Ashcroft laughs weakly.
“You think she’ll side with you now?”
“I don’t care who she sides with.”
“You should.”
Kade’s silver aura tightens.
“End him,” Kieran whispers.
Silence crashes.
This is the moment.
Ashcroft.
The architect of extermination.
The one who murdered our mothers.
The one who just tried to cut my son’s throat.
I step forward slowly.
“No.”
Kade’s gaze snaps to me.
“He doesn’t get martyrdom.”
Ashcroft smiles faintly.
“You think mercy makes you strong?”
“I think consequence does.”
I turn to Morgan.
“Resonance restraint.”
Morgan nods.
Silver threads coil around Ashcroft’s limbs.
Not burning.
Not erasing.
Restricting.
He gasps.
“You can’t hold me.”
“I don’t need to hold you forever.”
The threads tighten.
“You’re going to stand before the Council,” I
