'To Gabriel von Jaunez,
You always said letters were where liars go to bury their guilt.
Maybe this is exactly that.
But still—if you're reading this, then everything I tried to prevent has already begun. And the truth is all I have left to give you.
I made a choice.
Not because I wanted to. Not because I was coerced. But because I looked at George—loyal and blind. I looked at Max—brilliant and vulnerable. And I looked at myself and saw a man who couldn't bear to watch the people he loved be crushed between the teeth of imperial ambition.
Then Hadeon came.
He didn't need threats. Just promises.
He said no one would die. That George would stay untouched. That Max would be protected. That you would remain whole—just... controlled. Watched. Carefully managed. Because of your history. Because of what you did during the rebellion. He painted you like a weapon in a silk sheath—beautiful, dangerous, unpredictable. And if you refused to bend, someone else would break you.
