The steel walls trembled with the sound of war.
As the last of the cryo-frost slid from Cassia's skin, she stepped barefoot onto the cold ground—frail, but with a fury that burned brighter than any weapon. Time had not dulled her resolve. If anything, it had sharpened it to a deadly point.
Isabella stood beside her mother, heart thundering. Alexander took position at their flank, eyes scanning for the next wave.
Elias patched into the facility's mainframe from the terminal. "The system's collapsing. I've got maybe ten minutes before this place self-destructs."
Cassia's gaze narrowed. "Then we don't waste time."
She turned to the command module and inserted a broken shard of metal she'd pulled from her gown—a key. A relic. The last piece needed to access the Throneshard Core.
The screen flared to life, showing the King's Archive—names, coordinates, bloodline maps. Files on every manipulated lineage, every child bred in secrecy. Proof. Everything Voss had hidden for decades.
Isabella's breath caught. "This… this changes everything."
"No," Cassia corrected softly. "You change everything."
Then the lights flickered again—and the chamber was bathed in red.
Renwick was back.
His coat hung in tatters. Blood dripped from his chin, but his eyes burned like twin embers of hatred. Behind him, two enhanced agents dragged in a prisoner—bloodied, bruised, but alive.
"Lucien Voss."
Isabella froze.
The man who had haunted her dreams, her memories, her fears—stood before her. Shackled. Smiling.
"Congratulations," Voss said, voice silky. "You found the truth. Now… what will you do with it?"
Cassia stepped forward, a storm beneath her skin.
"I'll finish what I started."
But Voss only laughed. "I've already won. The data's meaningless without the one thing they still follow—me."
Isabella's voice cut through the tension, low and lethal. "Then we break their king."
She lifted her weapon.
But Voss raised his head and whispered something only Cassia heard.
Her face paled.
"No…" she whispered. "That's not possible."
Isabella turned to her. "What did he say?"
Cassia stared at Voss, lips trembling. "He said... you're not my only daughter."