King Aleric's gaze drifted toward the window, as if searching for something in the clouds.
"I still can't believe..." he murmured, "you knew who your real mother was... and never once asked me what really happened."
Daemon's jaw tightened. He had questions. More than he could count. But none of them had ever seemed worth asking—until now.
"If you knew Rose was pregnant with me and Gabriel... why did you let her disappear? Why did you let her escape the palace?"
The king closed his eyes for a long moment.
Then he exhaled. Slow. Heavy.
"The truth is... it wasn't my choice."
He opened his eyes again, dull but flickering.
"Bianca drove her out."
Daemon's fingers twitched slightly.
"I loved Rose," Aleric continued, voice cracking. "But I was young. Weak. I made mistakes—mistakes that cost her everything. Mistakes that... shaped your life and your brother's."
He laughed suddenly—low, hoarse, and broken.
"Maybe the gods are punishing me, Daemon."
