Chapter 171. Retreat and Regroup

Xerina’s POV

The battlefield was drenched in chaos, blood, and the smell of burning earth. Luca stumbled, his body collapsing under the weight of his wounds. His breath came in ragged gasps as he clutched his side, blood seeping through his fingers. I rushed to his side, my heart hammering in my chest as I knelt beside him.

“Luca, stay with me,” I urged, pressing my hands to the wound in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. His face was pale, his eyes glassy with pain.

“I’m… I’m ne, little sis,” he groaned, wincing as he tried to sit up. But the tremble in his voice told me everything. He wasn’t ne. None of us were.

The battle had turned, and it was no longer in our favor. Valeria had appeared at the heart of the fight, her power far beyond anything we’d anticipated. She wasn’t just strong—she was something else, something ancient and terrifying. I had felt the moment she’d unleashed her full strength, like the very air had shifted, bending to her wi