The castle’s air is thick with tension the moment you cross the threshold. Shiro, Keith, Pidge, Hunk, Lance, Allura—they’re all there, waiting like a tribunal. Their eyes flick from you… to the tall figure at your back.

Lotor doesn’t hide. He steps forward beside you, his posture regal, his expression unreadable. He knows what he looks like to them: the enemy, the son of the monster who razed worlds.

Allura’s voice is the first to break. “You dare bring him into this sacred place? You—” Her eyes snap to you, sharp with betrayal. “How could you?”

Keith doesn’t even wait—his blade ignites, the glow sparking against the polished floor. “We don’t need to listen. He dies here.”

Your own blade is in your hand before the words have finished leaving his mouth. Sparks burst as your weapons meet, the clang echoing through the hall. “Back down, Keith,” you growl, a sound too raw, too instinctual. “If you want him, you’ll go through me first.”

Shock ripples through the team. Shiro’s face hardens. “Explain yourself. Now.”

You swallow hard, your voice trembling but unyielding. “Because he’s mine. Lotor is my mate.”

The silence after is crushing.

Allura stumbles back a step, her face pale, eyes wide. “No… no, that’s—” Her voice breaks, trembling. “He is Galra. He is Zarkon’s son. You’re my sister. An Altean princess. You cannot—”

“I didn’t choose this,” you bite out. “Neither of us did. The bond doesn’t care about blood or war. It’s there, and it won’t be broken.”

Lotor finally steps forward, his voice calm, smooth—yet edged with something more protective than you’ve ever heard from him. “Your sister speaks the truth. I never asked for this bond. I never expected it. But it exists. Denying it won’t change that.”

Keith snarls, ready to lunge again. “Convenient, isn’t it? You manipulate her, twist her head around, and then claim you’re ‘fated’—”

Lotor cuts him off, sharp as a blade. “Do not mistake me for my father. I am not Zarkon, and I do not need to manipulate what is already written into our very blood. Do you think I would risk stepping into the lions’ den if this were a lie?” His gaze hardens, flicking across the team before resting on Allura. “I stand here knowing you would sooner kill me than hear me. I came anyway. For her.”