Chapter 187

CHAPTER 29… VALENTINA The shadows moved like living ink. Not in haste, but with the quiet certainty of something that had waited a very long time for this moment. Andres stood in front of me like a wall of sunfire, his back broad, wings faintly ghosted in gold beneath his skin as if his War Form lingered just beneath flesh. His heartbeat thundered through the air, steady and lethal, and through it I felt his vow coil around me like living steel. But fear still crawled up my spine. Not for myself. For the child in my arms. Luciano’s small body glowed softly, unaware of the ancient eyes now fixed upon him. His warmth was real. His weight was real. And the unbearable terror of losing him cracked something fragile inside my chest. “They’re not here to fight,” I whispered, my voice barely surviving the tremor in it. “They’re here to measure.” Andres didn’t turn, but I felt his awareness sharpen. “Measure what?” “Us…” I replied. The Moonwell hummed beneath our feet, a low mournful resonance