Chapter 65: The Family Learns

The luminous characters hung suspended in Rhaevia’s line of sight, burning bright blue before fading into nothingness.

[SOVEREIGN SENTINEL SIGNATURE DETECTED.]

She stared at the empty air where the text had hovered, her breathing shallow. Beneath the hull of the flagship, Planet V-17 continued its slow rotation, but the ancient formation buried deep within its crust had fallen still.

Raevor released her hand, his calloused fingers sliding away from hers with restraint. Neither of them spoke, allowing the silence to settle over the bridge of the starship.

It was not an awkward silence, but rather one pregnant with unspoken implications and ancient mysteries. Finally, the major general shifted his stance, his dark gaze cutting through the dimmed lighting.

"You should tell your family," he said, his deep voice breaking the stillness.

Rhaevia let out a long, weary sigh, rubbing the back of her neck as she turned to face him. "I know."

She was hardly looking forward to the conversation, well aware of how her brothers would react to the news. They were already absurdly protective, treating her like fragile porcelain despite her battlefield instincts.

If they learned that an ancient formation had recognized Raevor as her designated Sovereign Sentinel counterpart, they would likely convert the entire flagship into a heavily armed fortress. Raevor seemed to read her thoughts instantly, the corner of his lip twitching upward.

"Your brothers are going to be exceptionally difficult about this," he noted, folding his arms across his chest.

Rhaevia looked up at him, a faint, genuine smile touching her lips for the first time in hours. "You noticed?"

"I’ve noticed," he replied dryly.

Several hours later, the Rythundeir family gathered inside the flagship’s private conference chamber. The room was grand, lined with polished metal panels and soft ambient lighting that highlighted the family’s crimson dragon crest.

Her mother sat beside her father at the head of the polished obsidian table, both holding a commanding presence. Her three older brothers occupied the remaining seats along the side, their sharp eyes tracking every movement in the room.

Raevor stood near the far wall, leaning slightly against the cold metal bulkhead. He had deliberately refused a position at the table, maintaining a respectful yet vigilant distance.

Rhaevia took a slow, steadying breath, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "I need to tell you all something."

Instantly, every member of her family locked their focus onto her, their expressions sharpening with immediate concern. Her eldest brother leaned forward, his knuckles whitening against the table surface.

"Are you injured?" he demanded, his voice tight.

"No," Rhaevia answered calmly.

"Is your Guide core destabilizing again?" her second brother chimed in, searching her face for any sign of strain.

"No, my core is fine."

"Did the Imperial fleet issue a formal threat?" her youngest brother snapped, his hand hovering near his side.

"No," she repeated, shaking her head.

Her second brother narrowed his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "Then what happened down on the planet?"

Rhaevia glanced toward the far wall, meeting Raevor’s gaze for a moment. He gave her a subtle, reassuring nod, allowing her to take the lead.

She began detailing the events on Planet V-17, choosing her words with careful precision. She explained the activation of the ancient formation, the emergence of the Sovereign signature, and the sudden resonance that had linked her to the ancient system.

She described the ancient vision that had flooded her mind, detailing the record that outlined the bond between a Sovereign Guide and her specific Sentinel counterpart. As she spoke, the conference chamber grew progressively colder and quieter.

When she finally finished her explanation, none of her brothers offered an immediate response. They sat in silence, processing the scale of what they had just heard.

Suddenly, her youngest brother stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. "That means that ancient formation recognized General Veyr as..."

"Potentially connected to the ancient Sovereign pair," Rhaevia finished for him, keeping her tone even.

Her brother’s expression turned intensely complicated as he processed the revelation. He glared at Raevor, glanced back at Rhaevia, and then glared at Raevor once more.

"I don’t like this," the youngest brother declared bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Rhaevia sighed, sinking slightly into her seat. "I knew you wouldn’t."

Her eldest brother’s expression hardened into stone as he turned his full attention toward the wall where the major general stood. "This isn’t a matter of whether we like it or not."

He locked eyes with Raevor, his voice dropping an octave. "If an ancient civilization specifically identified you as a compatible counterpart to our sister, it introduces a dangerous level of political and military exposure."

Raevor did not flinch, bowing his head slightly. "I agree."

The second brother folded his arms, his posture rigid. "Are you planning to use this connection to manipulate her decisions?"

"No," Raevor stated simply.

"Are you going to claim that destiny dictates she belongs beside you?"

"No."

"Are you going to allow the Imperial Palace to use this discovery as justification to claim custody of her?"

Raevor’s eyes turned lethal and cold, his posture straightening instantly. "Absolutely not."

The three brothers exchanged swift, silent glances, silently assessing the general’s unwavering stance. Before the interrogation could continue, their mother raised a hand, her voice cutting smoothly through the tension.

"There is something the three of you should know," Duchess Rythundeir said.

Every eye in the room shifted toward the head of the table. The Duchess’s usual warm, gentle expression had vanished, replaced by an unusually solemn resolve.

"Our family maintains ancient records concerning the Sovereigns," she revealed.

Rhaevia froze in her seat, her pulse spiking. "What?"

Her mother folded her hands neatly on the table. "They are not complete records, Rhaevia. They are merely ancient fragments."

Her father remained silent beside her, his massive frame imposing as his wife continued.

"Some were passed down through generation after generation, while others were recovered from deep space ruins. Most were dismissed as historical myths because no living scholar could verify their origin."

Rhaevia felt her heartbeat accelerating inside her chest, her mind racing to connect the dots. "Why didn’t you ever tell me about this?"

"Because we never had any reason to believe those ancient texts were connected to you," her mother answered softly, looking directly into her eyes. "Until Planet V-17 awakened today."

Rhaevia slowly leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table. "What do the fragments say?"

Her mother hesitated for a brief moment, her breath catching in her throat. "They state that the original Sovereigns vanished from the galaxy."

Her father finally broke his silence, his deep, rumbling voice echoing through the chamber. "They didn’t simply vanish into nothingness."

The room seemed to drop several degrees as the Duke spoke. "They left behind a line of dedicated guardians to await their return."

Rhaevia’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "Guardians?"

"The Rythundeir bloodline may very well have been one of those guardian families," her father stated gravely.

A suffocating silence descended upon the room once more. Rhaevia stared at her parents, her mind spinning with the historical implications.

"For generations?" she whispered.

Her mother nodded gently. "We do not know precisely how far back the lineage extends."

Her eldest brother frowned deeply, resting his chin on his fist. "Then why was none of this history taught to us during our upbringing?"

"Because the most critical records were sealed by our ancestors," their father explained, his expression dark.

Rhaevia felt an odd, stirring warmth spread through her chest, a strange resonance humming beneath her skin. "Could our family have been protecting the Sovereign all along?"

Her mother looked at her with profound affection, a sad, knowing smile touching her lips. "Perhaps."

She reached across the dark table and gently placed her warm palm over Rhaevia’s hand. "Perhaps that is why certain things occurred throughout your childhood without us fully understanding the underlying cause."

Rhaevia’s breath hitched in her throat. "What kind of things?"

"Why your father was always so relentless about monitoring your mental core," her mother said softly.

Her father shifted his gaze toward the viewport, avoiding direct eye contact. "And why your brothers refused to let anyone in the capital look down on you."

Her youngest brother looked away awkwardly, clearing his throat. "Why our family consistently protected you, even when the rest of the interstellar nobility labeled you as trash."

Rhaevia’s eyes widened as decades of memories, both her own and those of the body’s original owner, flooded her mind.

She remembered the special meals her mother personally cooked, her father’s quiet, watchful presence in the background, and her brothers forming a physical shield around her whenever political rivals drew near.

They had never once treated her as useless, nor had they ever abandoned her to the harsh political reality of the Empire. It hadn’t merely been familial instinct driving them all those years.

Perhaps generations of forgotten, ancestral duty had been guiding their actions from the shadows. Protect the daughter. Protect the Sovereign.

Even if the passage of centuries had erased the original reason from their conscious minds, the instinct had remained embedded in their very bloodline. Rhaevia felt a sudden, sharp burn behind her eyelids as emotion welled up inside her.

"Then you’ve been protecting me this whole time..." she murmured, her voice trembling slightly.

Her mother squeezed her hand gently. "Perhaps our family has been guarding you for far longer than any of us truly realize."

Suddenly, her father stood up from his seat, his command aura briefly flaring through the room. The entire chamber fell silent as he turned and walked toward the far wall of the room.

"There is only one definitive way to know the truth," the Duke announced gravely.

Rhaevia watched intently as he reached out, pressing his bare palm against a seam in the wall hidden behind a decorative tapestry. A low, mechanical rumble reverberated through the floorboards of the flagship as hidden hydraulics activated.

The decorative paneling slid back smoothly, revealing a heavy, concealed corridor hidden within the ship’s internal structure. At the end of the short corridor stood a massive, imposing black door forged from unknown star-metal, its surface covered in intricate, ancient symbols.

Her father’s expression was solemn as he stepped toward the doorway. "This vault has been forbidden to open for dozens of generations."

He raised his heavy hand and slammed his palm against the center of the dark vault door. Instantly, the ancient symbols etched into the black metal burst into a brilliant, crimson light that illuminated the dark corridor.

Deep inside Rhaevia’s chest, her Guide core reacted violently to the light, pulsing in direct synchronization with the vault’s energy. The massive metal door began to tremble violently, sending dust drifting down from the ceiling panels.

Her father’s eyes hardened with absolute determination as he maintained his pressure against the door. "Today, we open it."

With a deafening hiss of released pressure, the massive vault doors slowly began to part, revealing a pitch-black chamber beyond. Deep within the ancient shadow, something forgotten by time was waiting for her to step inside.