly comforting.
If anything, it made me more nervous.
Because patient people were often the most dangerous when they finally chose to act.
And Kairo was one of the most patient people I'd ever met.
---
The meeting location was exactly what I expected.
Which meant it was the opposite of comforting.
A massive estate stood at the edge of the city.
Ancient stone walls surrounded the property.
Security personnel patrolled every entrance.
Elegant.
Powerful.
Intimidating.
The kind of place designed to remind visitors exactly who held power.
"Subtle," I muttered.
Selene snorted.
"Not his style."
"Clearly."
The vehicle rolled through the gates.
My stomach immediately tightened.
This was it.
The place where everything would finally come together.
Or fall apart.
Possibly both.
The vehicle stopped.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Selene spoke.
"Stay close to me."
I looked at her.
"That's reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be."
Of course it wasn't.
I almost missed normal conversations.
Then again, this family had permanently destroyed my definition of normal.
The door opened.
Cool air rushed inside.
And suddenly there was no more time to think.
Only time to move.
---
The interior of the estate was beautiful.
Which somehow made it worse.
Everything looked expensive.
Perfect.
Carefully arranged.
The kind of place that concealed danger beneath elegance.
Servants guided us through enormous hallways.
Past priceless artwork.
Past towering windows.
Past enough wealth to fund several small countries.
Eventually, we reached a pair of massive doors.
The servant stopped.
"The meeting is inside."
No kidding.
I hadn't expected the meeting to be in the kitchen.
The servant opened the doors.
And the world changed.
The room beyond was enormous.
A long conference table dominated the center.
Several powerful figures were already seated.
Council members.
Family heads.
Political leaders.
People whose decisions affected entire territories.
And at the far end of the room—
Kairo.
Calm.
Composed.
Waiting.
Relief hit me so suddenly it almost hurt.
He was fine.
Still alive.
Still standing.
Still exactly as frustratingly composed as ever.
Then my gaze shifted.
And landed on the man sitting opposite him.
Silver hair.
Sharp eyes.
An elegant smile that never reached those eyes.
The resemblance was unmistakable.
Not identical.
But close enough.
Family.
Cassian.
For a moment, he simply watched me.
Observing.
Evaluating.
Like he already knew exactly who I was.
Then his smile widened.
And every instinct in my body screamed danger.
"Interesting," Cassian said softly.
The room became silent.
Completely silent.
His gaze remained fixed on me.
Then he leaned back slightly.
And spoke words that immediately sent a chill down my spine.
"So this is the omega who changed everything."
The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.
And somehow—
I knew this meeting had just become personal.