The archive door slammed open before Brennan finished knocking.
"You need to see this now," Brennan said, breathless, a thick folder clutched against his chest.
Kane rose from the small desk where he'd spent the morning combing through fragments of family history with Talyn and Senna. "What did you find."
"Corwin Vale isn't just an elder who happened to gain influence," Brennan said, spreading documents across the table. "His grandfather petitioned for Ashbourne bloodline rights three generations back. Lost the claim to your great-grandfather in a formal council vote."
Kane felt something click into place. "A rival claim."
"Buried in old records nobody's looked at in decades," Brennan said. "The Vale family believed they had legitimate standing to lead instead of the Ashbournes. Lost,
