Chapter 5976
The instant his words landed, the valley’s air clamped tight, as if the land itself had drawn a breath and refused to release it.
A shout tore through the smoky haze.
“No!”
Jared’s shoulders stiffened before he even turned. That single syllable carried the full weight of collective fear—and it struck squarely between his ribs.
A second voice followed a heartbeat later, harsher, edged with command.
“Absolutely not!”
The refusal ricocheted off the cracked stone walls, compounding urgency atop urgency.
Jared drew a slow breath, forcing his pulse into obedience.
He turned to face them—Aurelian, Blaine, and Oswald—an ordinarily bickering trio now united, mouths still parted from their shared protest.
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