The panel opened with a sound so soft that Fang almost doubted he had heard it at all.
Almost.
Then the seam widened by another fraction, and a thin ribbon of cold air drifted out from the black stone structure at the back of the vault. It carried the scent of sealed metal, old paper, and something stranger beneath both, a faint mineral tang that reminded Fang uncomfortably of the hidden chamber below the estate.
Ren came to stand at his shoulder at once. Pax and Wolf followed a step behind, their movements careful now, as though the room had changed character and they had all felt it.
Fang kept the letter in one hand and looked towards the opening in the structure.
Inside was darkness at first. Not empty darkness, but the kind that suggested depth. Then a narrow internal lamp woke, revealing the edge of a pull-out drawer built into the stone. It was smaller than he had expected, no wider than a folio case, and lined in black felt that had long ago faded to grey.
