he stage, holding a velvet-covered case in her arms l

ound in a collapsed temple on the edge of the Aksum ruins, in the remo

nged to a forgotten sect of mystics....pos

sat a tall, cracked vase....faintly glowing under th

through the crowd

Aeyros reacts to emotional energy...especially longin

a's heart pounded, but

ase on a glass pe

. Thought of her mother's voice. Of her fi

ally, whispering the chant sh

len

here. Silent. M

passed.

one c

omeone

me the l

t. Cold. Sha

s supposed to hum

bly bought

urned, but she did

, sighing. "Ms. Rael, is this a performance

ove. "It's real. I...I sw

e interrupted.

r. Phones sti

estal. The vase wobbled... tipped... then

levitated

f the Year, ladie

came again, h

n to pick up the fragmen

lock letters inside

SUBAN POT

I ve been scammed by a

caught. Her

had been made a fool...

swallowing the scream

hands, she gathe

rrying her offstage before the s

supposed to b

Even the vase

***

gunshots on the marble floor. She shoved the door to

he nearest man...Darren, the intern who'd handle

, wide-eyed. "What

ol of me?!" Her voic

his cheek. "We were all there when it was

he shard with trembling fingers. "It says MADE

ared at it

The last time I made a major find, they turned it into a bloody poster!

cool off. Just...just br

wled. "I need to fix this shit before e

't wait f

enched in her fist, Serena push

e place left that

ybe , she'd find a w

**

ibr

ance barely blinked...everyone knew her face by now. She was practically a f

larity to continue her search. She found her usual spot, settled into a creaky w

thi

theories, rewritten

ly on the marble as she walked deeper into the rows of shelves. She dri

teps s

ng felt

he didn't recognize them. The wood was

the library always

books. The scroll was brittle, its seal broken long ago. She blew off the

unrolled it o

Hidden

rowed as she

earch long enough, you might find a kingdom of rare jewels, mys

eart s

chment, hoping for m

ead it agai

en artifact. This sounded real. Wild. Magical. Everything she needed. If she could trace

e could

ers. Her face on the museum walls

nt against her chest, ey

y, she rolled it up and

briskly towa

g?" the libraria

es," Sere

u find a

he storm swirling insi

dded, returni

e doors and stepped in

cision

t this time . If they found o

ime, she wo

one wa

oing to fi

ake the world re