Ashar moved like the air bent for him. Mae clung to his shoulders, not out of fear. Not exactly but because the vibrations of the castle were inside her now. The walls no longer echoed around her, they responded to her. Her skin hummed like a current was running beneath it. Every pulse of energy in the stone, every flare of ancient script, they were speaking. Not in words, but recognition. It knows me.
Ashar’s jaw was locked, the tension in his arms telling her more than words ever could. Not fear. Purpose. He wasn’t running from the reaction. He was running toward something. But even Mae could tell, he didn’t know what. They turned a sharp corner through the main corridor of the eastern wing, a hallway long abandoned, its walls dust-covered and cold, until suddenly. The floor shifted. Ma
