The Guardian stood.
Right in front of them.
Patriarch Aldwin Drake. Lady Elena Stormcaller. Duke Theron Goldenvale. Elder Korrin Shadowmere. Lady Verdant Ironwood. Lord Aurelius Phoenix. Lady Serenity Moonshadow. The Northwind representative. Headmaster Valdris.
And at the center of it all, trembling with barely contained desperation, Commander Edmund Riverside—the man who had just spent the morning painting himself as victim rather than perpetrator.
The nine most powerful family heads on the continent, plus the academy's leadership, all gathered in one place.
All staring at the figure who had materialized without triggering any defensive measures.
For the briefest moment...
They stopped breathing.
Their eyes widened. Their minds went blank.
And then—
They felt it.
The pressure.
An aura so profound, so complete in its domination, that reality itself seemed to bend.
