{ a few minutes later…}
The silence of the palace felt heavy, like the air before a lightning strike. After the storm in the King's Study, a new panic had set in. the youngest twins were missing. They hadn't been seen since Kenzo had stormed out to rescue Calix from his aunt's study.
Arion, his paternal instincts screaming louder than his duties as a King, led the search. Behind him, Aiden followed in a state of quiet, somber reflection. The earlier scolding about Lorcan still burned in his mind, but seeing his father's genuine terror for the younger ones made Aiden's own frustrations seem small.
"They aren't in the main gardens, Papa," Aiden whispered, his voice steady despite the tension. "But Kenzo always goes high when he's upset. He says the air is cleaner at the top…I think?."
Arion stopped at the base of the spiral staircase leading to the Old Nursery attic. His nose twitched. The scent of burnt sugar.Kenzo's Alpha scent, was jagged and sharp, mixed with the fading strawberry and ozone of Calix's unstable mana.
"They're up there," Arion said, his voice a low growl of relief and dread.
The door to the attic creaked open, revealing a room frozen in time. Dust motes danced in the dim afternoon light, settling on rocking horses and moth eaten tapestries. In the far corner, huddled beneath a collapsed fort of old blankets, they found them.
Aiden gasped. Kenzo was sitting upright, his back against a trunk, looking deathly pale. He was clutching his left shoulder, his small fingers trembling as they rubbed at the fabric of his shirt. In his lap, Calix was a mess of tangled hair and shaking limbs.
"Kenzo! Calix!" Arion lunged forward, dropping to his knees on the dusty floorboards.
The moment Calix heard Arion's voice, the dam broke again. He scrambled toward his father, throwing his small arms around Arion's neck. He was sobbing so hard his entire body was convulsing.
"I'm sorry! Papa, I'm sorry!" Calix wailed, the words muffled against Arion's tunic. "I didn't mean it! I was scared and everything was changing and...and I hurt him! I hurt Kenzo!"
"Shh, Calix, look at me," Arion murmured, wrapping his massive arms around the boy. He pulled him into a tight, grounding hug, but Calix wouldn't be stilled.
"It wasn't on purpose! I promise!" Calix kept crying, his voice rising in an octave of pure hysteria. "I tried to stop but my body wouldn't listen! Please don't hate me! Don't let Aunt Lily take me!"
While Arion handled Calix's emotional collapse, Aiden had moved to Kenzo's side. He gently pulled Kenzo's hand away from his shoulder, and the color drained from Aiden's face.
"Papa...look," Aiden whispered.
Arion shifted Calix to one arm and leaned over. He pulled back Kenzo's collar, and a cold shiver ran down his spine. On the meat of Kenzo's shoulder, right above the collarbone, was a deep, jagged bite mark. It wasn't just a bruise,the skin around the teeth marks was a violent, angry red, and it was visibly swelling.
"It...it feels like fire," Kenzo whispered, his eyes fluttering. He reached up to rub the mark again, his skin hissing slightly where he touched it. "Papa, why is it hot? Why does it burn?"
Arion's heart hammered. He reached out and touched the area. It was scorching, fever pitch heat radiating from the wound. This wasn't a normal injury.
"Aiden, get the Imperial Doctor. Now!" Arion commanded. "And tell Kyon to meet us in the infirmary. Move!"
Aiden didn't wait. He sprinted out of the attic, his heart thumping against his ribs. He felt a surge of guilt,he had been so worried about his experiments with Lorcan that he hadn't noticed his little brother was literally burning from the inside out.
As Arion lifted both twins,Kenzo cradled in his right arm and Calix tucked against his left,the exhaustion of the day finally took its physical toll on Calix.
Calix's crying didn't stop, but it changed into a series of weak, hiccuping gasps. The mana that had been unstable all day finally found a vent. With a soft, shimmering golden light, the hybrid features emerged. From beneath Calix's dark hair, two rounded, tiger like ears twitched into existence. A long, slender tail, covered in white fur but tipped with the iridescent scales of a serpent, curled around Arion's waist.
"Papa...I'm a monster," Calix whispered, his eyes drooping. "Aunt Lily was right...I'm a weapon."
"You are my son," Arion growled, his voice thick with emotion as he carried them down the stairs. "And if anyone tells you otherwise, I will show them what a real monster looks like."
By the time they reached the infirmary, Kenzo had fainted. His head lolled against Arion's chest, his breathing shallow and his skin turning a waxy, translucent grey.
Dr. Haelen,now fully recovered from his earlier flu but looking perpetually stressed, moved with frantic efficiency. Kyon stood by the window, his arms crossed, his eyes like daggers as he watched the doctor examine Kenzo's shoulder.
"The bite is deep," Dr. Haelen explained, his voice hushed. "But it isn't the physical wound that caused the collapse. It's the injection."
"Injection?" Arion asked, holding a now sleeping, ear twitching Calix.
"Calix is a Chimera, My Lord," the doctor said, pointing to a vial of blood he had just drawn from Kenzo. "When he bit Kenzo in that state of mana instability, his fangs acted like conduits. He didn't just bite, he accidentally performed a Pseudo Marking. He injected a massive concentrated dose of his own pheromones and raw mana directly into Kenzo's system."
☆ Medical Note: Because the bite occurred near the shoulder and not directly on the Alpha gland of the neck, the mana surge did not rewrite Kenzo's biology permanently. However, the burning sensation was the result of Kenzo's Alpha body trying to fight off the foreign, hybrid mana.
"Is he in danger?" Kyon asked, his voice dangerously calm.
"No, Your Majesty," Haelen reassured him. "He fainted because his system was overwhelmed. It's like a temporary mana poisoning. He will have a fever for a few days, and the mark will likely scar, but he will recover. He just needs to stay close to his twin to stabilize the bond."
Late that night, the infirmary was silent. Kenzo lay in a large bed, his shoulder heavily bandaged. Calix, still sporting his ears and tail in his sleep, was curled up next to him, his hand gripping Kenzo's sleeve,a single tears streaming down, followed by a tiny hiccup.
Arion sat in a chair by the bed, while Aiden stood by the door, watching them.
"I didn't know they were hurting that much," Aiden said quietly.
Arion looked up at his eldest. "Growth is painful, Aiden. For you, it's learning where the lines are drawn. For them...it's learning how to live when your own blood feels like a storm."
Arion reached out and ruffled Aiden's hair. "I was harsh earlier. About Lorcan. You're a boy with a big heart, Aiden. Just remember that a King's heart must be guarded, or it will break everyone around it."
Aiden nodded, a new maturity settling in his eyes. He looked at Kenzo's bandaged shoulder and Calix's shimmering tail. The weird hugs and experimental touches seemed like a lifetime ago. Tonight, the only thing that mattered was the quiet, rhythmic breathing of his brothers, and the knowledge that the Triple Crown was still standing—bruised, bitten, but whole….