The doors slammed shut.
Every lock inside the Leonidus mansion clacked at once—iron bolts, arcane sigils, enchanted seals. Catherine didn't blink as faint runes lit the walls in a soft red glow, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Done," she whispered.
Aiden's golden eyes flickered with something dark. Too dark. The Saintess stepped back instinctively, her breath catching like a trapped bird.
The seven women exchanged a single look—battle-ready, poised, sharpened.
The air thickened.
Then—
The floor trembled.
Aiden's head snapped to the left. His ears twitched—an instinct that wasn't human.
"…they're here," he murmured.
The Saintess froze. "Who is—"
Her words died.
Shadows pooled at the corners of the ceiling. Not normal shadows. These ones crawled—layered, liquid, alive.
Sabrina hissed. "Teleportation sigils."
Catherine's smile thinned. "So they dare."
Eve drew a dagger seemingly from thin air. "Let them come."
Akidna grabbed a spear from beneath the dining table.
