The Vale Estate.
Margaret looked at her son. Up and down. Like she was seeing him for the first time. Her eyes lingered on his face. His arms. His chest. He was fine. Completely fine. No scars. No bruises. Nothing.
She wondered if he had awakened as a prime human. Even then, his healing was unnatural. Too fast. Too perfect.
Lucian sat across from her. His mind was racing. Coming from the hospital, he had noticed something. The world he believed was normal? A lie. This world was far from normal.
The driver who brought them home. Lucian saw his Night Mark. Beastkin. And when he looked closer, he saw the driver's true face. Not human. Not entirely.
The maid who opened the door. Beastkin. Lower level. The bodyguards standing outside. Beastkin. All of them. Lower level beastkins.
For someone seeing this for the first time, he was doing a good job not freaking out. His hands weren't shaking. His voice wasn't cracking. Inside, though? Inside he was screaming.
"Mom."
Margaret looked at him.
"I know you're a prime human. And I know you're one of the leaders of the Ashen Guard." He pointed at the servants standing nearby. "And I know these guys aren't humans."
The servants shifted. Uncomfortable.
"Margie is a half-demon." He said it flat. Like a fact. "So since when were you going to tell me about all of this? When I'm about to get gouged by a werewolf?"
He glanced at one of the bodyguards.
"No offense."
The bodyguard nodded. "None taken."
Margie's head snapped up. Her eyes went wide. "Woah. Hold on. I'm a half-demon?"
She looked at Lucian. Then at her mother. Then back at Lucian.
"I'm a half-demon?" Her voice was higher now. Shaky. "Wait. Does that mean Dad is a demon?"
Lucian looked at her. Baffled. She didn't know. She really didn't know. All that hatred. All that anger. And she didn't even know what she was.
He turned to Margaret.
Margaret sighed. Took a sip of wine. Didn't answer right away.
Lucian waited.
"How did you know all of this?" Margaret set the glass down. Her face was calm. But her eyes were sharp. Concerned. Lucian could see it clearly. "Last I checked, you were oblivious to things like this. I intended to keep it that way. To keep you safe."
"Mom." Lucian leaned forward. "I need you to come clean with me. I know you're concerned about my safety. I know you want to keep me far away from this life. But I'm already in it. Whether I like it or not."
He paused. Let the words sink in.
"With what I'm seeing right now, I think I'm going to be a target. From what I can see, a demon's true name can kill them. For demon-born like Margie, it weakens them. Or it can awaken them. Either way, that kind of knowledge? Demons are going to hunt me for it."
Everyone in the room perked up. The servants. The bodyguards. Even Margie stopped her spiral and looked at him.
Margie was still processing. She was a demon spawn. Her whole life, she hated demons. She trained under her mother personally. Wanted to awaken as a prime human. Worked so hard for it.
But she couldn't awaken. Because she was a demon-born.
How ironic.
Margaret's eyes narrowed. "You can see the Night Mark?"
Lucian nodded.
"And you said something about seeing Margie's true name?"
He nodded again.
Margaret turned to the servants. Her voice dropped. Quiet. Deadly.
"If a word of this leaves this room, I will kill you all. And your families. And I will do it in the most vile and painful way imaginable."
The servants nodded. Fast. Instinctive. No one doubted her.
She waved her hand. A command. They all filed out. The bodyguards too. The door clicked shut.
Now it was just the three of them. Margaret. Lucian. Margie.
Margaret sat back. Looked at her son. Her daughter.
"I know you both have a lot to ask. But first, Lucian. How did you know about the Night Mark? That's not common knowledge. Even among hunters."
Lucian didn't blink.
"I awakened as a prime human. I have an ability. Sixth Sense. It gives me enhanced perception. That's how I can see the Night Mark. And all the information about a person."
He said it smoothly. Even he was surprised. His face was straight. His voice was steady. He had just lied to his mother. And she was one of the most powerful hunters in the world.
Margaret stared at him for a long moment.
Then she picked up her wine glass again.
"I see."
Margaret sighed.
"And you can see Margie's true name." She set the wine glass down. Her fingers lingered on the stem. "That means you can help your sister awaken her demon side."
Lucian stayed quiet.
"If that happens, Valentine will do everything he can to come get her. Even if it means going to war with me."
Margie's head turned toward her mother. Her eyes were glassy. Lost.
Valentine. Her father. A demon prince.
Margaret looked at her daughter. Then at her son. Her voice was tired now. The kind of tired that comes from carrying secrets for years.
"He came into my life at my lowest point. After Lucian's father left. Abandoned me. I didn't know where he went. Didn't know why. I was alone. Pregnant with you, Lucian. And then he just... vanished."
She paused. Took a breath.
"Valentine was there. He was kind. Charming. Made me feel like I wasn't broken. I caved. Fell for him. Had Margie."
Margie flinched.
"Few years later, I found out the truth. He was a demon all along. A demon prince." Margaret's jaw tightened. "And Margie... you hated demons. You still hate them. Because of what they did to your best friend back then. You remember. The attack. The ones who took her."
Margie remembered. Her face went pale.
"I knew if you found out your own father was a demon, and worse, a prince, it would break you. So I hid it. I made sure Valentine never told you. And I ended my marriage with him."
She looked at Margie. Really looked at her.
"So that's how it was. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But it was for your own good."
Then she turned to Lucian.
"And your father? He's a complicated mess. I guess I always had a thing for messed up men."
Lucian didn't say anything.
Margie was shaking now. Her whole body trembled. Her father. The one she loved. The one she chose over her mother. The one she almost had a fallout with Margaret for. He was a demon prince. An actual demon prince.
All those years of hating demons. Training to kill them. Wanting to awaken as a prime human so she could hunt them down.
And she was half of one.
The irony was suffocating.
Lucian watched her. His sister. His mother. Both of them falling apart in front of him.
But his mind was somewhere else.
He was thinking. Multiple things at once. Parallel thoughts. One part of him was comforting. One part was analyzing. One part was terrified.
Valentine will come for Margie if she awakens.
Mom can go to war with a demon prince.
Margie didn't know what she was.
I lied to Mom about my ability.
The system showed me everything.
My own Night Mark is locked.
Mom said Dad abandoned her.
But what if he didn't abandon her? What if something else happened?
What if Dad isn't human either?
He pushed that thought down. Buried it. Not now. Not yet.
He stood up. Walked over to the two women. Wrapped his arms around both of them. Margaret stiffened for a moment. Then relaxed. Margie just collapsed into him. Crying. Quietly.
"It's going to be okay." Lucian's voice was soft. Steady. "We have each other now. Only us."
He didn't mention his father. Didn't bring up the possibility that he might not be human either. Didn't say anything about the system. Or the redacted bloodline. Or the half-human, half-question mark that floated in his status screen.
He just held them.
And for a moment, no one said anything else.