“You remember nothing?” The question hit Alessia the moment the door to her private waiting chamber shut behind her. She jumped, spinning on her heel. 
  A boy leaned against the wall near the window, arms crossed. Not quite a man, but far from a child. Around seventeen or eighteen. His posture was relaxed, but his dark blue eyes watched her with sharp scrutiny.
  His hair was black like night sky ink, falling loosely over his forehead. His features were clean-cut and elegant, like he’d been carved for royalty from birth. 
  He wore a fitted dark uniform lined with silver threads that shimmered under the sunlight and he was familiar not because Luna knew him but because Alessia’s body did.
  Her heart gave a strange, hard jolt. “You—” she began, confused. “Who are you?”
  He lifted an eyebrow, pushing himself off the wall. “I see Seraphine wasn’t exaggerating,” he said, stepping closer. “You really don’t recognize me.”
  Alessia but her lower lip. “I lost… some memories,” she said carefully. “A lot of memories, actually.”
  “Clearly.” He stopped only a few steps away, close enough that she could see the tiny flecks of silver in his eyes. 
  “I’m Eryx. Eryx Endymion.”
  Her breath caught. Endymion just like herd. The imperial name.
  “You’re… my brother?” she asked softly.
  “Half-brother,” he corrected, but his tone wasn’t sharp—just factual. “Mother is the Empress. Yours was His Majesty’s first consort.”
  Luna’s stomach twisted. Alessia’s mother wasn’t the Empress. That meant this boy—Eryx—was the legitimate heir. He must have seen the shock in her face because his expression softened a fraction.
  “You truly don’t remember anything,” he repeated, his voice quieter now.
  “No,” Alessia admitted. “I woke up, and—I don’t even know who Alessia was. Who I was.”
  He studied her for a moment, eyes moving over her face like he was searching for something—familiarity, similarity, some trace of the girl he knew. 
  He didn’t seem to find it.“Then let’s be clear,” Eryx said, hands slipping behind his back. “Things won’t be easy for you.”
  She gave a small, breathless laugh. “I already noticed.”
  He didn’t smile back. “You should have stayed in bed today,” he said bluntly. “Court was never kind to you.”
  “I didn’t want to hide,” Alessia replied.
  “Foolish,” Eryx said immediately. 
  “But necessary,” she countered. He stopped. She wasn’t sure if he was surprised or annoyed, but he let out a small exhale and stepped past her to the table in the center of the room. 
  He pulled out a chair, gesturing for her to sit. She hesitated. “Sit,” he said simply. “You’re pale.”
  Alessia sat. He took the seat across from her, leaning his elbows on the table.
  “What is the last thing you remember?” he asked.
  Alessia hesitated. She couldn’t exactly say, “I remember dying on another world’s bathroom floor after being bullied to death.”
  She needed something believable. “I remember falling,” she whispered. “Cold wind. A cliff. Pain. Then… darkness.”
  Eryx’s jaw tightened. “You remember your fall, then.”
  “I remember falling,” she repeated softly. “But not what led to it.”
  He tapped a finger against the table. “That’s convenient,” he said.
  Alessia stiffened. “Convenient?” 
  “For whoever pushed you.” Her breath froze. So he believed it too.
  “Seraphine said—” she started. 
  “Seraphine only says what is safe to say,” Eryx cut in. “If you ask her who your enemies are, she’ll tell you to rest. If you ask your tutors, they’ll give you lectures about duty. If you ask Father, he’ll tell you to learn or die.”
  Alessia flinched. Eryx’s gaze softened slightly. “I’m being harsh,” he said quietly. “But only because this place is harsher. If you want to survive here, you need to understand reality.”
  She sighed. “Then tell me the truth.”
  “Very well.” He sat back, expression sharpening. “Someone wanted you dead.”
  Alessia became tensw. “Why?” Alessia whispered.
  Eryx studied her. “That depends,” he answered. “Do you want the polite answer or the real one?”
  “The real one,” she said firmly.
  “Then I’ll tell you what no one else will: You were never meant to survive court life.” Alessia’s heart thudded painfully. Eryx continued. “You were born of a consort the Emperor favored once. That alone earned the Empress’s faction hatred toward you. Then you grew older. You spoke too honestly. You angered the nobles. You refused political grooming. You rejected alliances that might have protected you.”
  “Like… arranged marriages?” Alessia guessed.
  Eryx nodded. “Multiple. You said the men were boring or arrogant.”
  A tiny snort escaped Alessia despite the fear curling in her chest. “That… actually sounds like me,” she muttered.
  A ghost of a smile tugged at Eryx’s lips.“Your reactions really are different,” he murmured. “You’re calmer.”
  “Calmer?” She asked. 
  “You used to throw tantrums.” He shrugged. “Scream. Cry. Slam doors.”
  Alessia winced. “That sounds… embarrassing.”
  “It was,” Eryx said without hesitation. Then softer “But it wasn’t your fault.”
  “Whose fault was it?” Alessia asked.
  He leaned forward. “That depends on who you believe.” He lifted a hand, ticking off points with his fingers. “Some say you were spoiled by your attendants. Some say you were ignored by your father and acted out for attention. Some say the Empress mistreated you to weaken your position. Some say the nobles pressured you until you broke.”
  “Which do you believe?” Alessia whispered.
  Eryx looked at her.“I believe you were trapped,” he said. “Expected to be perfect without being taught how. Expected to be gracious while being insulted. Expected to be harmless while surrounded by wolves.”
  Alessia’s breath shook. He was describing Luna’s school life too. Expected to smile through pain and expected to be quiet. Expected to accept humiliation.
  “Then…” Alessia swallowed hard. “If I was trapped… why kill me?”
  “Because you were inconvenient,” Eryx said simply. “Your existence made succession messy. The nobles didn’t want you near influence. And the Emperor...” He trailed off.
  “What about him?” Alessia whispered.
  “He didn’t have time for you.” Her throat tightened. She remembered Priam’s cold eyes. His voice was like steel. Your survival is inconvenient.
  “So…” Alessia’s voice trembled. “No one loved me?”
  Eryx stared at her for a long moment. Then he said, very quietly, “I did.”
  Alessia’s breath caught. He looked away, gaze drifting to the sunlight streaming through the window.
  “You were annoying,” he said. “Loud. Emotional but, reckless. But you were also honest. Unfiltered. The only person in this palace who said what she truly felt.” He exhaled. “You didn’t hide behind masks like the others.”
  Alessia blinked rapidly, her chest tightening painfully. Eryx stood and walked to the window, hands clasped behind his back.
  “I knew you were suffering,” he said. “But you never told me how much. And I was too busy with my own training to push you.” He turned slightly. 
  “Your fall… felt wrong. Too precise.” Yes, precise mike she’d been cornered.
  Alessia’s skin prickled. “Are you saying…” Her voice cracked. “Someone planned it?”
  “I think so,” Eryx said. “But proving it?” He shook his head. “Dangerous.”
  Alessia clenched her fists. “And now?” she whispered.
  “Now you must learn to survive,” he replied. “Learn the court. Learn the factions. Learn who smiles with a knife.” 
  He stepped closer again, stopping right in front of her. “And learn to control your luminous.” 
  Alessia stiffened. “My… powers,” she murmured. “I haven’t felt anything.”
  “That’s normal after trauma,” Eryx said. “Your core might be unstable. But if anyone discovers how unstable you are, they’ll use it against you.”
  Her breath quickened. “Then what do I do?”
  “You train,” he said simply. “Starting tomorrow morning. I’ll send someone to help evaluate your condition.”
  She blinked. “You? You’re going to help me?”
  “No,” Eryx said. “If I train you openly, the Empress’s faction will call it favoritism. And Father will shut it down.”
  “Then, who?” She asked. 
  He hesitated. “Someone you once trusted.”
  Alessia stiffened. “Is that safe?” she whispered.
  “No,” Eryx said. “But neither is anything else.” He turned away. “Rest today. Let Seraphine guide you. Don’t wander. Don’t speak to anyone alone. Don’t eat anything unless Seraphine confirms it.”
  Alessia’s eyes widened. “Poison?!”
  Eryx glanced at her over his shoulder. “This is the palace,” he said dryly. “Don’t be naïve.”
  Alessia gulped hard. She became sweaty. “Eryx,” she whispered, “why… why help me?”
  He paused in the doorway. His voice was soft. “Because you’re still my sister,” he said. “And because whoever tried to kill you might try again.”
  He looked back at her fully this time, his expression unreadable. “And I won’t let you die twice.”
  The door shut, leaving Alessia sitting alone in the quiet chamber, her hands trembling in her lap. She took a shaking breath. The fear was real. The danger was real.
  The politics, the lies, the hatred—real. But so was the warmth she had seen in Eryx’s eyes so was the second chance she had been given. 
  She pressed her palm over her heart. A faint pulse of warmth answered—light, gentle but then another pulse followed. The other pulse was dark, cold, and profound. It was two cores and she thinks it is two powers waiting and growing.
  “I won’t die again,” she whispered. “Not here. Not anywhere.”
  Somewhere deep inside her, something stirred. Something bright. Something shadowed. Something awakening.