It was not a prison cell either, not in the ordinary sense.
It was a circular room of old stone, reinforced with newer support beams that had clearly been added later to keep the space hidden and stable. Along the walls stood rows of metal cabinets, sealed crates, and long shelves stacked with ledgers and parchment rolls. At the centre of the chamber was a raised stone dais, and above it, suspended within a lattice of metal and crystal, hung a structure no larger than a child's chest.
It glowed faintly.
Not with light exactly.
With pressure.
Ren stopped at the foot of the dais, his face completely still.
Fang drew in a sharp breath. "That is the source."
Pax stared at the thing suspended in the lattice. "You are telling me the entire institute was built over this."
Ren's eyes moved over the chamber. "Not built over. Built around."
He took a step closer, then another, while Fang's hand landed lightly on his wrist.
"Careful," Fang murmured.
