Stephano's POV
This wasn't about winning an argument.
This was about timing.
When she opened them again, there was something new there. Not certainty. Not fear.
Calculation.
"So what are you proposing?" she asked.
I took a breath.
This was the point of no return.
"I can act," I said.
Her head snapped up. "Without me?"
"Yes."
The word landed like a blade on stone.
"Procedurally?" she asked.
"No."
"Strategically?"
"Yes."
I stepped closer again, lowering my voice not because anyone might hear, but because some truths should never be spoken loudly.
"I can disrupt Catherine's filtration," I said. "I can introduce noise where she expects compliance. Friction where she's counting variables."
Aurora really studied me now. Not as Luna. Not as a leader.
As someone deciding whether to trust another person with something that could not be taken back.
"And you would do this," she said slowly, "without my approval."
"Yes."
"Knowing it would be framed as disloyalty."
"Yes."
