Chapter 199

CHAPTER 41… ANDRES The borderlands did not resist me. That was the first sign something was wrong. I had crossed enough contested ground in my lifetime to recognize the usual rhythm of threat— the tightening of wards, the prickling awareness of unseen sentries, the way the land itself began to hum when power prepared to answer power. None of that met me as I rode past the final outpost of the Crown’s reach. Instead, there was silence, like a held breath that had gone on too long. My horse’s hooves struck the road too loudly, each sound echoing farther than it should have. Even the wind felt restrained, brushing the tall grass without committing to motion, as if the land was waiting for permission it would never receive. They knew I was coming. And they wanted me to keep going… I slowed, lifting a hand to still my guard before they could close ranks behind me. The men obeyed instantly. They trusted my instincts— and more importantly, they trusted the reason I was here. Valentina… Every