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“All civilians?” Vale asked.

Lux’s gaze moved toward me.

“All of them,” I said. “Humans, unregistered demons, powerless workers, everyone. No clan scanners at the doors. That ends today.”

Vale typed the order without argument.

“What about the people trapped between Angelfall and the northern border?” I asked.

Kalon moved three markers near the crossing. “Daniel opened an evacuation path through the old freight tunnel. The ward above the western entrance is failing. They’re moving civilians while it holds.”

“How many?” Lux asked.

“Eighty-six confirmed.”

A screen near the end of the room flashed. Static cleared into a shaking view of Angelfall. Smoke swallowed half the road. Artillery fire struck behind the ward, showering the barrier with orange sparks. People crowded the freight tunnel while Guard units pulled them through.

Sam’s phone rang.

She answered before the first sound finished. “Daniel?” Her face changed. Fire vanished from her hands.

Lux stood, wincing, though the power I had given him kept him upright.

“What happened?” Kalon asked.

“The western relay is down.” Sam listened, her eyes fixed on nothing. “They have four minutes before the barrier keeping the southern troops out drops.”

Vale pulled up the ward grid. Red lines spread across the map. “Scarn’s people rerouted the station before losing the crossing. The western ward is feeding into a dead circuit.”

“Cut the circuit,” Lux said.

“That drops the barrier.”

“Redirect it.”

“The control wards are inside the southern checkpoint.”

Another blast shook the feed. Civilians screamed as the barrier bent inward. Lux’s shadows rose. The power moving through him hit the damage from the silver and buckled. His hand struck the table. Blood spread beneath his collar.

I pushed out of my chair.

“No,” he said.

“You don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“I know that expression.”

“I have a useful face too.”

“You have a reckless face.”

“Pot, kettle, nightmare demon.”

Vale glanced between us. “As entertaining as this is, the ward has three minutes.”

“What does it need?” I asked.

“Power and direction.”