Elara POV
The drumming from the floorboards didn't stop until I reached the archives, where I found Elder Thorne sitting at his desk with his head tilted toward the far corner of the room, and he pointed a thin finger at a stack of ledgers that had fallen over during the night. The dust was still thick in the air from the impact, and he didn't even look at me as he spoke, but his voice was dry and carried a weight that made me stop in my tracks.
"The house is restless, Elara, and the stone remembers things the people living here have forgotten, because there is a hollow space behind that shelf that has been calling for your blood for a long time," Thorne said, and I watched him tap his cane against the floor in rhythm with the vibrations.
"I don't have time for riddles, Thorne, beca
