The heavy stone tablet sat dead center on the wooden table. I couldn't tear my eyes away from it.
The hearth fire was struggling to stay alive in the grate. Outside the stone walls, the arctic wind was tearing through the valley, howling like it was trying to rip the roof off. I had sent Torin out an hour ago to grab Cassian. If Elara was about to drop the bottom out of my reality, I was absolutely not doing it solo.
Elara sat across the table, the dying firelight reflecting in her ancient grey eyes. She hadn't said a word since she unwrapped the rock. Just waiting. She’d probably been waiting for centuries.
"You said there was something here before us," I prompted, breaking the silence. "Before wolves. What does that actually mean?"
"It means exactly what it says." She ran her deeply
