Ethan's eyes were locked on the hidden script bleeding across the brittle page when a sudden,
deep thunk vibrated through the library floor.
The old leather book snapped shut in his hands, nearly catching his fingers. A hush fell over the
room as all three of them froze, listening.
Then the bookshelf directly in front of Ethan began to tremble. A groaning, ancient noise filled the
air as gears hidden behind the walls clicked into motion. Dust cascaded down like a grey curtain.
Reyna took an instinctive half-step back, blade rising. "Shit's movin', don't ya?"
Daniel edged closer to Ethan, gripping his axe so hard his knuckles whitened. "It's a trap, isn't it?"
Ethan narrowed his eyes as the shelf slid away from the wall, revealing a dark stone archway.
Beyond it, a staircase curled downward into shadow, lit only by a faint glow leaking from below.
He slid the book into his coat. "Trap or not… we're going."
