Eric watched them with a strange, tightening anticipation.
He knew—he knew—that whatever Ocean had been hiding was not something small. The man's secrets were too carefully guarded, too deeply rooted to be trivial. And yet, even as he braced himself for something earth-shattering, a part of him felt an odd sense of familiarity, as though his mind were circling a truth it already half-recognised.
What could possibly shock him more than the realisation that the man he had admired and respected since childhood—the one whose presence had always felt steady, unshakeable—was, in truth, the younger sister of his closest friend?
The same frail girl he had once looked at with gentle protectiveness.
The thought surfaced unbidden, leaving him unsettled.
Alys inhaled deeply.
Ocean stepped forward at the same time, positioning himself just slightly ahead of her—as if instinctively shielding her even now.
"Your Highness," he began.
Alys lifted her hand and touched her earstud.
