There was no tremor of approval in the sanctuary...
No form of warmth.
No sense of completion.
Instead, the air thickened.
The sigils carved into the stone dimmed, their silver veins fading to a dull gray, as if something older than the sanctuary itself had just inhaled. The hum beneath their feet slowed, uneven now, like a heart that had missed a beat.
Eryx Caelum stiffened.
Not with fear.
With recognition.
Valentine felt it immediately. The pressure at the base of her skull sharpened, not painful, but insistent. The pull inside her chest twisted, no longer aligning neatly with Luther’s presence.
Something had shifted.
Not forward.
Sideways.
“This was not supposed to happen,” Eryx said quietly.
Luther turned toward him, instinct flaring. “You said the convergence would stabil
