A low throb moved through the archive room.
Fang stiffened. "Ren."
Ren looked up sharply. "What?"
"The ring is waking."
Silas came around the table at once. "Put it down."
Ren did so immediately.
The moment the ring touched the cloth beneath it, the throb eased. Fang let out a slow breath, though the tension did not leave him entirely.
Silas rubbed one hand over his temple. "That ring belonged to the original keeper."
Pax raised an eyebrow. "You keep a cursed ring in a box downstairs and only mention it now?"
Silas looked at him as if Pax were the foolish one in the room. "It was not cursed at the time."
Pax stared.
Silas continued, "It became dangerous later."
Fang frowned. "How?"
Silas's expression darkened. "Because it was used as a tether."
Ren's face hardened. "For the prison?"
"Yes."
Fang looked back at the ring. "So the keeper was not only the voice. He was also the anchor."
Silas nodded once. "Exactly."
Pax's tone turned dry. "That sounds miserable."
