Moments later,

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The silence that followed Aria’s order hung heavy and sharp, broken only by the faint scrape of boots as the Zodiac moved to secure their positions, the distant howl of wind through the high windows, and the slow, heavy thud of hearts beating in hundreds of chests.

Everyone waited with bated breath - for Aria’s next move, for Malphas’s command, for the other shoe to drop. But no one expected the sound that tore through the hush like shattering glass: Julian’s voice, raw, shrill, and completely unhinged.

He shoved off the stone pillar he had been leaning against, his face flushed a deep, ugly crimson, his eyes...