"You think it's dangerous?" Evelisse asked, voice hushed.
Fluffy's tail swished. "It's not charged with dark magic. But it's not harmless either. This is a message. Someone left this."
Evelisse's heart skipped. 'Left for me?'
She stared harder at the rune.
It looked almost like a spiral—except with seven notches etched along its edge.
Seven like… her brothers?
Or like the kingdoms of the continent?
Fluffy circled it again. "It's humming in frequency. I think it's meant to activate only in your hand."
"What happens if I try?"
"You sure you want to find out now?" Fluffy asked. "In your pajamas? Without backup? No snack in sight?"
Evelisse clutched the shell tighter. "If someone placed it under my pillow, they already know where I sleep."
"…Point taken."
She inhaled slowly, then pressed her thumb to the center of the rune.
At first, nothing.
Then—
Vmmmmm.
The shell pulsed with light.
The world tilted.
