The hesitation did not last.
Power never lingered in uncertainty for long. It either bent or it broke.
The sanctuary answered Valentine’s choice with a deep, resonant pulse that rolled through the stone like a held breath finally released. The sigils did not brighten. They simplified. Lines collapsed into fewer symbols, ancient complexity stripping itself down to something brutally clear.
Eryx stared at the walls, then at Valentine. “It is abandoning redundancies,” he said slowly. “This system was never meant to be fair. It was meant to be controlled.”
Valentine released Luther’s wrist, though the echo of his presence still burned along her skin. “Then say it,” she demanded. “Say what everyone has been dancing around since the beginning.”
Eryx met her gaze. No deflection this time. No
