Elias gestured at the ring on the table. “It came back on target.”

“This time. At this mass. In a fixed ring.” Her gaze lifted to his. “And now I know enough to be afraid.”

No awe. No release. No sudden swing of faith. Elias looked around the room and saw the result land in each person by a different route, all of them bad. Liora had gone pale and fascinated in equal measure, which in practice meant she would say nothing in public and everything in private. Dev was already building the words regulatory concealment in his head. Jonas had the face he wore at funerals and hostile takeovers, the face of a man counting damage before it spread. And Amara—Amara looked as if he had just proven the lock on a loaded gun was broken.

Jonas exhaled and rubbed both hands over his face. “All right,” he said. “No. No, I’m done for tonight. Whatever that was, it was enough.”

He turned to Elias with tired firmness. “I am not funding this. I am not shielding it. If anyone asks, I attended a dinner where you showed a contained anomaly and answered no safety questions to my satisfaction. That is the limit of my loyalty.”

Liora was already reaching for her coat. “I think that is also the limit of mine.”

Dev gave Elias a look that held neither fear nor respect now, only warning. “If you have more than this in the house, disclose it before someone else finds it.”