The sanctuary had changed.
Valentine felt it the instant she crossed the threshold into the inner chamber. The air no longer carried the quiet calm she had grown used to. It vibrated, low and constant, like something vast holding itself in check. The silver-veined symbols etched into the stone walls glowed brighter than before, pulsing in slow, deliberate rhythm, as though they were alive and watching her.
Watching and waiting.
She had not slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, the same sensation returned. Not pain. Not comfort either. It was pressure. A persistent awareness, like an unfinished sentence echoing in her chest. The bond she was supposed to be free of refused to fade, tugging at her thoughts, her breath, her instincts.
She stopped a few steps into the chamber.
Eryx stood
