The First Vessel
Diana’s POV
The documents arrived wrapped in cloth and sealed with a rune I didn’t recognize.
Gina stood at the head of the long table fingers tight on the parcel as if holding it too long might burn her. Cameron and I sat opposite her, the weight of the last twenty-four hours still dragging behind our every breath.
“They were hidden in a vault beneath the old council hall,” she said. “It took three blood keys and a silent spellcaster to even get close.”
“What are they?” I asked leaning forward.
Gina’s jaw flexed. “Records. Ritual logs. And a name.”
She opened the cloth slowly.
Inside were papers worn, ink faded, some with burn edges, others stained by time. But one was pristine almost untouched. Protected. Deliberately saved.
Cameron reached for it.
His eyes sca
