The new rebel arrived at dawn, his coat dusted with frost and the hilt of a blade visible at his hip.
Aria spotted him from the watchtower. He didn't come with a caravan or backup, just a single pulse-tag and a message sealed with the sigil of the southern rebellion.
Kell greeted him first.
"Name?" Kell asked.
"Rael Vex," the stranger replied. "Son of General Vex. I'm here for the girl who lit the signal."
Aria descended the tower just in time to meet his gaze.
His eyes were strange—icy blue, but too sharp, like they saw straight through her.
"You're Aria Virell," Rael said without hesitation. "Your mother and my father… they fought together. Once."
Aria blinked. "That's impossible. My mother hated the regime."
"Because she helped build it." Rael's voice was cool. "Before she turned rebel, before she went into hiding, she helped engineer the first generation of Seraph Serums. Your family was never just a target, Aria. You were part of the foundation."
Silence fell like a weight.
Xander moved closer, his expression hard.
Aria looked between them, mind racing. "Prove it."
Rael pulled out a worn photograph.
It showed a younger Amara Virell, smiling beside a man in a uniform. Behind them stood a massive laboratory—one Aria recognized from her nightmares.
"You still think you're just the victim in all this?" Rael asked quietly. "You're not. You're the legacy."