While the twins slept their deep and healing sleep in the silver pools, the artificial peace of Selene felt like a beautiful, fragile lie that I was forced to tell myself every single morning. I spent my long, restless days in the Great Library of the Alliance, a place where the walls were lined with thousands of scrolls and heavy, leather-bound books that smelled of old parchment, dried ink, and ancient secrets. I was scouring every text I could find for any mention of my mother, Lilith. I needed to know the truth about our bloodline. I needed to know if the Lunar Alliance was as benevolent as they claimed to be, or if they were just another faction waiting for their chance to claim the power of the Silver Gene for their own political ends.
It was on the third day of my search that I f
