Kelly Thompson POV

The chamber opened before us with a silent gasp, its walls bathed in an ethereal glow that seemed to pulse with the heartbeat of the earth itself. My eyes adjusted slowly, drawn to the center where a tome lay shrouded in the ghostly light-a beacon of ancient knowledge amidst the encroaching darkness. Eden stepped forward, his lean frame casting a long shadow as he approached the pedestal upon which the book rested.

"Mother," he whispered, his voice barely louder than the ...