Chapter 33

KALLIRA

The guards moved first, but they did not get far. Valerius stepped into them before they could form a proper line, and I felt the shift in the air the moment he stopped holding back. His presence pressed outward in a way that made even me pause, and I understood that he was no longer keeping himself restrained.

“Stand down,” he said.

No one moved at first, and that hesitation told me every