"You were not subtle."
"I was proud." I opened my eyes and stared at the empty circle on the floor. "I spent three months weaving the most complex defensive network anyone in this kingdom has seen in a century. I was so busy being brilliant that I forgot to ask why my grandfather, the paranoid old bastard who buried secrets under his own house, never did the same thing."
Malphas had the grace not to say "I told you so." Probably because he was too busy being fascinated by whatever his fingers were tracing on the wall.
"What is that?" I moved to stand beside him, close enough that our shoulders almost touched. The chill was worse here, but so was something else. A pressure, like the air before a storm, building and building.
He drew his hand back, and for a moment, the symbols flared bright enough to read.
Here lies the heart of the Thornwood Mines.
Bound in blood and bone.
For the peace of the living and the silence of the dead.
Let no Agro open what was closed.
