Chapter 163

CHAPTER 7… ANDRES The valley was silent, save for the soft stir of leaves and the distant drip of water through broken stones. I stood at the edge of the Gemini Temple, the mist curling around the ruins like living fingers. My eyes never left the great door — twin crescents pulsing faintly, breathing with a rhythm I could feel in my chest. Valentina sat beside Luciano in the carriage, his tiny hand curled around hers. Even asleep, he radiated something older than the morning, something that made the ground beneath us hum with recognition. I kept my hand on the hilt of my blade, though I doubted steel could hold back what had already begun to stir. The memory of the whisper echoed: “Every bridge bleeds when crossed.” It wasn’t just a warning. It was a prophecy, and it had found us… I stepped closer to the door, my boots crunching on the moss-stained stones. Valentina followed, her eyes wide, unguarded. “It’s… alive,” she whispered, voice trembling despite her usual composure. I nodded,