The moment Selphine broke the seal on Eveline's letter, a quiet ripple of mana pulsed outward, nearly imperceptible—like the hush before a summer storm.
Aurelian instinctively leaned closer, eyebrows rising. "That's not normal parchment," he muttered.
"No," Selphine agreed, her voice barely above a whisper. "She enchanted it."
And not lightly.
The parchment shimmered faintly in the moonlight as she unfolded it, ink already glowing in shifting strokes of cerulean and gold. Runes pulsed in the margins, like musical notations that responded to their presence—listening, waiting.
Lyria, still standing by the door, took a cautious step forward. "Should I summon a scribe-mage?"
"No need," Selphine replied. "This is personal."
Aurelian tilted his head, squinting at the text. "Are those… riddles?"
"Ciphered patterns," Selphine said. "I've seen her use this technique before. The letter will unlock only if we activate it with the correct sequence."
