The air at the Valerian site didn't feel like air.
It felt measured and controlled.
Filtered through something that had decided what should and shouldn't exist within it.
Galathea Brooks noticed that before anything else.
Before the structure. Before the guards. Before the quiet tension that settled into her bones the moment she stepped fully into the space.
Her shoes pressed into gravel that didn't shift quite right under her weight.
Too stable.
It seemed like even the ground here had rules.
Behind her, the low hum of the engine cut off. Silence followed-- thick, immediate, deliberate.
Cael Alexander stepped out of the vehicle a second later, closing the door with a soft, final sound that seemed to seal something in place.
No one rushed them. No alarms. No visible urgency.
Just a facility that knew they were coming--
And had already decided how to receive them.
Galathea's gaze lifted slowly to the structure ahead.
