The heavy doors had opened onto a huge room, lit by golden chandeliers that seemed to hang in the void. The white walls and immense columns projected a solemn atmosphere. The room was full of nobles in dark robes, adorned with discreet jewels, a reminder of the tragic event they had come to commemorate.

Jinx, camouflaged under an elegant black veil that fell to her shoulders, advanced with an uncertain step. Her hair, hidden, and her brown lenses gave her an almost unrecognizable appearance. However, her hands betrayed her agitation, trembling slightly against Lux's arm to which she clung without even realizing it.

She sighed, nervous, glancing around her.

"Are you sure there won't be a problem?" she whispered to Lux. Lux turned her head slightly toward her, a reassuring smile on her lips, though her own hands betrayed a slight nervousness.

"Everything will be fine, Jinder, I promise. I suggested we go to a separate office to talk. No need to stay here any longer than necessary."

Jinx nodded, but the dense crowd made her feel trapped. What if he was here? Ekko... No. He must have gone home by now. She forced herself to breathe, but the irrational fear of a face-to-face still haunted her. She squeezed Lux's arm, seeking comfort she refused to admit.

Lux led her with feigned confidence, greeting the nobles here and there with a polite smile. But when an elegant woman with stern features approached, Lux slowed, her smile becoming slightly tighter.

"Luxanna, my dear, I am glad to see you here." Your commitment to our traditions is admirable," the woman said, her voice full of natural authority.

"Aunt Tiana," Lux replied, tilting her head, almost like a child caught in a snafu.

Jinx instinctively recoiled. Tiana. Lux's aunt. The woman who had raised Garen and his sister in the strict traditions of Demacia. But that wasn't what made her flinch; it was the way Lux had introduced her.

"This is my friend, Jinder," Lux said with a nervous smile, skimming over the details quickly.

My friend. Not her cousin. Not the usual facade. It seemed insignificant, but Jinx knew that Lux weighed every word, every introduction, especially in such a delicate setting.

Tiana gave her a piercing look.

"A friend, huh? It's rare for you to introduce us to someone outside of the family, my dear." Nice to meet you, she said in a polite tone, though she seemed to be assessing every detail of Jinx.

Jinx murmured a barely audible "nice to meet you," lowering her head slightly to avoid her gaze. She felt the unease rising in her.

Tiana didn't ask any more questions, but doubt lingered in Jinx's mind. She remained silent until Tiana finally moved away, caught up in another conversation.

She waited for Lux to speak, but the silence between them was becoming heavy. Finally, Jinx let out, in an almost inaudible whisper:

"So now she's your 'friend'?"

Lux seemed to hesitate, as if searching for her words. Then she sighed softly:

"Because she knows who my real cousins ​​are. That would have complicated things. But don't worry, she didn't notice anything. And... I didn't lie, right?"

Jinx was silent for a moment after Lux's words, the weight of that simple sentence—And I didn't lie, did I?—sinking deep into her mind. She wanted to be touched, to feel a comforting warmth in those words. But all she found was a maelstrom of confusion and pain.

Friend. Lux saw her as a friend.

That should have been enough, right?

Yet a part of Jinx rebelled against the idea, searching for some hidden agenda, some unseen betrayal. She took a deep breath, forcing her mind to calm down.

"Yeah," she finally murmured, looking away slightly. "I guess you didn't lie."

Lux smiled at her, but Jinx couldn't help but notice the tension in her features.

As they moved through the crowd, the heavy atmosphere around them didn't seem to let up. The conversations, the furtive glances, the sound of footsteps... It all seemed too loud, too present for Jinx, who clung to Lux's arm as if it were an anchor.

That's when a firm hand gripped Jinx's bound arm. She jumped slightly, half-turning to see Lux's aunt, watching them with disconcerting intensity.

"Besides, your brother is looking for you everywhere," she told Lux, her voice calm but tinged with an implicit order.

Lux froze instantly, her body going rigid under her aunt's piercing gaze. Jinx, still clinging to her, felt this stiffness, as if every muscle in the young woman had suddenly locked.

Lux nodded, swallowing discreetly.

"Thank you, Aunt Tiana. I'll join him as soon as I can."

Her aunt raised an eyebrow, her gaze briefly sliding over Jinx. She didn't say anything else, but her presence was enough to establish a palpable unease. Then, without another word, she turned on her heel, walking away into the crowd.

Jinx turned her eyes to Lux, who remained motionless, staring at an invisible point in front of her. The tension in her face was now impossible to ignore.

"Are you finally going to explain to me why you're reacting like this?" Jinx said, breaking the silence, her tone mixing irritation and a hint of genuine concern.

Lux turned her head towards her, her eyes betraying a glint of panic. She opened her mouth to respond, but her words stopped for a moment. Then, under the stress, she opted for a defensive response.

"The day you explain to me why you react like that with Councilor Hale."

The scathing retort cracked like a whip. Jinx blinked, unsettled. She stepped back slightly, her expression changing from disbelief to a mixture of anger and pain.

"Wow," she breathed, sketching a bitter smile. "Nice pirouette, Lux. Really."

Lux pursed her lips, perhaps realizing that her answer had gone beyond what she wanted to convey. But she didn't apologize. The stress and emotions were boiling too much inside her for her to back down now.

Jinx looked away, clenching her fists slightly. Councilor Hale. Of course she had noticed his panic around him. But Lux had no right to send her back to her own shadows to avoid talking about hers.

"I hope it's worth it," Jinx whispered icily.

She let go of Lux's arm and took a few steps away, leaving a gap between them. Lux stood there frozen for a moment, her gaze fixed on Jinx's back, before sighing and following suit, the tension still palpable.

----

The dim light of the chandeliers bathed the room in a hushed and solemn atmosphere. The rustle of conversation mingled with the quiet notes of a string orchestra, but to Ékko, it all seemed muffled, almost unreal. Sitting next to Mél, he did his best to appear relaxed, though his thoughts swirled like a storm. Their recent discovery about the Swain terrorists remained a closely guarded secret between them. They knew that the walls had ears.

Mél placed a light hand on her wrist, drawing her attention.

"Calm down, Hale," she murmured with a confident smile. "These places are far too protected. They won't dare attack again. Trust me, it will be safe."

Ekko nodded without answering, unable to share her optimism. Under his false identity as Councilor Hale of Piltover, he had learned to mask his emotions, but his mind remained alert. Safety did not mean the absence of danger, and he knew too well that chaos could arise where one least expected it.

His gaze drifted to the guests who were engaging in the local traditions of giving thanks to the dead. Each guest placed a small lozenge under their tongue, a simple but symbolic gesture. When the lozenge melted, it transformed the food and drink consumed that evening into an offering to honor the dead.

To Ekko, the custom was both fascinating and foreign. Compared to the rites of Piltover and Zaun, it seemed almost cold, stripped of emotion, but he had to admit that it had a certain gentleness, a silent respect. His plate remained almost untouched. He had deliberately avoided taking vegetables.

The idea of ​​offering spinach or green beans to Jinx seemed ridiculous to him.

That damn girl. She didn't like vegetables, and he still remembered the arguments they had had about them. She ate little, and often poorly. If Jinx was truly dead—a fact he was still struggling to accept—he wanted his offering to be as true to her as possible.

As he was lost in thought, two imposing figures approached their table.

"Good evening, Councilor Hale, Lady Mel," a deep, confident voice said.

Ekko looked up to see a massive man in impeccable armor, accompanied by another equally imposing figure but wearing a discreet crown: one Garen Crownguard and, of course, King Jarvan IV himself.

"Sir Garen, Your Majesty," Mel replied with natural grace, rising slightly to greet them.

"Jarvan will suffice," the king said with a cordial smile. "We are here to honor the dead, not to recall titles."

A polite exchange ensued, Mel mastering the subtleties of conversation with flying colors. Ekko, on the other hand, remained silent, watching intently.

"I have heard, Your Majesty," Mel continued with a mischievous smile, "that a certain rumor is circulating about... your engagement."

The king raised an eyebrow, a playful smile playing on his lips.

"Rumors travel fast, I see," he replied, glancing at Garen. "Perhaps I should ask my friend here to keep a closer eye on his sister."

Garen rolled his eyes, an amused smile softening his stern face.

"Lux is old enough to make her own decisions, Your Majesty. And if she ever becomes queen, I have no doubt she will order you around with all the respect a king deserves."

Jarvan laughed sincerely.

"I have no doubt of that, Garen."

Ekko frowned slightly. Luxanna Crownguard. The name echoed in his mind. He remembered her, the elegant noblewoman he had met at the ball, introduced as Jinder's cousin.

He stared at Garen, trying to put the pieces together. If Lux was related to Jinder, then Garen must be too, right?

"And how is... your cousin Jinder?" he asked suddenly, his voice calculated but tinged with genuine curiosity.

Garen looked at him, slightly puzzled.

"My cousin?" he repeated slowly.

Ekko felt a silent tension settling in. The silence that followed was cut by Mel, as clever as ever.

"Oh, I think Hale must have mixed up," she said with a disarming smile. "You know how he likes to pry into the details of noble families."

Garen nodded slowly, a polite but uncertain smile on his lips.

"Well, I don't have a cousin named Jinder, but... perhaps someone in the room could give you some information, some advice."

Ekko tilted his head, his mind racing.

The glow of the candlesticks, dancing on the golden walls of the great hall, enveloped everything in an almost unreal glow. Ekko, under his mask of Councilor Hale, remained motionless, discreetly observing the movements around him. His gaze suddenly caught on a figure in the distance: Luxanna Crownguard, alone and hesitant, advancing timidly in their direction.

King Jarvan IV noticed her almost immediately.

"Luxanna! Come join us," he said with a warmth that Ekko found calculated.

Luxanna paused for a moment, as if surprised by the invitation. Her face displayed a complex mixture of shyness and something deeper—a palpable worry. Despite this, she approached, her brother Garen welcoming her with boundless energy.

"My little sister!" he exclaimed, lifting her off the ground in a brotherly embrace that made the young woman burst out in genuine laughter.

It was a sweet, almost touching moment, but Ékko was not fooled. He noticed a slight nervous tic on her face: a rapid blink of the eyes, a barely perceptible tension in her smile. She was happy, yes, but this happiness seemed veiled by a constant worry.

Lux blushed slightly, but Ékko, ever vigilant, noticed a subtle tension in her gestures.

"You are lucky, Miss Crownguard," Mel said, observing the scene with a polite smile. "Having such a caring brother is a blessing."

"Garen is... sometimes a little too demonstrative," Lux laughed softly while avoiding meeting Mel's gaze.

"Don't be modest, Lux," Garen said cheerfully with a broad smile as he set his sister down on the ground. You are the star of our family. I am proud of you.

"And soon, you will become more than a star. A queen. A light for all the kingdom," King Jarvan IV spoke, an amused glint in his eyes.

Lux blushed even more, lowering her eyes and playing with a lock of her hair.

"I will do my best to live up to it," she replied softly.

When Jarvan addressed a few words to her, tinged with that mixture of authority and flirtation that only kings can afford, Lux blushed, looking away briefly. She played her part wonderfully, but Ekko, always attentive, saw through the mask. This marriage was forced. The political stakes, no doubt. Luxanna Crownguard was not a woman who wanted to become queen.

As she exchanged polite words with the king, Ekko noticed an intriguing detail. At times, her eyes roamed the crowd, as if she were looking for someone. Her gaze swept the assembly with an insistence that did not fit her role. Who was she looking for?

Jinder. The name crossed Ekko's mind. He remembered the previous evening, when Lux had introduced him to this famous "cousin." He was no longer fooled now.

"You won't find her," he murmured in a low tone, but calculated so that she would hear him.

Lux froze slightly, slowly turning her head towards him. Her eyes, a clear blue, betrayed a shadow of panic.

"Your... cousin, Jinder. You know, the one you told me about?" he added, smiling slightly. "I understand that she is not really here." A tense silence fell between them, and Lux ​​seemed about to respond. But before she could open her mouth, Jarvan spoke again, his tone cheerful.

"That reminds me of someone," he said, a strange glint in his eyes. "A girl who saved my life."

The words froze Luxanna. She turned abruptly toward the king, her expression changing from surprise to poorly concealed panic.

"Your Majesty," she whispered, her voice trembling but urgent, "you promised that... that this would remain private."

Jarvan, however, seemed to have made an irrevocable decision.

"No, Luxanna," he said with a certain gravity. "This is your friend, so she deserves more than anonymity. She saved my life. She deserves to be recognized for it."

"No!" Lux protested, her voice rising slightly in intensity. She placed a hand on the king's arm, a bold and desperate gesture. You can't do that.

The room seemed to hold its breath. Garen, a few steps away, frowned, clearly displeased by his sister's audacity, while Jarvan raised an eyebrow, surprised by her gesture.

Aware of the sudden attention, Lux awkwardly transformed her embrace into a more intimate gesture, her fingers briefly brushing the king's hand.

"Please," she whispered under her breath, her tone pleading.

Jarvan, however, did not budge. He clapped his hands, and the sound echoed through the great hall like a clap of thunder.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give me your attention," he declared in a loud and commanding voice.

Luxanna, petrified, looked down, her shoulders trembling slightly. Ékko watched the scene, every fiber of his being tense. What was happening?

---

The roar of applause collapsed like a dull wave in Jinx's ears. Her hands, clammy and trembling, gripped the edge of the table in front of her. She had heard every word of King Jarvan IV, and now her world seemed to be reeling.

"No, no, no... Not now, not here."

The light focused on him, bright, cruel. His voice, full of the authority that made crowds bend, echoed in every corner of the room.

"That sad night when I nearly lost my life... but when a brave soul stood up to the chaos. A close friend of Miss Luxanna Crownguard. A young girl who holds a special place in our hearts: Jinder."

"Jinder."

The false name suddenly seemed grotesque to her, a fragile mask ready to crack under the weight of all those gazes that were now sweeping the crowd. Murmurs ran through the room. The guests searched for clues, signs, a silhouette that could match this announced heroine.

Jinx felt her breath shorten. Her ribcage seemed to contract, each breath becoming a fight against an invisible weight. A cold sweat beaded down the back of her neck. She curled up slightly, hoping to become invisible, to melt into the shadows, but the light seemed to stalk every corner.

"She told them... That damn blonde told them."

Her eyes found Lux, standing next to the king. She was beautiful, noble, her face barely masking a terror that she seemed to hide behind a forced smile. But that didn't matter. At that moment, all Jinx saw was betrayal.

"She sold me out. She let them hunt me down."

Her mind raced, the voices in her head clashing like a concert of discordant screams. Memories of that fateful night came rushing back: the explosions, the blood, the screams, and the frantic race to escape death. She had saved this king without thinking, without knowing who he was, only because it was in his twisted nature to do so. And now he was handing her over on a platter.

Jinx's gaze then settled on Ekko, or rather Councilor Hale. There he stood, his face marked with a confusion she had not seen in a long time. He looked around, searching the crowd. Was he looking for her?

A surge of panic washed over her. She couldn't breathe. Her hands clutched at the folds of her dress, her trembling fingers threatening to tear the fabric. The eyes seemed to converge on her, even though she knew it was only an illusion.

"Run. Run. You know how to do it. But no... they'll see you. They'll know it's you. Stay. Act normal. BUT YOU CAN'T!"

The buzzing in her head became unbearable, a mixture of traumatic memories and catastrophic scenarios. Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it resonating in her chest.

"Jinder, if you're among us, don't be shy," Jarvan continued with poisonous kindness. "Speak up, so we can honor your bravery."

Jinx gritted her teeth, her gaze darting frantically from Lux to Ekko, then to the crowd. The nobles murmured among themselves, curious and eager to discover the identity of this mysterious savior.

"They'll know. They'll understand. It's over. Over. Over."

Lux looked away briefly, searching for someone in the crowd. She looked in his direction. Jinx curled up further, her messy hair falling over her face.

"Why are you doing this, Lux? Why are you doing this to me?"

Her anxiety exploded in a crushing wave. Her chest heaved rapidly, her hands tightening around her wrist in an automatic gesture to keep herself from falling over. She felt tears welling up, burning her eyes. Not here. Not in front of them.

"It's your fault. It's always your fault."

The whispers around her became screams in her mind. Betrayal, fear, shame. And beneath it all, a simmering anger. A rage she didn't yet understand, but it bubbled beneath the surface, ready to burst at any moment.

"They want Jinder? Fine."

Her fingers brushed the cold metal of a small gadget hidden in the folds of her belt. Just in case. Because Jinx never left without an explosive exit door.

The room had frozen around the royal declaration, but in her head, everything was moving at breakneck speed. Jinx felt her fingers tremble on the pin of the explosive hidden under the folds of her dark dress. She had never wanted to come to this, but she had no choice. Not now. Not with all this weight collapsing on top of her.

"It's all over. Lux knows.. And now Ekko will know too. I'm going to ruin it all. Again."

Cold sweat ran down the back of her neck, her breath shortened, and her heart pounded in her ears. She swallowed hard as her gaze met Ekko's, standing across the room.

He was staring at her.

Not like the others. Not like those nobles who searched for Jinder in the crowd without knowing who they were looking for. No, he seemed to see. Her eyes were searching for confirmation, a truth he still hesitated to believe. He must have noticed that unruly blue lock of hair escaping from under the dark veil. Or maybe those brown lenses that were never enough to hide who she really was for someone like him.

Jinx felt her throat tighten.

"He knows. He knows it's me. He'll understand. And everything he gave me, everything he tried to save me from... I'm going to destroy it all again."

She gritted her teeth, a dull pain rising in her chest. Her fingers around the pin stiffened, ready to act, but her body refused to move. The tremors made every movement impossible. She wanted to run, to explode, to disappear. But her legs were no longer holding. She wobbled, almost collapsing.

And then, a voice broke the silence.

—I am here, my king.

A clear voice. A familiar voice. Her voice.

The world seemed to tilt. Jinx looked up at the source of the sound, but her lips remained closed. She had not spoken. And yet...

The light swung around to illuminate a figure emerging from the crowd. A woman walked gracefully, her bearing haughty, her blue hair down to her shoulders, her violet eyes shining in the spotlight.

It was her.

"No... it can't be. This is a joke. An illusion? A trick? But... no. It's ME."

Jinx stood there, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. The woman stepped forward slowly, her enigmatic smile hiding something unsettling. King Jarvan IV descended the steps to greet her in grand style, and when he took her hand and placed a respectful kiss on it, Jinx's panic rose another notch.

Ekko, too, seemed completely disoriented. His gaze remained fixed on this woman—on this her—with an intensity Jinx knew all too well.

"No... not that look."

It was the same look he had once had, when he held her in his arms, his eyes desperate to keep her anchored in the present. That look he had given her when he had saved her, that night she had wanted to disappear forever.

Jinx staggered, sweat sticking to her dress. Her legs were shaking so violently that she nearly collapsed again. She let go of the pin, her fingers too weak to continue to cling to it. No, she clawed at her thighs instead to distinguish the illusion from reality. These hallucinations, these damned hallucinations never left her... Except that she was really bleeding.

Lux, who had remained motionless next to the king, suddenly turned her head. His gaze landed directly on her—the real Jinx.

Their eyes met, and an icy rush passed through Jinx. Lux knew. She knew her outfit, her lenses, every detail. She could see past the mask.

But Lux was also looking at the other woman, the one in the spotlight, and her face betrayed a total incomprehension. She didn't know.

They stared at each other, as if everything around them had frozen. A silent question passed between them, a shared confusion.

"Who is she?"

Jinx felt her breath quicken again, but this time, it wasn't fear that dominated. It was a cold anger, a consuming frustration.

"Who is this woman who pretends to be me?"