"Aurelius."

The lion looked at him.

"Stay."

The animal remained.

Sofia led Leo through another passage.

They escaped into the forest.

Hours later, they reached a small cottage.

Elena was waiting.

The moment she saw Leo, she ran.

They held each other.

Neither spoke.

For several minutes, there was only crying.

Then Elena whispered,

"I thought I'd lost you."

Leo answered,

"I thought you'd forgotten me."

"Never."

She held his face.

"I never stopped looking."

"Then why didn't you come?"

"Because if I came, they would find you."

Leo nodded.

He understood.

Not completely.

But enough.

Elena looked toward the lion.

"Aurelius."

The lion approached.

She touched his mane.

"You kept him safe."

Aurelius lowered his head.

Then came a sound outside.

Horses.

Elena's face changed.

"They found us."

But this time, they weren't Circle soldiers.

Cassian stepped through the trees.

Behind him stood Augustus.

Elena immediately moved Leo behind her.

Augustus stopped several feet away.

He didn't reach for a weapon.

He simply looked at her.

"Elena."

She said nothing.

"I was wrong."

Her eyes hardened.

"About Lucius?"

"About everything."

"You believed he betrayed you."

"I know."

"You condemned him."

"I know."

"You let me disappear."

"I didn't know where you were."

"You didn't look."

Augustus looked down.

That was true.

For twelve years, he had believed the official story because believing it was easier than questioning the people closest to him.

"I am sorry."

Elena stared at him.

Leo watched both adults.

Then he stepped forward.

"Uncle?"

Augustus looked at him.

"Yes?"

"Did you love my father?"

The Emperor's eyes filled.

"More than anyone."

Leo nodded.

"Then we need to find out who killed him."

Augustus looked at Elena.

She nodded.

For the first time in twelve years, the three members of the Valerian family stood together.

But the reunion lasted only moments.

An arrow struck the tree beside Augustus.

Cassian shouted.

"Down!"

Everyone scattered.

The Circle had arrived.

And this time, they were not trying to hide.

They wanted the throne.

And Leo was the key.

The attack forced the royal family into hiding.

Augustus hated it.

He was accustomed to armies.

Walls.

Guards.

Power.

Now he was hiding in a forest cabin with the woman he had once considered an enemy and the nephew he had nearly lost.

Cassian stood near the door.

"We need to know who leads them."

Elena answered,

"Marcellus."

Augustus looked at her.

"He's alive?"

"He has always been alive."

Marcellus had been Augustus's closest adviser.

Trusted.

Respected.

Invisible.

He had helped shape royal decisions for years.

If Elena was right, he had manipulated the kingdom from inside the palace.

Augustus closed his eyes.

"I trusted him."

"That's why he succeeded."

Leo sat quietly beside Aurelius.

He was listening.

He understood more than the adults realized.

"Why do they want me?"

Cassian answered.

"Because you are Lucius's son."

"That's all?"

"No."

Elena looked at him.

"Your father was the rightful heir under the old succession law."

Augustus frowned.

"That law was changed."

"By Marcellus."

Silence.

Leo looked confused.

"So if I'm Emperor..."

"You could become one," Cassian said.

Leo immediately shook his head.

"I don't want to."

Everyone stared at him.

"Why?"

"I want my mother."

Elena hugged him.

Augustus looked away.

The boy wasn't interested in power.

That was precisely what made him dangerous to people who wanted it.

The next morning, they returned secretly to the capital.

The palace appeared normal.

Servants moved through the halls.

Guards stood at their posts.

Nobody knew the Emperor had returned.

Marcellus entered the throne room.

He looked surprised to see Augustus.