Chapter 209

CHAPTER 51… ANDRES The moment the Origin Seat shuddered beneath our feet, I knew restraint had failed someone long before it failed us. The backlash rolled through the chamber like a living thing— as though a violent correction. Ancient magic recoiling against abuse. The kind of force that did not care who believed themselves powerful, only who belonged. I moved without thinking. I was already in front of Valentina before the tremor finished traveling through the stone, my arm braced across her and Luciano both, my stance wide, grounded, every instinct screaming to shield even though I knew— deeply, bitterly, that whatever came next might not be something I could block. Valentina did not stagger. That alone told me everything. Her breath hitched once, sharply, then steadied. I felt it through her back, through the way her spine aligned instead of bowed. Luciano whimpered, his small fingers tightening in her clothing, silver flickering unevenly beneath his skin like a heartbeat trying t