The barrier shattered.
Figures poured through the breach, cloaked in dark ceremonial armor etched with binding runes. Their faces were obscured, their movements precise and rehearsed.
Watchers.
They raised their staffs in unison.
Valentine lifted her hand.
The magic did not explode.
It stopped them.
Every staff froze mid-air. Runes flickered and died. The Watchers gasped as their bindings unraveled, authority dissolving in the face of something older.
“I revoke your claim,” Valentine said quietly.
The words were not shouted. They did not need to be.
The Watchers collapsed to their knees as if gravity itself had turned against them.
Luther stared, awe and horror twisting together in his chest. “Valentine…”
She looked back at him, eyes glowing softly. “This is what they were afra
